Dedication in bhakti – Chaitanya Charan 28 2 2025 – Prayag

So, I was saying that during the course of our life, we may not accept that there is someone called God. But, it is difficult to not accept that there is something like Mahayana.

Or, something like what in other traditions is called a devil or shaitan. Something which makes us act against our own best interests. We all have this experience of some destructive force inside us.

In one sense, if we consider how we grow in our life, let's recite this verse. naadatte kasyachitpapam naadatte kasyachitpapam naadatte means to accept. That God does not cause us to do wrong.

na kasyachitpapam na jaiva sukrutam vibhu na jaiva sukrutam vibhu That supreme being and that supreme being does not cause us to do bad. Nor does the supreme being claim credit for when we do good things. God is different from us.

Then, what is it that makes us… If God does not impel our misdeeds, or God does not seek credit for our good deeds, then what is it that impels us? So, it is said, agyanenaavritam jnanam agyanenaavritam jnanam Thena, by that, muhyanti, muhyanti is deluded, is confused, jantavaha. Jantavaha is the living being. So, agyanenaavritam jnanam agyanenaavritam jnanam Thena muhyanti jantavaha Thena muhyanti jantavaha So, let's recite it once together.

naavrteh prashyam aapam agyanenaavritam jnanam Thena muhyanti jantavaha So, the idea here is that whenever we are functioning in life, at that time there is an evolution in our understanding, our understanding rules. So, who is in charge? Who is controlling? Who is in control? Initially, I may think that the self, I am in control. Then, we may start thinking that there is some inimical, inimical means or style being that is in control.

Inimical force, inimical power. People say that, I have my demons. People say that.

It will be terrible. When Mike Patton was a big boxer, he won most of the fights. When he started getting older or unstable, he started losing a match.

Losing matches. When he was losing one particular match, he got so angry, he couldn't punch his opponent so he bit off the ear of his opponent. And then he was disqualified.

And then he said, I have got inner demons inside me. They just make me act in ways that I don't understand. So, we start thinking that is there some terrible being that is controlling me? That is making me act in such ways that I don't want.

When I was a teenager, since my early teens, I had a bit of a temper. So, I had a bad temper and that was a problem. But I had a bigger problem.

Because I had a bad temper and a good vocabulary. Generally, most people, when they get angry, they just stutter and sputter in rage. Or they just raise their volume.

But what they speak does not make much sense. And then you say, this person has gone on a mental trip. You just dismiss them.

But somebody with a good vocabulary, they can be so sarcastic and biting. When they are angry, they can cause wounds that can last a lifetime. So, I recognised I had to get a handle on my anger.

This anger could lead me to some deadly situations. I was hurting my friends. I was ruining my relationships.

So, I felt that there is some inimical force over there. So, when I read the Bhagavad Gita 3rd chapter, what is one to some wrong actions. It struck me very powerfully.

So, we may or may not accept the existence of God, but we cannot deny the existence that there is some higher power. That there is something which seems to work against me. So, there is an inimical force that is in charge.

Now, of course, that inimical force is not constantly in charge. Sometimes, we also do good things. Sometimes, we also act in insane ways.

Not insane ways. Sometimes, we act in sane ways. And here we are acting in sane ways.

Now, even if say 95% we are acting like this and only 5% we are acting like this. But what happens is 5% can be more damaging than the 95% when we are acting in sane ways. Because if that happens in critical movies, it can be devastating.

So, now, if we go further. So, at this stage, there are two possibilities. One is that we may start thinking that inimical force itself is God.

That God is acting from inside me. Two, God wants to hurt me. God wants to destroy me.

In the Greco-Roman tradition, there is a saying that those whom the Gods want to destroy, then the Gods make angry. If you make somebody angry, that person will do things that will hurt them, that will hurt others. Everybody needs friends and allies.

If a king becomes angry and lashes out against their supporters, then what is going to happen is that people will stop supporting him. Alexander was a powerful conqueror. Alexander was also an alcoholic.

