Self-destruction Strategies Series

Self destruction Strategies 1 – Mistake self-pity to be humility

Self-destruction strategies 2 – Be a perfectionist

Self-destruction strategies 3 – Treat the peripheral as the essential

Self-destruction strategies 4 – Let guilt come between you and Krishna

Self-destruction Strategies 5 – See your work as Maya

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Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
Hare Krishna. What was the first slide? No, no.
So welcome all of you to this multi-part, multi-part seminar on the topic of the strategies for self-destruction and how to avoid it. So Anant Vallabhbha told me that topics make you think what is actually the topic, who is making the strategy, who is counting the strategy. So I’ll start this lecture with a warning.
The warning is, once after a class a devotee told me that your class means one hour intellectual workout. So I’ll try to lighten the class by having periodic question answers. But this will be a little intellectually demanding because we are talking about the subtle world, what happens in the mind and intelligence and how the dynamics takes place.
So these 11 points are there. I’ll take each point and after that point we’ll have question answers. So probably each point will take maybe half an hour.
So instead of having question answers at the end, we will intersperse them throughout the class. So hopefully that will create some variety and it will not be so demanding. So let’s begin.
So when we talk about strategies for self-destruction, usually the word self-destruction is quite common nowadays. Now when people act in ways that hurt themselves or even destroy themselves. Now in nature there are examples of self-destruction also.
We have say a fish is attracted to a bait or a mouse is attracted to cheese in a mousetrap. In such cases, actually both the mouse and the fish have excuses. What they are attracted to, the substances, the objects, they look like food.
And they don’t know in advance that these objects are traps. Now we humans often don’t have these excuses. Nobody thinks that say a cigarette is like food.
And nobody, there is practically no one who doesn’t know that it is harmful. So now this self-destruction is often seen with respect to substance. Self-destruction can be with respect to substances and it can be with respect to attitudes or behaviours.
So it’s called as substance addiction and it is called behavioural addiction. So we are not going to talk about substance addiction here because all of us are serious sadhakas. So that is not a big problem in the world.
And I have taken this seminar earlier, strategies for self-destruction where it was entirely for new people. So all the strategies that I’m talking about now are entirely different from what I have taken earlier. It’s a different audience.
So I will talk more in terms of behavioural attitudes and actions. Behaviours and attitudes that cause us to destroy ourselves. By which we end up doing things that harm us.
So self-destruction is in terms of behavioural and attitudinal self-destruction. And strategy, usually the word strategy conveys a sense of intelligence. This impulse, you do something just when you feel like doing it.
But strategy means there is some thought that is going in. So we may wonder how can there be a strategy for self-destruction. Please go ahead.
So actually there is a sinister strategizer inside us. Sinister means very cruel, wicked. Strategizer, the one who makes a strategy.
And that is the mind. So what does the mind do? The mind and intelligence are two aspects in our subtle body. So the mind is the seat of feelings, desires and impulses.
Quickly it wants to do things. The intelligence is the seat of discerning, of discrimination. This is good.
This is bad. This is right. This is wrong.
So intelligence is what makes plans. Intelligence is what can think long term. The mind thinks in short term.
Now this does not mean the mind is bad. Sometimes short term thinking is also required. Now if I am sitting here and suddenly I feel fire behind me, I just immediately move away from it.
That is a reflex action. So there are situations when reflex actions are helpful. But always being in a reflex action mode is not helpful.
And when the mind is too strong, then we don’t think long term. We are always in the reflex action mode, instinctively acting. So mind is also important.
Intelligence is also important. It is not that the mind is always our enemy. The mind can sometimes come up with good things also.
But quite often, because it is short term, it tends to act anemically for us. So the mind misappropriates the intelligence. The mind misappropriates the intelligence for its purposes.
So the mind is on one track, the intelligence is on another track. And both are meant to function in coordination. Krishna uses this repeatedly in the Bhagavad Gita.
He says, offer your mind and your intelligence to me. He doesn’t say that only the intelligence. Both the mind and intelligence, we need both of them for functioning in this world.
He says, offer both of them to me. Normally, in the hierarchy, the intelligence should be above the mind. In 3.42 in the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna states that the body is inert above that the senses are there.
Above that the mind is there. Above that the intelligence is there. And above that the soul is there.
So, technically speaking, the intelligence is above the mind. What is the standard metaphor that we use, standard example we use for talking about the mind, intelligence, senses? Chariot and? Chariot and body, chariot, horse, everything. So now in that case, if we see, who is the intelligence? The charioteer.
The charioteer, isn’t it? The charioteer is the intelligence. So, the horses are the? Senses. The reins is the? Mind.
And the passenger is the? Soul. Soul. The chariot of course is the? Now in this case, normally, the normal chain of control should be the passenger tells where I want to go and then the charioteer takes the passenger along.
So like that the soul knows what I want to do. And then the soul directs the intelligence and from the intelligence everything else follows. But, so the intelligence controls the mind and senses and then accordingly we go in a positive direction.
But, if the horses are very strong, horses are unruly and the horses pull the reins and the charioteer is weak or the charioteer is not alert, then they will pull the horse, the whole chariot in another direction. So in this case what has happened, instead of the charioteer taking the horses, the horses are taking the charioteer. So like that, instead of the intelligence controlling the mind, it can happen that the mind controls the intelligence.
That means for fulfilling its short-term desires or fulfilling its own ideas of whatever is pleasure, the mind uses the intelligence. Go ahead. So in this way the mind acts as an inner sabotager.
So Srila Prabhupada says that we are meant to use our intelligence to control the enjoying mentality. But we are used to enjoying intelligently. Enjoying intelligently means what? It can mean many things.
At one level it can mean enjoying in such a way that we use our intelligence so that no one comes to know what we have done. So I use my intelligence to maintain a facade that actually I have not done anything wrong. Everything is fine.
So for that cover-up act, intelligence is required. So for example, say nowadays with internet access so freely available, people may sometimes just succumb to an impulse and visit some undesirable sites. That is an impulsive action.
But after that you don’t want anyone to find out. Then they use their intelligence to delete the history. So what is happening here? We are enjoying intelligently.
So instead of using the intelligence to control the enjoying mentality, we are enjoying intelligently. So here the intelligence is actually being misused. Instead of the intelligence being used properly, it is being misused.
So either we have to use our intelligence or the intelligence will be used by the mind. So if we don’t use our intelligence to make strategies about how we are going to go around in our life, then that same intelligence, it’s not going to stay inactive. The intelligence will be used by the mind.
Just like the horses are not habituated to just staying passive. So the passenger doesn’t tell, the charioteer doesn’t tell where they are going to, the horses are going to see, maybe this is nice, that is nice. And the horses will pull the reins and then the charioteer and the whole chariot will go in that direction.
So like that, the intelligence is always active. There are, Prabhupada says in one conversation that often materialistic people, he says they are intelligently foolish. Intelligently foolish means actually they are pursuing a goal which is not very intelligent.
But they are pursuing it intelligently. So intelligence is not lost, but it is misused. So when we talk about strategies for self-destruction, we are talking about how the intelligence is misused by the mind to make strategies.
And through such strategies, we end up doing things that are harmful for us. So the strategies are ultimately made by the intelligence. But the intelligence, rather than being guided by Guru Sadhu Shastra, rather than being guided by the soul, based on one’s enlightened self-interests, the intelligence is controlled and misled by the mind.
So we will see that over a period of time, the mind develops certain patterns. This is the way it functions, this is the way it tricks us, this is the way it misleads us. And there are thought patterns which we all form, which are unhealthy.
Now all of us have certain beliefs. And we are not just talking about believing in God or believing in soul or believing in Bhagavad Gita. We all have certain beliefs which are often not the right beliefs.
And these beliefs are fostered by the mind and they are furthered by the mind. They are created first by the mind and they are furthered by the mind. And those beliefs, they actually harm us.
So let’s discuss. We will discuss one by one the beliefs now. So strategy one.