He used to drink. And he had one of his very trusted generals who was a fairly sober person. And that friend saw that… He saw that he was drinking too much and he tried to tell him to stop.

And Alexander got so angry at one time, he took off his sword and lopped off his head. And afterwards, he said, what will you do to my friend? After that, he could not command the loyalty of his followers the way he was commanding before. They still followed him because of fear.

But if you feel that your king is not in control of himself, then how can you? We may follow him because we are afraid of him. But fear is different from respect. So what happens is that there is this inimical force which can ruin us.

So we may… And just a few percentage of time when that inimical force acts against us, it can be devastating. So now, this is one understanding. But then if we move further, then we start understanding that actually, this inimical force is not God.

There is a being who is greater than this inimical force. And that is actually favourable to me. That is a force that wants to pacify me, purify me.

So that is, you can say, a purifying divinity. God doesn't just exist up there to… Can all of you move over here? Are you able to see from here? So this is… Consider this as a sip of wisdom. A sip means we drink something.

We take a sip. So what is a sip? The first is, I think, I am in control. But after I think I am in control, after sometime we realise, you know, I am.

If I think I am in control, then somebody has to be in control of me. Is it any of you know? Because we are not in control. Maybe there is some inimical force against me that is in control.

And then some force that can actually free me from this inimical force. That can purify me. That is in control.

And this is God. So, broadly speaking, for us, we may turn to God in two different ways. Now, when does a human being feel a need for God? It is, generally speaking, when we are going through life.

We have our desires, our goals and we go through life. And God is up there but we don't really feel the need for God. Now, we may feel the need for God in two situations.

One is if there is some huge obstacle. There is an external obstacle. And we feel I can't overcome this.

You know, okay, I have got this particular health, this particular financial problem. No matter what I do, I am just not able to make money. Or this person, this boss is troubling me so much.

I don't know what to do about it. I have tried everything. So, basically, if there is an overpowering external obstacle, that is one reason why we may turn towards God.

Now, the other is that when we feel that there is something inside me that is dragging me down. There is an internal destroyer. That there is something inside me which is sabotaging me.

And which is simply making me work against myself. And, say, for example, there are forums called for people who want to get rid of addiction. Alcoholics Anonymous is a well-known forum.

They have many anonymous people. They have CAA, they have FA also. FA is what? Poodaholics Anonymous.

Poodaholics means people who have a very unhealthy relationship with food. So, one extreme is, of course, people eat too much. Another extreme is, they eat too less.

So, if somebody has anorexia or something like that. So, now, they have 12 steps of how to get rid of the addiction. And the first is that my life is not in my control.

But there is something which has possessed me. I cannot fight it on my own. And so, from here, the self is in control.

So, there is some inimical force that has taken control of me. And then they say, therefore, I need to entrust my life to God. That, God, as I may conceive, but there is some being which is favourable to me, which wants my good.

And I need to entrust myself to that being. So, now, when there are external obstacles and we turn towards God, quite often, this is very utilitarian. This is very temporary.

The obstacle goes away, and then what happens? Thank you, God. Bye-bye. And it becomes like that.

We don't feel the need. But when there is an internal destroyer and I realise there is something inside me, then that is the time when our need for God becomes much more pressing. We start realising that actually, without God, even if external problems come, I can deal with them.

But internally, I am hijacked. Internally, I am sabotaged. Then, I will be destroyed.

And this internal, sometimes we feel I have become free from it now. But even when we feel that we have become free from, somebody may have an anger issue, somebody may have an alcoholism issue, whatever issue, I have become free from it. But we may think I am free, but when we feel free, it could be two things.

It could be that that particular thing has been eliminated. Elimination has happened, or it could be simply in dormancy. Now, it's quite likely that that particular thing which I thought I had become free from, sometimes it comes back again.

I thought I had got rid of this particular desire, this particular tendency, this particular habit, but it comes back. So, it's always safer to assume that I am not yet completely free from this. Even if I feel free, that's just because that has become dormant.

And it is good that it is dormant right now. Maybe it will stay dormant and it will die also. But it may wake up also.

So, when we feel the need for God, because there is something inside me, my Lord, which will destroy me, and therefore I need you to protect me from that. This takes us with a much more urgency and fervency and sincerity, earnestness toward Krishna. So, in Bhakti, when we use the word Anartha, the word Anartha, Anartha, if you consider in Hindi and in Sanskrit, it has slightly different meanings.

In Hindi, we say Anartha Ho Gaya Hai. Anartha Ho Gaya Hai matlab kya hai? Some bad happening. It's more like an external thing which is bad has happened to me.

Yeh kya Anartha Ho Gaya? So, somebody loses their job, somebody gets into an accident, that we say is Anartha. But in Sanskrit, Anartha refers to it's more like the bad force inside us. So, what are the Anarthas? Kama, Krodha, Lobha, Moha, Madhava, Sarya, these are Anarthas inside us.

And then, we could say that these two are related. It is quite often that the Anartha inside leads us to Anartha outside. Somebody is an alcoholic and they drink.

That is, they drink Anartha. And when they drink and drive, that leads to an Anartha. So, it's possible that both can happen.

But, the Anartha, the way it is used in Sanskrit is that actually, it is much more of an internal force that is there against us. So, in one sense, we could say that when we are growing spiritually, we, in one sense, take Maya seriously. Take Maya seriously means that we consider Maya to be powerful and the forces of illusion are dangerous.

Or, we may take Krishna casually. And similarly, we may take Krishna seriously or we may take Krishna casually. Now, if we consider these four options that might be there, if we take neither Maya seriously nor Krishna serious.

Now, we may not take Maya seriously, but Maya will take us serious. In fact, you can say, the less we take Maya seriously, the more Maya will take us serious. We will be caught by Maya.

So, this is actually we will be doomed. If a person has got some terrible disease like cancer, they are not taking the disease seriously and they are not taking the treatment also seriously. And all that will happen, they will become serious.

Their condition will become serious. They will become critically sick. So, many people, they live in this condition.

Now, of course, not everybody is a potential alcoholic or a potential violent person because of anger. Everybody is anarthas and the extent of the anarthas may vary depending on the kind of samsaras they have from this life's upbringing, from previous life's impressions that they carry. So, some people might be more or less they grew up in a sattvic environment.

So, they may not have many big anarthas in their life. But, you know, it can range from being underproductive. Even a person sattvic, they may not have major anarthas but still their mind also goes here and there, their mind also works against them.

So, they will not be as good as they could be. Or, at the worst level, whatever happens, our actions can be counterproductive. So, underproductive means not as good as we can be.

Counterproductive means the opposite of what we want to be. So, doom doesn't mean a person is ruled completely, destroyed. It could just be that some people just don't fulfil their potentials.

Like some players, sports players may be very talented but they are very temperamental also. They get angry and they throw temper tantrums. And then what happens? They literally can't function very well.

So, when Sachin Tendulkar rose to the international scene, he was from Mumbai and at that time there was another player who also rose to the international scene, Vinod Kamble. And both of them were sensationally talented. And they took the cricketing world by storm.

And people thought both of them would be the next big thing for Indian cricket. Now, Tendulkar went on to spectacular heights but Kamble, his rise was like a meteor. He rose for some time and recently, about a couple of months ago, he was in the news.

He had applied to he was living in great poverty now. He had applied to BCACI for some pension. And what had happened was he got into, we don't want to blame him, but basically fame went to his head and he got into alcoholism and things like that.

And his performance went down and he was no longer in the international team and he was not even in the national local team. He just degenerated. So, he had talent but unfortunately, he did not have the temperament to go with the talent.