So mistake, humility to be self-pity. So normally when we start practising bhakti, we are told to be humble. We should not be proud.
We should be humble. Now what does humility mean? So quite often, if we are not careful, people think in the name of humility. Oh, I am so fallen.
I cannot do this. I cannot do that. I am like this.
I am like that. And now that is actually more of self-pity than humility. Self-pity essentially means that I am feeling sorry for myself.
Oh, this is not right. That is not right. I can’t do this.
I can’t do that. Now self-pity is actually very disempowered. It is harmful.
And why is it not humility? Go ahead. So we normally, you know, if somebody starts speaking a lot very positively, I have done this. I have done that.
I have gone here. I have achieved this. I want this.
This is ego. Now we understand it is self-obsession. The person is obsessed in oneself.
But actually speaking, when a person is self-congratulatory, you know, I have done this. I have done that. Self-congratulation means, you know, others come and shake our hands, but we pat ourselves on the back.
Oh, good back. You know, that is self-congratulation. So if a person is self-congratulatory, then we naturally understand that this is ego.
But that same ego has the opposite side. And that opposite side of the ego is self-condemnation. So just as in self-congratulation, I am absorbed in myself.
I, I, I, I. Similarly, in self-condemnation also, it’s I, I, I, I. It’s only thing, instead of congratulating myself, I am beating myself. But in both cases, the centre is I. So what is happening? This is not humility. This is simply the other side of false ego.
What do you mean by the other side of false ego? Ego essentially means self-centredness. When I am centred on myself, that is ego. Always thinking about myself.
Always talking about myself. Having thoughts of very little other than myself. That is self-centredness.
Now we think of ego as self-centredness when it is self-congratulatory. When I am thinking how great I am. But even when it is self-condemnatory, even then it is self-centredness only.
I am thinking about myself, myself, myself. And this is also ego. So this is not humility.
The essence of humility is that it takes us out of self-absorption to Krishna absorption. So humility, what is its purpose? Humility is that we basically come out of self-centredness. It can be self-congratulatory self-centredness or it can be self-condemnatory self-centredness.
I am so good or I am so bad. In both cases, the centre is I. Whereas in the practise of bhakti, what is required is that we take ourselves out of the centre and focus on Krishna. So when we focus on Krishna, then that is what is encouraging.
That is what is energising. That is what is inspiring. And humility is meant to assist us in that.
So when we think of humility to be self-pity, actually we are not Krishna conscious. We are simply self-conscious. And this can be both spiritually and materially disempowering.
So let’s move ahead. So as I said, humility means it is Krishna centred. And I’ll talk two aspects of humility here.
Humility means to not let our ego interfere with our purpose. To not let our ego interfere with our purpose. Our goal is that we want to serve Krishna.
It can be direct service to Krishna. We want to chant, we want to hear, we want to distribute books, make garlands, cook, whatever. Or it can be even in our family life, in our professional life.
That is also for a devotee service to Krishna. That will be one of the later misconceptions that we’ll discuss in a future class. The wrong attitudes towards our material life.
But whatever it is, we have certain purposes in our life. Here I am not using purpose in a negative sense like a selfish purpose. Purpose means we have to achieve, we want to do something in life.
So now when we are pursuing a purpose, we don’t let ego come in the way. That means it is not that if I am doing something because I am disrespected, so I will not do it. So, for example, if we go for distributing books or if we go for fundraising, then sometimes people may just neglect us, people may disrespect us, we may not like it.
But then we don’t let our ego interfere with our purpose. We go on serving Krishna. So, unfortunately when there is self-pity, there is no purpose only.
So, what happens is self-pity takes away our purpose. Self-pity makes me think I can’t do anything, I am good for nothing, therefore I should not do anything. Therefore I should do nothing.
We see Shloka Prabhupada was, what was his humility? His humility in one sense for an old man at the age of 70, who had no followers, at the age of 65-70, he had no followers at that time in India. And he was a businessman who had also not been very successful in his business. So, when he would tell people that I want to go to America to preach the Bhagavad Gita, many people may have thought of him as proud, you know, you have become an old man now.
Now you have a desire to go to America. So, people could have thought like that. But Prabhupada’s purpose was clear.
Now, he did not let, people will think negatively, he did not let that interfere with his purpose. So, actually to say that I want to go to America, it might seem like pride. But he did not let pride come in the way.
On the other hand, when he went to America, relatively speaking, although in America Prabhupada did not get followers immediately, in India, because he was a sadhu, he had some respect. In India there was a pious culture. So, if a sadhu comes, people would bow down, people would hear, people would offer some donations, people would offer respect.
That pious culture was there. But in America there was no pious culture. So, they did not even know what a sadhu was.
So, actually when Prabhupada went to America, he was just like a lonely old man with nobody with him. And when he was in America, in India, if a sadhu is giving class, people, even if they ask questions, they will ask in a respectful, gentle way. When Prabhupada went to America, you know, the way people would ask questions.
Just any time in the middle of the class, someone would walk in, somebody would walk out, somebody would… At one time somebody just… Prabhupada was giving a class and in the middle that person got into a drug induced trance. And at that time they were taking… there was a drug called LSD. Now, LSD is a short form for a chemical name.
But they had renamed LSD. That is, LSD was, they called it as a League of Spiritual Discovery. So, they had the idea that anyone who takes LSD, they have joined the League of Spiritual Discovery.
And they are all in that group where they are going to make spiritual discoveries. So, if anybody would take LSD and go high, that person would be considered as a LSD saint. LSD saint who is now going to give revelations.
So, at that time, if anyone, if somebody has gone high on LSD and started speaking, now actually to stop him would be completely antithetical to the culture over there. You could not strap him. It would be like a aparajth to that person.
So, Prabhupada would be giving a class and suddenly a person would go high on LSD and Prabhupada would have to stay just calm and wait till that person would come down. And then he would continue his class. So, in that sense, actually when Prabhupada went to America, at least in the first year, year and a half, he got practically no respect.
He was neglected. He was almost like disrespected when he was giving classes. Nobody paid any attention to him at all.
But again, Prabhupada did not let the ego interfere with the purpose. He got some nominal respect in India, but he did not crave for that nominal respect. In America, he got not even the nominal respect, but he saw that the people here are interested.
The people in India were ready to respect, but they were not interested in following at all. So, Prabhupada did not want that kind of respect. Sumati Moraji, the lady who sponsored Srila Prabhupada’s trip to America, she was a very pious lady.
And she told Srila Prabhupada, if you want to speak Bhagavatam, why do you have to go to America? You come to my house, every evening you speak Bhagavatam, I will hear from you. Prabhupada, he did not respond, but he did not want to speak Bhagavatam like that. Just a daily ritual that you do.
He wanted to speak Bhagavatam in a way that transformed people’s lives. So, in India, he got nominal respect, but no genuine following. But he had that respect.
He did not let that craving for respect interfere with his purpose. When he went to America, he got no respect. At one point, there was one person, David, who was very interested and he was about to become his disciple.
He said, I want to become a disciple, I want to become initiated. And one time, he just took drugs and went high and he attacked Prabhupada. He attacked Prabhupada.
Prabhupada was an elderly man and he was nowhere around. He had to flee from the house. It was on the fourth floor.
Prabhupada ran down and just came out. And as he came out, he was just on the streets. And Prabhupada looked around and he saw that there were crows on the buildings.
And he realised that just as those crows were homeless, now he was homeless. He was homeless, contactless in a foreign country. But Prabhupada’s purpose was strong.
His purpose was that I have to serve Krishna. So, he called some people who used to come for a programme. He told them that this has happened.
And they took him in their house and then they arranged a separate house for Prabhupada. And that became the Lower East Side. The last year when I had gone to America, I went to that Lower East Side.
So, the devotees still preserved that place and that’s like a place from where everything began. And then there is another place in the Tompkins Square Park. So, where in the Tompkins Square Park, there is a tree under which Prabhupada sat and did kirtans.