So, basically we may not be able to do justice to our talents. So, this is where if we take neither Maya seriously nor Krishna seriously, then Krishna talks about this possibility in 3.16 in the Bhagavad Gita. A person lives in mokham.

They don't really utilise the potential of their life. They are wasting their life. Somebody says that, okay, I am watching TV.

Instead of studying, I am watching TV. Okay, you are wasting your time. No, but I am watching Discovery Channel.

Okay. Maybe that's useful. That's better than watching some stop-scene movies or something like that.

But still, watching Discovery Channel is not going to give you a bright career. Ah! Unless, of course, you do something more than watch. If you want to become a contingent producer or something like that, it's a different thing.

But otherwise, there could be a Sattvic entertainment, there could be a Rajasic entertainment, there could be a Tamasic entertainment. But you know, entertainment is meant to be a break from life. Entertainment is not meant to break our life.

If somebody is compulsively caught in that kind of entertainment, then still they are being under-production. So, that is, when somebody takes… Now, if somebody takes Krishna serious, neither Krishna nor Maya serious. Now, if somebody takes Maya seriously, but takes Krishna casually, then they will live very fearful.

They don't even consider that there is some higher power, God, who can protect me. But there seems to be some higher power that will destroy me. It's not a very conducive way to live.

Even from the perspective of emotional and psychological health. If a person is living constantly in fear, that is not the deal. So, this is where in some traditions, where the positive alternative is not offered.

Where only the idea of a personal divinity who can intervene and uplift us with mercy. That is not there in some spiritual traditions. Then there is constant fear.

Oh, this is Maya, that is Maya, that is Maya. So, it's almost like people, they don't have Krishna to be conscious of. So, they are conscious of Maya.

Not in the way in which they are chasing after Maya. But they are always afraid that Maya is chasing them. Now, that is not a very healthy way to live.

Now, if you consider, somebody takes Krishna seriously, but not Maya seriously. Now, what does that mean? Maybe because of their culture, their upbringing. They practise bhakti.

Now, at that time, they are very diligent in their practise of bhakti. But they may not take temptation seriously. Then what is happening? They may become reckless.

That means, reckless means what? Yeah, I am so pure that nothing can happen to me. Now, is it possible that somebody can be so pure? Maybe it's possible. But, what if that is not the reality? If somebody says, I have so much immunity that no germs can infect me.

Now, maybe you have that. But, maybe not. Isn't it? We don't know how strong our immunity is and how strong the germs attacking us are.

Isn't it? So, we can be vulnerable. So, a person could be safe. Now, of course, we could say that there are very exalted pure devotees who have transcended.

Completely authentic. And a kamakrodha vimuktanam yathinam yath chetasam. Abhito brahman viranam vartate viddhatmanam.

Later on in the fifth chapter, Krishna talks about that state where kamakrodha vimuktanam. The person is completely free from those things. 526, he talks about it.

So, we could say that somebody might be transcendental. But, this is a rare situation. More often is that a person will be reckless.

And if they are reckless, then they come to maya. They will fall to devilishness. Daivi ishcha agnamai maya duratyaya.

So, it's extremely powerful. Krishna talks about this as, if you consider, yathato yapi kaunteya purushase vipachala. Later on, indriyanamicharata yanmano anubhidhiyate.

If somebody is in a boat, and that person is careless. And they don't notice that a storm is coming. And when the storm comes, they may be expert boatman, but storm will just sweep them away.

So, like that, we can't be reckless. Indriyanamicharata. 7.14 is what the verse reported.

Mamamaya duratyaya. We understand the power. We take maya seriously.

But also, Mano meva ye prapadyante, maya me prapadyante. We take Krishna also seriously. And we understand that Krishna's power is greater than maya's power.

So, this is where we can be safe. And not just safe, we can be actually maximally productive. Because when we take maya seriously, we avoid the self-destroying forces within us.