So, the Tompkins Square Park has officially named that tree as the Hare Krishna tree. So, there is actually a plague on that tree itself. And in the Tompkins Square Park website also, among the various landmarks, they have the Hare Krishna tree as one of the landmarks over there.
So, when Prabhupada went there, he was fixed in his purpose. So, humility, actually, if you have true humility, that strengthens our purpose. But if we have self-pity, then that weakens our purpose.
So, Prabhupada had humility. We see in the Markine Bhagwat Dharma, the prayer that he wrote, that he composed while he was going to America, in those prayers, he said that, you know, kudrami dinahina. He says, I am just a fallen person.
I don’t know any Vedas. Bhakti nai, Veda nai, namah kubudah. He is expressing his humility.
He says, I am an insignificant beggar, unfortunate beggar. But that feeling does not weaken his purpose. Although he has that feeling, I am helpless, I can’t do anything, but still he is fixed in his purpose.
So, that purposefulness is very important. And if we let whatever we think of as humility interfere with our purposefulness, then that is not humility. That is often in the zone of self-pity.
So, now this brings us to another point in humility. Actually speaking, if we see, the bhakti culture is a culture of respect. So, when devotees see each other, we offer obeisances to each other and we respect each other.
So, now humility, if somebody, we live in a society of devotees. So, humility means we accept respect. That is what is required for service.
So, Prabhupada was in France and he was giving a lecture over there. At that time, he was sitting on a big asana, the devotees had arranged and it was a college programme. And some of the college students were Marxists.
And these Marxists, they have an attitude that everyone is equal. Why are you sitting on that high seat? So, when they became very rebellious, Prabhupada said, No, I can sit on the floor. Just hear what I am saying.
And the next time, they became very unruly. Next time when they had a programme, Prabhupada said, just arrange a simple chair. I can stand and speak also.
So, Prabhupada was not obsessed with respect. But his idea, his understanding is that when there is a disposition of respectfulness, then there is a greater ease in the transfer of knowledge. So, if it’s required, a devotee can sit on a high asana from there, can give lectures to thousands.
But the devotee doesn’t depend on that for giving lectures. There was once a television interview which Prabhupada was giving. And in that interview, the interviewer was asking, Swamiji, what is your message? So, Prabhupada said, you are not your body, you are the soul.
What is this soul business? Suppose there is a car and there is a driver. So, now who is important among that two? So, Prabhupada said, car. What? You have not understood.
Swamiji, this is America. You cannot go anywhere without a car. In America, they practically have no public transport system.
So, you know, basically you cannot go anywhere without a car. Prabhupada said, that’s okay. But if the car is there, the driver is not there, what will the car do? He said, that’s okay.
But Prabhupada said, the car is very important. So, Prabhupada was explaining to him, he just couldn’t get it. And it was just a 5 minute interview.
So, the reporter said, Swamiji, thank you very much. No, Prabhupada said, you have not understood. So, the lights had switched off.
Prabhupada did not let him go only. So, for almost 20 minutes, Prabhupada was speaking, explaining to him, how you are not the body, you are the soul. And whether he understood or not, he said, Swamiji, you are right.
So, the point I was making is, for Prabhupada, you know, his enthusiasm for giving the message was not dependent on whether he was on TV or not. Now, he had an opportunity to speak on TV, that’s fine. He spoke on TV.
But he was not interested just in speaking on TV. He was interested in transmitting a message. And there was a person behind him, he saw that person, not just a TV reporter asking for an interview.
He saw that a soul in need of spiritual knowledge. So, if that respect is given, that is fine. If respect is not given, that is also fine.
The concern is that we want to fulfil our purpose. We want to share Krishna’s message. So, humility means to accept respect, but not expect it.
And then, further, go ahead. So, again, to summarise this point of humility is Krishna-centred. Humility is not centering or obsessing over I am good for nothing.
That okay, I may have many faults, I may be good for nothing. But the point is Krishna can engage even a good for nothing like me. So, the focus is on Krishna.
Just like an expert musician can play music even with a faulty instrument. So, like that, Krishna can use even people who are not very good. He can use them also.
He can engage them also. And that is, again, if the focus is on me and how I am good for nothing, I will feel very morose. I will feel very dejected.
But if I focus on Krishna, Krishna can use anyone and everyone. You have the example of Lord Ramachandra. He engaged vanaras.
You know, he engaged monkeys in fighting with him. Now, actually speaking, Lord Ram, if he had wanted, he could have manifested a whole army for himself. Or if he had wanted, he could have fought alone.
And defeated all the enemy soldiers. Ultimately, most of the important battles were Ram who won personally. But he engaged everyone.
So, like that, Krishna can engage anyone. So, our focus is not on our faults. Our focus is on Krishna.
And that is actually what the purpose of humility is. So, humility is meant to take us out of self-absorption towards Krishna absorption. And then that same humility actually becomes empowering.
Because if I am thinking about my faults, that is very disempowering. And if I have faults and I am not thinking of my faults, that is also disempowering. You know, that means, some people can sing so nicely that they make people cry while they are singing.
And there are other people who sing so badly that they also make people cry. They also make people cry while they are singing. So, actually, it is not that if we have faults, if we have limitations, it is not that we are blind to them.
So, actually, to be aware of only our faults is a problem. To be blind to our faults is also a problem. We are aware, okay, I have some faults, I have some strengths, but my focus is on Krishna and how I can serve Krishna.
And if our focus is on Krishna, then humility is empowering. Because humility takes our consciousness from obsessing over our faults and focusses on Krishna. And Krishna’s potency can help us to do things.
On the other hand, self-pity by making us think of our faults again and again and again, it disempowers us. And that’s why whenever we find that whatever we are thinking of is humility, if that is discouraging us, if that is weakening our purpose in whatever constructive things we want to do, then we should know this is not humility. This is self-pity.
And we push it aside. And we focus, so rather than bothering whether I am being humble or I am cultivating humility or I am indulging in self-pity, we focus first and foremost on our purpose. What am I meant to do here? And let me do it as well as I can.
And if we are that way focused on our purpose of serving Krishna, we will be able to move forward and humility will assist us in moving forward. So at this point, any questions? Yes, Mataji. Do we have chits also in case some of you want to write and give the questions? If you have paper, you can just pass the chits also.
Yes, Mataji. You can be seated. OK.
So how can we balance humility with self-confidence? Sometimes the word self-confidence can have a negative connotation in the sense that it can refer to I am so great. So there is, rather than using the word self-confidence, let’s begin first with self-awareness. Self-awareness means, not necessarily I am talking here about I am the soul, but we are at our core souls.
But we also have a body and we also have a mind. And the body and the mind have certain strengths, certain weaknesses. So to become self-aware, not just to become aware that I am the soul, it also means becoming aware of what kind of body and mind I have.
And that means to become aware of both our strengths and our weaknesses. So if we become aware of our strengths, then there are certain things which we are good at. And if you are good at them, to deny that fact is not humility.
Humility does not have to come at the expense of honesty. So if somebody has a good singing ability, for that person to say I am not a good singer, that’s not true. That person of course doesn’t have to go around and brag how good a singer I am.
That would be wrong. But humility does not mean that we have to be in a perverse sense dishonest about what strengths we have. So self-awareness means we are aware of our strengths and we are aware of our weaknesses.
And as we develop our strengths, see okay, this is something which I am good at. Then by that we can develop that talent, that ability and use that for constructive purposes. So in that sense, if we are thinking of self-confidence as coming from self-awareness based on an awareness of our strengths, then that self-confidence is not contrary to humility.
Why? Because we are not focussing on ourselves. When self-confidence leads to self-obsession, self-centredness, that is when it becomes a problem. So what we have is God’s gift to us.
What we become is our gift to God. What we have, I have certain abilities, certain talents, certain things, that is God’s gift to me. Now those gifts I am meant to do something with.
So even if I have speaking ability, I have singing ability, I have managing ability, I have counselling ability. Now every ability that we have, it needs to be developed. It needs to be used.