But the same with Krishna. So, we are able to use those forces Krishna has given us. And this is where, as devotees, we take maya seriously, but we also take Krishna seriously.

Without taking both seriously, we will not be able to function. So, now, I discussed this particular verse that, we discussed the verse that, understand that Krishna is not impelling us to do bad. It is our own ajnana.

Ajnana means here that the anarthas are there. Here this kama-krodh is there. And I am not aware of this kama-krodh.

Or I am not aware of their power. And so, Tena muhyanti jantavaha. By them, we are impelled.

By them, we are impelled to do wrong. Now, Krishna says in the next verse that, if we understand the philosophy properly, then all this will become clear for us. So, let us look at this verse.

That ajnana which is there. The ajnana can be that either I am in control, or the devil is in control. And I am doomed because of that.

Jnanena tutat ajnanam. That ajnana can be removed by, that esha nashitam. Nashitam is destroyed.

Atmana is for the self, for the soul. Jnanena tutat ajnanam. Esha nashitam atmanah.

And when that knowledge is ignorantly destroyed, then it is not just like small candle light. It is what comes up is, esha aditya vajityanam. Aditya is the sun.

When the sun illuminates, then everything becomes clear. Esha aditya vajityanam. Everything becomes clear.

Prakashayati tatparam. Tatparam can refer to the supreme reality. It can refer to the atma, who is transcendental to the body, mind and senses.

It can also refer to the God, who is ultimately transcendental to everything in this world. So, first we need to see that, there are powers inside me that work against me. But after that, there is Krishna, who is even more powerful.

Esha aditya vajityanam. Prakashayati tatparam. So, let's recite this once more together.

Esha nashitam atmanah. Esha aditya vajityanam. Prakashayati tatparam.

So, Prakashayati tatparam. For us, Jnana, the purpose of knowledge, is not just to learn this shloka, or to impress these people by this knowledge, or just to get this concept. All those are good things.

But for us, the ultimate purpose of Jnana, the purpose of Jnana, is to ultimately convince us that Krishna is on my side. That Krishna is on my side. That Krishna wants that there is a God, first of all.

That God is on my side. And then that Jnana will lead to bhakti. And what does that bhakti mean? I want to be on Krishna's side.

So, Krishna is on my side, but I want to be on Krishna's side. Now, Krishna may want the best for us, but God helps those who help themselves. We need to at least see Krishna's self.

We want Krishna's self. Krishna respects our human. So, he won't force himself on us.

So, that Prakashayati tatparam means I understand that actually Krishna is my relationship. Krishna is not just up there passively waiting for me to come to him. Krishna is with me within me.

Krishna is on my side. So, generally Jnana and the path of bhakti is not just philosophical knowledge for the sake of intellectual stimulation. I got this.

I got that. Intellectual stimulation. But for us what Jnana Jnana is not just for intellectual stimulation.

Like you get what you call as aha moments. Hey, that's great. I got it.

Eureka. That's good. That's wonderful.

But that's not the primary purpose. That's it. Not that it's wrong, but that's not the primary purpose.

For us, the primary purpose is not intellectual stimulation. It is devotional dedication that Krishna once I understand through Jnana that Krishna is my well-wisher and I want to devote myself to Krishna. I want to be with Krishna.

So, the first verse we'll listen to these three verses here. 5.15 started with the point that don't believe the Lord. Understand that there is ignorance which is Maya and there is which is against us.

But then understand that above Maya is Krishna. And then the next verse, the last verse we'll discuss 5.17 is to dedicate ourselves that once I understand that Krishna is on my side how do I actually get on Krishna's side? Let's look at that verse now. So, this verse talks about broadly our consciousness, our heart which is expressed by consciousness.

It goes along four lanes and we can direct all those four lanes towards Krishna. Let's see if this is my consciousness. So, our consciousness is like a flashlight.