And what we become by using those abilities, that is our gift to God. Our gift to God is not just say the donations that we give or the books that we distribute or the number of people that we bring to Krishna. All that is good.
But ultimately what Krishna wants is us. So as we become better human beings, as we become more developed, more talented, more capable of serving Krishna in diverse ways, we become a better gift that devotees can engage in Krishna’s service in various ways. So if we see our strengths as gifts from Krishna meant for his service, then that does not take us away from humility.
Because the purpose of humility is to become Krishna centred. And if our self-confidence is based on the self-awareness that these are not just my strengths, but the strengths given by Krishna meant for his service, then that awareness can actually help us in our service to Krishna. And that way by being Krishna centred, being aware of our gifts, we can balance humility with self-confidence.
Does it answer your question? Any other questions? Because mind is currently in passion but intelligence is a product of passion. So why we are not saying that intelligence is also wrong? Why we are saying that mind is making intelligence wrong? There are two different questions. I will answer them separately.
So first question is that why do we always talk about mind control and why do we always blame the mind? Why don’t we talk about intelligence control and why don’t we blame the intelligence when we do wrong things? Actually speaking, at a practical level, it is not so easy to differentiate between the mind and the intelligence also. It is. The important thing to recognise is that there is some force inside us that works against us.
There is some force inside us that often makes us do things that are harmful for ourselves and harmful for others. Now what we call that, by what name we call that force, that is not important. Now in the different traditions, there is a Native American tradition, they talk about a good dog and a bad dog.
So there is a good dog which prompts us towards good, a bad dog which prompts us towards bad. So like that, there is a force within us which makes us do wrong things and there is some element within us which also guides us towards the right things. So broadly speaking, now there are subtleties in this but the important thing is we broadly Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Ram, Hare Ram, Ram Ram, Hare Hare Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Ram, Hare Ram, Ram Ram, Hare Hare By the way, I was told that yesterday many devotees were not able to hear the class because of the sound system.
So if that happens anytime, please feel free to interrupt me because I would like to know that and you can correct it in the middle of the class also. I don’t mind stopping for a few minutes to adjust that. So if anytime this audio goes down or something, please let me know.
So basically there is a force inside us which is helpful and there is a force inside us which is harmful. And in terms of broad nomenclature, we say that the harmful force is the mind and the helpful force is the intelligence. Now there are subtleties within that also.
As I said, sometimes the intelligence can also be sabotaged and the intelligence can also act negative. But every system of education begins first with classification and then we go into grey areas. First we talk about say this is India, this is Pakistan.
Then we say this is the border. But then actually you go to Pakistan, there is no clear border in many places. There is a dispute.
Is this belonging here or this belonging here? So we say this is India-China border. China apparently intruded into India. So the Indian government said that actually they are not intruded because we don’t have a fixed border.
Because basically the point is that initially we have a system of classification where we put this here, put that there. And that system of classification is important for initial grasping of concepts. And afterwards we get into subtleties.
So broadly speaking, we say that the inner hostile force is the mind. The inner helpful force is the intelligence. Now there are subtleties that the mind can also sometimes give us good ideas.
Sometimes we call it as a hunch or a gut feeling. This is what I should do. And sometimes we get a hunch or a gut feeling which is positive.
So the mind can also sometimes speak good. And sometimes people can also plan long term wrongdoings. So the intelligence can also work in wrong ways.
But initially in terms of analysis for the grasping of the concepts, we call the positive inner force as the intelligence and the negative inner force as the mind. So that’s why we talk primarily about mind control and not intelligence control. And the second question was the intelligence is said to come from passion and the mind is in passion.
Actually this is again we go into the third canto Sankhya. That’s a very different concept. So there it is said that mind comes from goodness and the intelligence comes from passion.
Now why is it said like that? Because again Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna. Is somebody by mistake? Is there some wire which is getting pushed repeatedly? No, no. Oh, so the mic is also helping you to get rest.
So now the intelligence is said to be coming from the mode of passion because most of the times in the material world when we are, the intelligence works for materialistic purposes. For example, modern science and technology, there is phenomenal use of intelligence in that. But all that intelligence is used actually for furthering the plans to control and enjoy the world.
So traditionally when there is Jnana, so traditionally whenever there is Jnana, Jnana was always associated with Vairagya. Because Jnana, we understand the true nature of the world, we understand it is temporary and we become detached from it. But modern science, there is Jnana but that Jnana leads to Raga, not Vairagya.
But because with that knowledge we come up with newer and newer ways to enjoy the world. In the past people had some entertainment, they would go to some drama nearby. Now we want entertainment, there are literally millions, thousands, hundreds of channels, millions of websites.
And there is so much attachment which is now, all this is created with intelligence. So the point is that in the condition stage, the intelligence basically acts for materialistic purposes. So what happens is the goodness is associated with maintenance.
And intelligence is associated, sorry, goodness is associated with intelligence with maintenance and passion is associated with creation. Creation or expansion, something is existing, we create more and we expand it. So in the condition stage, the mind maintains the status quo of material existence.
The mind keeps filling us with, oh come on, do this, punah punah sharvita charvanam, again and again we enjoy. So the mind keeps the status quo. But what the intelligence does is, the intelligence tries to come up with newer and newer ways to enjoy.
So newer and newer ways to enjoy the same old things. So for example, if we see a cow, it eats the same grass day and day after day. Now we human beings, we create thousands of cuisines, thousands of recipes, thousands of items to get the same pleasure of eating.
So what is happening over here? Intelligence expands material existence. The mind maintains material existence, whereas the intelligence expands material existence. That’s why it is said that the mind is in a mode of goodness, in the sense that it is maintaining.
And the intelligence is expanding material existence. So that’s why it is said to be associated with the mode of passion. Any other questions? Yes.
So chanting with humility, what does it mean? Is it a thought that Krishna, I am doing this for you? Yes. See, first of all, in chanting, the important thing is to focus our consciousness on Krishna. The sound is meant to act as a primary vehicle to take our consciousness towards Krishna.
But sometimes what happens is, say if there is a lift, it is going to take me to the 10th floor. But if I don’t climb the lift only, so if I, Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, if I don’t climb the lift only, then the lift is going up and coming down, but I am there only. So like that, sometimes the lifts, Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, sometimes the, if you have any other hand mic, I can use that also.
So sometimes the chanting is going up and down when we are chanting the mantra, but actually we are not, Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Ram, Hare Hare. Okay, so this is continuing, we will continue till that stage. So sometimes we are uttering the mantra, but our consciousness is not there in the mantra.
So whatever the mantra is going up and down, we are going through the mantra, but we are there only, we are not climbing the lift. So at that time, we can have different aids which can help us take our consciousness towards Krishna. That means we can have a picture of the deities in front of us.
Now we can have some glories of the holy name in front of us. We can have maybe the picture of our spiritual master, picture of our initiation. We can have some, we can contemplate, maybe sing some, we remember some line from a Vaishnava song which creates, which fosters the mood of humility and helplessness.
So all these are helpful in directing our consciousness towards Krishna. So like that, while chanting, the feeling, Krishna, I am doing this for you, that can also help. But the primary focus is that we try to let the sound take our consciousness towards Krishna.
So we don’t have to consciously hold on to a feeling, Krishna, I am doing this for you. But consciously, primarily, we focus on just hearing the sound and letting the sound direct our consciousness towards Krishna. Now if that feeling helps us, that is fine.
But we have to see whether it is anukun. Because sometimes in trying to hold on to the feeling, we get so caught in trying to cultivate the feeling that we don’t hear the holy name at all. So whatever is an aid in our focussing on Krishna, that can be accepted.
So humility in the context of chanting simply means focussing on Krishna. As I said, humility means not self-centred, but Krishna-centred. And chanting offers the opportunity to be Krishna-centred through the sound vibration.
So that’s why the feeling of I am helpless, Krishna, without you, or I am doing this for you, Krishna, you are manifesting as a sound, please accept my service, please accept my attention, whatever it is. All these are helpful. So we don’t have to necessarily stay stuck with one particular feeling or one particular aid.