If I have this flashlight, I mean this particular case, the stream is coming out from this particular source, the light source and from there the stream is coming out. Now, the stream is going in one direction but sometimes you have these, some kind of grid or something over here, then the rays get diffused. So, some light is going here, some light is going there, some light is going here, some light is going here.

So, like that at present, our consciousness, it gets diffused and diffracted. So, now, how does this have to work? There are four lanes along which the consciousness may get directed towards my consciousness. That is the rational or the intellectual lane.

So, that is what we talked about earlier. That is the emotional lane. The mind, the atma here refers to the mind.

So, in our head, our intellectual side wants us to do one thing, our emotional side wants us to do something else. So, our consciousness often gets dissipated between these two things. So, maybe you could say 25% is going here, 25% is going here.

This atman is finished. Now, after that, it ties faith or allegiance. It's like, I have faith in this person, I have faith in this process, but I am not able to focus.

So, maybe 25% is going here, our allegiance. Allegiance is when one says loyalty or our faith, our dedication. And then last is, our love.

What is it that we truly love? Now, when I am talking about emotions and love, is there a difference? Love is also an emotion, but I am talking about love as a more enduring emotion. It's much more lasting. Emotions come and go.

Sometimes I like something, sometimes I don't like something. But, what I love, it is much more enduring. So, these are four lanes around which our consciousness goes.

So, now these four can be going in four different directions. But when we practise bhakti, what happens is, this is my consciousness. This is my consciousness.

And this is Krishna. Then, we want that all these lanes, the rational lane, the emotional lane, the lane of allegiance, and the lane of our love, all these go towards Krishna. So, Krishna, our Krishna bhakti becomes real, really strong.

So, rationality, emotionality, allegiance, and love. So, that is what Krishna is talking about in this next verse. That if we do this, then, he says that we will be on the path to liberation.

We will be free from this self-destructive force that is there inside us. Let's look at this verse now. With this understanding, with this understanding of what this verse is actually telling, now let's look at the serious verse.

So, Krishna is saying that that is that ultimate reality. Prakashati tad param was there in the previous verse. So, that ultimate reality, that definitely.

So, that which is ultimately Krishna, tad buddhayas. So, with our intelligence, we understand this is what is of ultimate value. This is what is most important.

Then, tad atmanas. Atma here refers to the mind. I also dedicate my mind to that ultimate reality.

If my intelligence is important, then I focus my mind entirely. Then, tad nishas. My faith, my loyalty, my allegiance.

This is where if I have to be counted among some group of people, some cause, I want to be counted for this cause. Tad nishas and then ultimately, tad parayanah. That is where, I don't know if I am counted among this, I want to belong to this forever.

This is where I want to go. Tad parayanah. This is my ultimate goal.

So, tad nishas tad parayanah. If we do these things, then what will happen is gacchanti. Gacchanti is what? We will move forward.

Move, progress. Gacchanti apunar avruttim. Avruttim is to come back.

Apunar avruttim is to never come back. Gacchanti apunar avruttim. We will come back.

And how will we come back? Gacchanti apunar avruttim. Gacchanti apunar avruttim. Jnana.

Jnana is knowledge. Previous verse also talked about jnana. Jnana will be destroyed.

The sun will destroy darkness. Similarly, here it says jnana nirdhuta. So, washed away, cleansed.

Jnana nirdhuta, completely cleansed. Kalmashah. The impurities that are there, they will be completely cleansed from us.

Jnana nirdhuta kalmashah. Kalmashah. So, let's recite it together.

So, in one sense, for all of us, when we try to direct our consciousness towards Krishna. So, in general, the absorption in Krishna, the first step is like, we are talking about dedication to Krishna. Once I understand that Krishna is on my side, I want to be on Krishna's side.

So, the first step in this is the intelligence. It is with our buddhi that we understand that actually, Krishna is on my side. Krishna is my well-wisher.

That's why we study scripture, that's why we associate with, we associate with saintly people and hear from them. And then, this is, here, it is not just a call for faith. It is a rational understanding.