The feeling is meant to be an aid. At the rich advanced stage, the feeling will come naturally. But till that time, we can use as an aid whatever helps us to focus on Krishna.
Does it answer your question? Are both mics on now? What do you call the stage which is between self-pity and ego? It is not that automatically if I have neither self-pity nor ego, I will automatically have humility. It is not necessarily like that. But basically we all go through different degrees.
If the consciousness is like a pendulum, sometimes it goes towards the direction of how good I am, how great I am, how clever I am. And sometimes it goes to how foolish I am, how stupid I am, how this I am. It goes to different directions.
So this is just the way we are. It actually works that way. It’s not necessarily wrong in the sense that it’s not something which can be absolutely avoided.
If we do something good, naturally we may feel that okay, I have done something good, I am good. If we do something bad, we may feel that I am bad. There is a feeling which will come.
So again, what will keep us focused is our fixity of purpose. If we are focused on our purpose of serving Krishna, then sometimes I may feel also that I am so good. But then I will start noticing that if I am too caught in my own self-glorification, then I am not able to serve Krishna.
That purposefulness will help us to come to the balance from whichever direction we might go in the extreme. So that purposeful state of wanting to serve Krishna, that is humility. So we could say the balance state between self-pity and ego, we could say it is humility.
But primarily that is not cultivated by simply avoiding this and avoiding that. That is cultivated primarily by focussing on Krishna and trying to serve Krishna. So there is a car blocking the gate.
It is number 9765 SUV. So those who are car riders, can you please remove that? So sometimes when people appreciate us, our ego makes us proud and then we do service, our ego will push us to do service. It will be difficult to unhear the dictations of ego and still serve genuinely for Krishna.
So how to be humble in this situation? Yeah, it’s possible that sometimes while doing services, we may be appreciated for doing the services and then we may feel that may make me proud. If I do some service, if I do it well, I get praised, I’ll become proud. Actually speaking, to think that I will become proud is itself pride.
Because I am assuming I am not proud right now. Actually, it’s not that we will become proud, we always have pride. We always have pride, but most of the time, we don’t have reason to express that pride.
So I already think I am a great person, but I don’t have any evidence to show that I am great. So when I do something, when I do something special, then I get that evidence. So the pride is always there inside, but it is not expressed at that time.
So when we do something, it is not that we become proud, it is rather the pride that is hidden and becomes expressed. So it’s not that by doing service, we will become proud or not neither. It is not necessary that by doing service will become proud, nor is it necessary that by not doing good service, we will be able to avoid pride.
That pride is already there. And quite often, if we are capable of doing something nicely, and if we don’t do it, then whoever else does it, the pride that is there within us, that comes off in an ugly way as envy. If I can sing nicely, but I don’t sing, and then somebody else sings nicely.
Yes, just see how proud they are. How proud he is, how proud she is. So what has happened? That our pride, it’s not expressed directly, but it’s expressed in a negative way as envy.
That’s why not doing service well when we have the capacity to do it well, that is not the cure for pride. The cure for pride is not suppression of talent. The cure for pride is purification of intent.
Purification of intent means, why am I doing this service? Initially, I may do that service because I like to be praised by others. I sing nicely and then I think, how many people will come and appreciate me for my singing. But that’s okay.
If we start our service initially, we all need some appreciation. We all need some encouragement. So once there was a devotee who was a very good brudanga player.
And he was playing brudanga and Prabhupada came at that temple. And Prabhupada took darshan and he was going out and he said, Your kirtan, Prabhupada tapped him on his head and said, your kirtan is very nice. And then he thought this is probably the only opportunity I’ll get from a spiritual master.
So he confidently said, share it with her. He said, Prabhupada, sometimes I feel proud. And Prabhupada just tapped him on the head, what’s wrong with that? What’s wrong with that? Now we may say pride is, you know, it’s a demoniac quality.
How can Prabhupada say what’s wrong with that? So actually the point is, see, we all have some pride with us. And that pride needs some expression. So we want some respect.
We want some recognition. And if we don’t get it in devotee circle, we will seek it in non-devotee circle. And when we seek that recognition, respect, and we seek the fulfilment of pride in non-devotee circle, then for getting that, we will have to do non-devotional things.
Whereas, if we seek respect or recognition, we try to fulfil that longing for pride within devotee circle, that at least will make us do the right thing. So, if I fast on Ekadashi, then maybe I fast nirjala on Ekadashi. And I say, you’re such an austere devotee.
I feel good, you know. So actually I’m fasting. Jagannath Baldev Subhadra Mayaki.
So especially, now I’m fasting, but my ego is feasting. I’m thinking I’m so good. Especially, now what if I do, if I fast on Ekadashi and then I go to the Prasadamon and see who all is eating what.
All sense gratifiers. I am self-controlled. Then, that is really ego.
But, we should not just parade what we are doing to everyone. But, if we are appreciated, you know. Okay, yes, this devotee is so austere.
And if that makes us do the fasting, at least we’re doing fasting. If I go to non-devotee circle and I want to be appreciated, they will say, I drink five bottles of beer. No, I drink ten bottles.
I’ll drink ten bottles. And we’ll do that for getting appreciation. Just giving an extreme example.
But the point is that pride can also be used in devotional service. That sometimes the desire for honour, the desire for respect, that makes us act respectably. Now the problem comes when that is the only motive for respectable action.
So, I fast when everybody is seeing. In front of them, I’m fasting. But as soon as I’m privately in my room, I eat.
So, I’m not really doing it for purification. I’m doing it simply for a show. Then it becomes a problem.
But generally, if you’re practising sadhana bhakti, we are hearing the philosophy, then there is both. We want to please Krishna. We want to become purified.
And we also want some respect from others. So, now what happens, if we keep practising bhakti sincerely, over a period of time, we will notice that actually whatever pleasure I get when I’m praised by others, that pleasure is temporary. But if I absorb myself in Krishna, that pleasure lasts much more.
And then that pleasure, when it lasts much more, then I realise why am I bothering about this. So, when I initially started giving classes maybe 10-15 years ago, so at that time, like everyone else, I was very self-conscious. So, after every class, I would wonder who’s going to come and appreciate my class.
Who’s not going to appreciate my class? And then, so what would happen, so after once I gave a class, I thought I had prepared the class very nicely. I thought this was probably the best class I’ve given in my life. And after that class, not one person came and appreciated.
And then I was feeling so dissatisfied at that time. And then it suddenly struck me that actually, when I was speaking in the class, I was happy. But after the class is over, I’m miserable.
So, what that means is, speaking about Krishna is joyful. But when I speak about Krishna with the expectation that I’ll be praised for that, and I don’t get the praise, I become dissatisfied. So, comparatively speaking, even if I’m praised for doing some service, how long is that praise going to last? How much satisfaction I’m going to get from that? But if I become absorbed in the service of Krishna, that absorption itself will give satisfaction.
But this realisation will not come if we don’t do the service at all. If we do the service, it is, what happens is, the service is what connects us with Krishna. So, that connection with Krishna will gradually give us taste of a higher happiness than the pleasure that comes from praise.
Then the pleasure of pride. And only when we experience a happiness higher than the pleasure promised by pride, then we’ll be able to give up the pleasure promised by pride. That’s why we need to serve Krishna whatever happens.
And while serving Krishna, we try to purify our intent. That means, if I’m doing any service, I don’t constantly think who’s going to notice my service, who’s going to praise me for my service. Yes, we do need some human appreciation.
That’s a normal need. But we don’t make that the sole purpose of doing our service. And by that, gradually, as our intent becomes purified, we will become enthusiastic in service of Krishna and that higher taste coming from absorption in Krishna will truly remove pride.
So, if we find that while doing service also we are getting repeatedly dissatisfied, we are expecting to be praised and we are not getting praised, then we can do a course correction. That means, maybe I’m doing this service too much for external motives. So, quite often, if we are praised, we share the credit with others.
We tell others, this devotee also helped me, this devotee guided me. We don’t take the credit ourselves. So, while doing service, we can use various means to protect ourselves from being cruel.
That is, give the credit to others. Remember that sometimes we do our service very nicely, but sometimes, you know, even if we are good at a particular field, we are not able to do the service nicely. So, we all know, that means, actually I understand, I’m not the only doer.
I’m not the only doer. So, we understand that we can become more humble. So, it is not that by not doing service we’ll ever become humble.
It is by doing service, gradually we’ll get a taste higher than pride and that’s how we’ll develop humility. And if while doing service, we are becoming obnoxious, we are becoming very proud. Like say, some devotee sings very nicely and whoever is singing, you know, in a temple situation, there are different devotees who sing.
Not everybody is a good singer. But everybody gets a point to sing. So, if somebody is a very good, some devotee is a very good singer and that devotee starts singing, everybody else is faulty.
So, I only will sing and no one else will sing. And then senior devotees will tell, this is not proper. You know, this is becoming too much.
So, sometimes some senior devotees specifically tell us, this service is making you too proud, better you avoid this service. Then that is okay, then you might stop that service or do that service in a less visible way. But in general as a matter of principle, you know, giving up service is not a solution for pride.
It is service alone that is a solution to pride. That is the cure for pride. So, any other questions? So, how do we differentiate between true humility and false humility while serving Krishna? I think false humility, I explained that in the class.
False humility is basically that which makes us self-centred. So, if our focus is me, me, me and me, then that is false humility. And again, if the focus is also not just me, it is think, oh, I cannot do this, I cannot do that, I cannot do that, I cannot do that.
Yes, Krishna, there are so many things to do in Krishna’s service and there may be many things which we may not be able to do. It is fine. But we don’t obsess over all the things that I can’t do.
We focus on what we can do and we do it for Krishna. So, if two things, if our thoughts are constantly about me and if our thoughts are discouraging us in our service to Krishna, then we can know that whatever we are having is false humility. If whatever the feeling that we are cultivating, if it is directing our thoughts towards Krishna and it is inspiring us to serve Krishna, then that is humility.
So, in a work setting, humility is not appreciated. In fact, people take advantage and boss wants us to be bold and straightforward and always in the forefront, not caring about people’s feelings, how to deal with this. See, again, this is a misunderstanding of humility.
Humility doesn’t mean that everybody trample on us, everybody treat us like a rug on which everybody puts their feet and rubs their feet. Humility again means that we don’t let our ego interfere with our purpose. And actually, even in professional settings, you will see that quite often there might be a boss, who has a particular plan, he or she has a particular plan and then some subordinate gives some suggestion.
That suggestion might actually be better. So, if the boss has the humility at that time, yeah, what you are saying makes sense, then the whole team will move on. So, it is not there.
So, if we consider humility as hearing people’s suggestions and accepting them and they are valid, even if those people are junior to us, then in that context, even in a professional setting, humility can be helpful. So, now, if we see humility in terms of not talking about our qualities, we have to know that we live in a culture of promotion. Everybody needs to promote themselves in this culture.
Everybody in today’s culture needs to promote themselves. And if that promotion is done in a mood of service, see, sometimes we associate feelings with certain actions. And that is fine enough.
But those feelings are not limited to those actions alone. That means, say, if I speak about my qualifications, my qualities, my achievements, you may think this is not humility, this is pride. But that is not necessarily so.
In the first canto of Shri Mithubhavatam, Vishnu Pidama says, तथापेकान्तः भक्तेष्यू पश्यभूपानु कम्पितं यन्मेश्यू स्कृजितः साक्षार् कृष्णो धर्शिनमागतः So, Vishnu Pidama is praying, is instructing Yudhisthira Maharaj while he is on his death bed. And he says, तथापेकान्तः भक्तेष्यू पश्यभूपानु कम्पितं Just see, okay, the mercy that the Lord has bestowed on me. What is that mercy? कृष्णो धर्शिनमागतः That Krishna has come to give me His darshan.
यन्मेश्यू स्कृजितः साक्षार् At the time when I’m about to die, Krishna has come to give His darshan to me. Now, the first part of it, एकान्तः भक्तेष्यू Because I’m a pure devotee. You may say, isn’t this pride? Should a pure devotee think that I’m a pure devotee? So, why is Vishnu Pidama doing that? If you look at the overall flow of the verses over there, Vishnu Pidama has a purpose.
That purpose is that he wants to encourage Yudhisthira Maharaj to stay fixed in his devotional service to Krishna. And he is giving himself as an example. He had a very difficult service.
He had to fight against Krishna. He had to act as the commander of those who are opposed to Krishna and Krishna’s devotees. And he said, I did that service.
अन्फलिंचिन्गीत एकान्तः भक्तेष्यू And now when I stood firm in my service to Krishna, just see how Krishna has rewarded me. And that he has come to do. Similarly, Yudhisthira Maharaj, you may feel that you are the cause of all this bloodshed and therefore you may feel that I don’t want to become the king.
But if the Lord wants you to do this service, do it unflinchingly. And then the Lord will reward you. So, the point here of Vishnu Pidama, his stress is not that I’m a pure devotee.
He is using himself as an example to demonstrate the glory of bhakti. So, to give an example of how glorious bhakti is or how faithful devotion is rewarded by the Lord, he uses his own example over there. So, the point here is, this may not seem like humility to say that I’m a pure devotee, but for the purpose.
The purpose is to instruct and inspire Yudhisthira Maharaj to stay fixed in his bhakti. For that purpose, if it is required, he speaks about himself also positively. So, humility means primarily that we don’t let our ego come in the way of our purpose.
So, if our purpose requires us to speak about ourselves positively, we do that. So, for example, if we have to prepare our CV, at that time, we have to… One devotee told me that he says that if there is a tap that is on… He was from IIM. He is from IIM Bangalore only.
So, he told me that basically when we are trained to do a CV, they have a joke. He said that if there is a tap that is on and some water is dripping out of it, so, you just turn off the tap while you are passing by. He says that you can write in your CV.
You know, I have active interest in eco-sensitivity and water conservation. So, now… Basically, when people write their CV, their bio-data they write, basically they have to prop up all that you have done. Now, if that is done for the sake of service, if we are in a job and if our promotion is a job or even if our position in that job, it depends on how we promote ourselves.
And if you are doing that job as a service to Krishna, then promoting ourselves as a part of that service is okay. So, when we lose humility is when we become self-centred. So, for the sake of humility, for the sake of service, we have to promote ourselves.
That is not necessarily contrary to the principle of humility. So, what is not appreciated, especially in professional settings, is where people are not forthcoming about their strengths. So, now we don’t have to go around bragging to everyone about our strengths.
But wherever it is needed, we can tell about our strengths. So, it’s only when a person, even in a worldly setting, we can make out people who are egotists. They are always talking about themselves.
And it’s not that even in a professional world, everyone is like that. Everybody is interested in promoting their career. But even among them also, there are people who are relatively speaking humbler and relatively speaking who are more arrogant.
So, if we properly understand how we apply humility, then humility is actually a principle that is not contrary to professional life, but that can also help us in professional life. Because even in professional life, sometimes others may know things better than us. And if we are too proud, then we will not take their inputs properly.
So, that’s why humility, if properly understood, can be helpful even in our professional life. So, while talking about humility, how do we understand a statement like I am to be humbler than a blade of grass. Yes.
Or we have Jagai Madai. We have Krishnadas K.R. Goswami saying that I am more sinful than Jagai and Madai. I am lower than a worm in a stool.
So, now how do we understand this? So, actually, see, there are many feelings that advanced devotees experience. And just as the feeling of ecstasy and absorption to Krishna, that is Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, his hairs would stand on end, tears would come out of his eyes. Tears don’t come out of our eyes.
Actually, maybe at most tears come out of our eyes because tears don’t come out of our eyes. Sometimes everybody is in ecstasy, but I am just yearning and I am bored. So, at that time I feel, what is happening? So, the point is, just as those devotional feelings are not accessible to us right now.
So, similarly, these exalted feelings of I am more sinful than Jagai and Madai, they are also not accessible to us. We aspire for them, just like we aspire for being so absorbed in Krishna that we get tears. Similarly, we aspire also for feeling that kind of humility.
But we cannot artificially imitate that. Now to say I don’t artificially imitate that doesn’t mean I have to be proud. It just means that we can’t just imagine feelings that we don’t have right now.
But we can get some understanding of how they get those feelings. See, the more we become absorbed in Krishna, the more we become aware of Krishna’s greatness, then the more we become aware of our smallness. The more we become aware of Krishna’s purity, the more we become aware of our impurities.
So, the exalted devotees, they feel that Krishna is doing so much for me. Krishna loves me so much. Krishna is giving me so much mercy.
And even after Krishna giving me so much mercy, I am not reciprocating at all. I am not doing anything. Or what I am doing is so little.
Krishna is doing so much and I am doing so little. And then he thinks that actually Krishna did not do so much for Jagai and Madai also. No, they were just living a simple life.
What did Krishna do for them? So, he says Krishna did not do so much for them. Krishna is doing so much for me but I am doing so little in return. And therefore, I am so fallen, I am so sinful, I am lower than Jagai and Madai.
So, that is, it is a statement which is coming, it is a feeling that is coming from the feeling of reciprocation with Krishna or the feeling of inadequacy of reciprocation with Krishna. You know, at our stage, we hardly ever feel Krishna is doing so much for me and I am doing so little. We often feel I am doing so much, what is Krishna doing? You know, I am chanting 16 rounds, I am following four regular principles and still this is going wrong, that is going wrong, that is going wrong.
What is Krishna doing? So, what happens is, when we are in material consciousness, we can see Krishna’s gifts primarily only at the material level. And that’s why when the things are not working right at the material level, we feel what is Krishna doing for me. But when our consciousness is elevated to the spiritual level, we see Krishna has given me so many things at the spiritual level.
And we appreciate that and we feel what am I doing for Krishna? So, that’s why we understand, we hold those feelings as exalted but we can’t artificially imitate those feelings. To get those feelings, we have to become much much more absorbed in Krishna. And for becoming absorbed in Krishna, we have to diligently practise the process of bhakti.
So, at our level, we can adopt humility, that is, we can adopt that understanding of humility that helps us in our absorption of Krishna. That means, for us, humility means that we don’t seek credit or go out of our way to seek credit for doing services. We don’t brag about ourselves to others, we offer respect to others, we praise others.
These are practical ways in which we can express humility at our level. Does it answer your question? Can humility means being fully surrendered to Krishna? Yes, actually, when we go at a very deep level, all these virtues, surrender to Krishna, absorption in Krishna, love for Krishna, humility, tolerance, they all become like the composite presence in our consciousness. So, that is when we are purified.
At our stage, we can say that there can be people who are even non-devotees who are relatively speaking humble. Sometimes even among materialistic people, there may be, say, in a cricket match, a team wins and the captain may have performed very well, but the captain says, I didn’t do it alone, we all did it together. So, that is also at one level, humility.
So, humility itself is not necessarily a devotional quality. So, that’s why we cannot equate humility with surrender to Krishna. But for a pure devotee or for advanced devotee, humility, it has a synergistic relationship with surrender.
That means the more humble we are, the more we surrender we become. The more surrendered we become, the more that also creates humility. So, sometimes when I hear a lecture, I feel that these points are meant for others, not for me.
So, what should I do? Yeah, actually, that is what happens most of the time with me. Because I speak, I write and actually all the wonderful points, I remember when I give classes. But when I am faced with my mind, my senses, my temptations, my anarthas, I just forget most of those points.
I just don’t remember those points. But sometimes I wonder whether I am being hypocritical. I am speaking so much, but I am not practising it.
Not only I am not practising it, I am not even remembering it. It’s amazing that I remember all those points about humility, about self-control, about tolerance. As soon as the class starts, I remember all these things.
But afterwards, I just don’t remember them. So then, I asked a senior devotee about this. They told me that actually, when we are giving a class, at that time, it is Krishna who is using us to guide those who are often more sincere than us.
So, I may be using that point simply to impress others. So, actually bhakti is so subtle that sometimes, the audience who is hearing the class may make more advancement by hearing the class than the speaker who is speaking the class. It all depends on one’s consciousness.
So, what happens is, when I am speaking also, I may think these points are very nice for speaking to others, but I may not apply them. But still, if we just keep hearing them, we keep speaking them, if we speak them with a holier-than-thou attitude, then that is a problem. But if we speak them in a mood of humbly sharing with others, then at least that time we are remembering.
And gradually, something will carry over. So, ultimately, the mind is very tricky. And then we have to find some tricks by which we can out-trick the mind.
So, it’s ultimately a game. It’s a game and we have to play this game better than the mind. So, that means, if the mind says, these points are not for me, they are for others.
Then we can out-trick the mind. Yes, these points are for others. But even to tell them to others, I need to remember them.
So, rather than thinking, these points are for others who are there in this class, I can think, yes, these points are for others, but I should tell them. And therefore, let me remember them, let me hear these points, let me understand these points. And then I can tell them to others.
And the more we hear them, the more we understand them, the more we will actually internalise them. So, there is always this feeling, somehow or the other, the mind will try to deflect instruction away from itself. The mind will try to deflect instruction away from itself.
This instruction is good, but it is meant for this person, this person, this person. It’s not for me. But then what we have to do is, we have to find some means by which we can deflect the instruction back to us.
And one way is repetition. So, if we feel that it is for others, that is fine. Still, we maybe note it down.
And then later on, when we note it down, sometimes it will strike to us. We read it and, hey, this applies for me also. So, this is just one trick.
But the mind often finds tricks to deflect instructions away from itself. And we have to become aware of those tricks. And then we have to find some way to out-trick the mind.
So, one time, one devotee asked me, we give classes and we find the audience is not very interested. You know, the audience is just waiting for the class to get over. So, we also lose enthusiasm to speak.
So, what should we do at that time? So, actually, somebody had asked Bhaktivedit Maharaj this question. So, Bhaktivedit Maharaj gave a superb reply. He said that when the audience is not enthusiastic, you should think that your preaching is practise for future classes when the audience will be enthusiastic.
So, basically, we have to out-trick the mind. My mind is basically finding some reason to become unenthusiastic in serving Krishna. So, rather than giving into that trick, okay, even if the audience is not, this is not the only time I want to speak about Krishna.
I want to speak in future and in future there will be people who will be enthusiastic. So, we out-trick the mind. So, we have to find out what trick the mind is using to decrease our enthusiasm and we turn that around some way and we try to maintain our enthusiasm.
Yes. So, we say that we should be purpose centred and that being focused on our purpose is humility. But doesn’t the purpose also come from the self? And then if we are purpose centred, then also we will become self-centred.
Yes, it’s possible. But then the principle of Bhakti is that, see, this is say myself. Myself means I have my interests, I have my talents, I have my abilities.
So, this is a circle of my interests and abilities. And this is the circle of Bhakti. Now, to practise Bhakti sustainably, we have to find the intersection between the two.
What is my interest? That is one circle. And what is Bhakti? That is another circle. So, what is the intersection between that? If we situate ourselves in that, we will be able to practise Bhakti sustainably.
Lifelong we will be able to practise it. And that is actually Varanashram. Varanashram essentially means what? A Brahmana likes to study, likes to teach and then they don’t do it for Krishna.
Study the message of Krishna and share the message of Krishna. A Vaishya likes to earn money. Vaishya likes to deal in money.
So, then they are told, do it, but do it, give charity and do it in the spirit of service to Krishna. So, it is not that everything that is of interest to the self is self-interested. It is not that everything that is of interest to the self, that is self-interested.
Self-interested basically means self-centred, selfish. But if something is of my interest, then I can use that also in a mood of service. If I can study scripture nicely, that is my interest.
But by studying scripture nicely, it is not necessary that I am becoming self-interested. It is that I am using my interest for my self-realisation. I am using my interest in my service to Krishna.
So, when the problem comes is, when we become, when our purpose takes us out of the circle of bhakti, there is a circle of bhakti, there is a circle of our interests and we are situated in the intersection of the two. But when we come out of that and we start doing anti-devotional activities, non-devotional activities, then it can become a problem. But the purpose, naturally, for a purpose to be lasting, it has to emerge from the self.
The spiritual master will give us instructions, the senior devotees will give us instructions and at least in the initial stages of our spiritual life, we should follow instructions and do those services. But it’s not that throughout our life, there is going to be some senior devotee telling us, do this, don’t do this, do this, don’t do this. Eventually, we may not be in the same devotee circle, we may get transferred somewhere else, we may go to a different place.
And if we have to practise bhakti, we have to become self-motivated. Self-motivated doesn’t mean self-selfish. That means our motivation to do bhakti comes from ourselves.
And that will come when we find something that is of interest in bhakti for us. So it’s not necessary that our purpose has to be selfish. Our purpose, if it is to serve Krishna and if we find out some ability, some avenue in which we can serve Krishna and we develop ourselves in that, that can be done in a mode of service and that can take us closer to Krishna.
That will not interfere with humility at all. How to achieve humility? I am feeling it is very difficult to achieve. Yes.
Broadly speaking, there is the physical aspect, there is a mental aspect and there is a spiritual aspect. So physically there are certain gestures, certain actions which are conducive to humility. You know, if I say sit on this seat with my head leaning back, my legs going up, with my hand like this, I am feeling very humble.
It’s not going to work. So there are certain externals that are conducive to humility. When we come in front of deities, we offer obeisances.
So there are externals, they don’t necessarily generate humility. But they are conducive to humility. So we have to find out what they are for us and we do those externals regularly.
Along with that, at the mental level, I mean the subtle level, we have to find out when we are delighting in self-congratulation or self-praise. We are thinking, oh I am so good, I am like this, I am like that, I am like that. And when we catch ourselves, we avoid that.
So, okay, now I am thinking too much, I am so good. That should not be my focus. My focus should be serving Krishna.
And then the spiritual aspect. Spiritual aspect means, actually the more we become fixed in Krishna, the more we will realise that actually thinking about my own greatness, that is a huge over-satisfaction. In the Gopi Gita it is said, nija-jana-smaya dhvamsana-smeta.
Nija-jana-smaya. That means Krishna, the Gopis are saying, the pride in your servants, that is destroyed by your smita, your smile. That means when the devotees feel proud, and then they go in front of Krishna and see Krishna’s smile.
Actually this smile is so beautiful. There is so much joy in beholding the beauty of Krishna, in pleasing Krishna, as compared to that, what is so great about that pleasure and pride? So ultimately when we focus on Krishna, when our heart becomes attracted to Krishna, dhvamsana-smeta, pride will be destroyed. So this is physical, mental and spiritual.
But most importantly, at a practical level for us, it is the social aspects of humility. Social aspects means, when we are with others, we don’t speak too much about ourselves. We don’t speak about our glories too much.
Whenever we have an opportunity, we appreciate others. So, trunadapi sunichena, tarorapi sahishnuna is quite difficult to follow. But amanina manadhena is relatively easier to follow.
We can appreciate others. And if somebody has done some good thing, we make it a point to appreciate them. And when we are looking for things to appreciate in others, that itself is a pleasant way of developing humility.
If I think of all my faults in order to become humble, I may become humble, but that’s not a very pleasant thing to do. So, what happens is, and that may not even lead to humility, that may lead to self-pity. But if you are thinking of how can I appreciate others, and I focus on trying to see good in others and appreciating others, then what happens, that also takes us off self-obsession, takes us off self-absorption.
And that is a healthy way in which we can cultivate humility. Not just healthy, that is a joyful way in which we can cultivate humility. Because when we appreciate others, others are happy, then seeing their happiness, we also feel happy.
And in that way, there is an increase of joyfulness in the devotee community. And that’s how we can actually cultivate humility in the social dimension by not seeking appreciation ourselves so much, but by giving appreciation to others. Okay, last question.
Yeah, I think I answered this question about how do you understand the concept of humility in Sanatana Goswami. I mentioned that, Krishnaskara Goswami, that same principle, that it is coming from the absorption in Krishna. Is this question different, whoever asked this? Or is it answered by that answer about… Same question.
Same question. Okay. Anyone, last question? Yes, Natalya.
Okay. Where does intuition come from? Well, that was my third class, third strategy for self-destruction. There I want to talk more about this.
But briefly, there are three broad sources. Ultimately, vedaisya sarvairaham eva vedyam vedanta-krita-veda-videvachaham. All knowledge comes from Krishna.
So even our intuitions come from Krishna. Ultimately Krishna is the source of all of them. But at a more analytical level, if we are situated in the mode of goodness, if we are in a reflective mood, if we are calm, thoughtful, then there are often, there are insights that are there at a subconscious level in our awareness.
And they just bubble up. So when our consciousness is very turbulent, we are very agitated, at that time often we are not even aware when certain thoughts come up. But when we are calm, then that calmness, that becomes like a platform, that becomes a suitable medium for insights to come up.
So they are there in our subconscious. And how are they there in our subconscious? It’s just that sometimes we may have heard something earlier, but it is at the back of our awareness, suddenly it comes at the front of our awareness. So they can come through the subconscious mind.
Another is that what we call as intuition can also be an inspiration. Inspiration means it is something just that we are thinking of one thing and we are getting no solution and suddenly we get an idea. This is the perfect solution.
That inspiration is coming from the Supersoul. So the intuition when we say, that is especially when there is a huge gap between what we know at one moment and what we know at the next moment. That is that leap in cognition, that leap in understanding that is happening, that is coming from the Supersoul.
One of the Prabhupada’s scientist disciples, Sadaput Prabhu, he wrote an article on inspiration. And then he analyses this mathematically. How many, how much thoughts can be processed in a moment? And sometimes the leap in insight that we get from one point to another, it is so great that it just cannot have happened by itself, by a linear process of thinking, even if it is at the subconscious level.
So for example, there was a scientist Goss who came up with some theorems in electricity. And actually the mathematical proof of those theorems came four decades after he died. But even before that those theorems were accepted, they were working, they were being used extensively but nobody had proof for it.
So it took not just four decades of time but so many other developments in mathematics to be able to come up with the proof for that. But he just got it at that time. So it was not through a linear rational process of information processing that he got it.
It was just a leap of insight that happened by some power beyond his own. Sometimes the intuitions can come even from the Supersoul. And thirdly, these are not really very different, but it is just for analysis.
They can also come from the subconscious churning of what we have been thinking about. So for example, if you think about a problem, think about a problem, and then we do not know, like say I am a writer. I am writing and I think this word, this is not the right word.
Maybe this word, this word, no word seems to be right at that point. I do not know what to use and I just leave it at that. And after some time I come back or I am doing something, suddenly I get this is the right word or this is the right way of putting it, the right sentence.
So this is not just, this can sometimes happen even when I am not really consciously thinking about it. It is not such a dramatic thing as it could not have come from myself. But when we get deep into a subject or when we go deep into a field, we think about it sometimes consciously at the forefront.
But in the background also, there is thinking of that happening. So intuitions can come that way from our own reflective consciousness. They can come from the super soul.
And they can come also from the subconscious processing of what we have learned consciously. And so in general, the intuition, usually the word intuition is used in a positive sense to talk about something which we get, which guides us in the right direction. So that guidance from within can also come positively.
And that we see, if it comes positively, then we accept it as Krishna’s mercy. We don’t have to bother too much about the source. But we use it in Krishna’s service.
Thank you very much! Shri Prabhupada ki Jai! Gaur Bhakt Bindaki Jai! Jai Gaur Premanand! Jai Krishna! So thank you very much for such a deep,