That, what is the rational understanding over here? That actually, my very existence depends on so many factors that are beyond my control. When I feel, fall sick, I feel bad. Why I have fallen sick? But actually, all the time that I am healthy, there are so many things that are working right and I am not even aware how they work right.

So, who is making them work right? I can look at the few occasional things that are not working right and say, there is no God, there is nobody in charge. Or, I can look at where things are working right. I can say, there are things which are, there is something which is in control and it is working for me.

It is safe for me. Say, if somebody goes to a mansion and say, that mansion has thousand rooms. And, out of thousand rooms, 999 rooms are perfectly clean and tidy.

And, one is totally a mess. Now, if I am here, I can look at these 999 rooms. I can focus on that and I can focus on this room.

If I look at these rooms, I can say, there is a caretaker. There is a caretaker who is keeping this room right. Or, I look at this room and I can say, there is no caretaker.

Now, you could say, both inferences are reasonable. But, we have to see where is the evidence prominently pointing to. So, in this world, if somebody wants to believe that there is no God, there is evidence even for that.

In the Mahabharata, on the 13th day, the Kauravas conspired to kill Abhimanyu. And, they thought this was a great victory. But, the next day, Arjuna decided, I will kill Jayadratha.

And, Duryodhana thought, this will also be my victory. I will stop Arjuna from teaching Jayadratha and Arjuna will die and the war will end. But, then on that one day, Arjuna fought like never before.

He just destroyed every single warrior that came in front of him. And, Arjuna was like an unstoppable hurricane on that. The word hurricane means Hari's king.

So, he has come with such force. Just unstoppable. What has happened? And, on that following Arjuna, Bhima came to support him and Bhima killed 25 of Duryodhana's brothers.

And then, Duryodhana saw his child's head in his hands. What happened? You know, Duryodhana had a very complex relationship with Bhishma. Bhishma never lost hope on Duryodhana.

And, that's why Bhishma always kept giving him advice. And, Duryodhana was never really hostile to Bhishma. Although, he knew that Bhishma was not fully on his side, he also never thought Bhishma was against him.

So, when Bhishma fell, Duryodhana also cried. But, the thing is, Bhishma had told him, he had asked, you know, how is it that I have better warriors than them? I have more number of warriors than them. Why is it that I am still losing? So, Bhishma had told him, there is not, there was not, and there will never be any army that can win if Krishna is on the opposite side.

He told him how Krishna is divine. Now, Arjuna and Duryodhana have never taken it seriously. Even when Krishna showed the Virata Rupa, Duryodhana saw it himself.

But, what was his explanation? He said, you know, Krishna, he lived as a coward boy. He had no work to do. I was a prince.

I had royal responsibility. He had no work to do. So, as the time passed, he learned some mystic power that he showed as a magical power.

So, he said, if I had idle time like him, I would have shown a bigger power. So, he just did not accept it. Even when Krishna showed it.

But, on this day, Arjuna was just like an unstoppable tornado tearing through his forces. He started remembering Bheeshma's words. Maybe Krishna is really God.

And, if Krishna is God, then what hope is there for Krishna? Krishna says, Krishna gives us remembrance and forgetfulness according to our desires. So, his desire to hold on to the kingdom and to fight against the Pandavas was so strong that although these words of Bheeshma came into his mind, but another thing came into his mind. Krishna is God.

And, Krishna loves Krishna. And, I was able to kill Abhimanyu. And, because I was able to kill Abhimanyu, therefore, Krishna is not God.

And, he said, come on, keep fighting. So, like that, if somebody wants, there will always be evidence in this world to reject God. If you look at how rains are coming, how clouds are a majestic, magnificent arrangement, by which water is transported from the oceans and it is brought to the land masses and it's short.

It's like, we have sometimes, when there is a shortage of water, we have to have water tanks which transport water. You may know that recently in Los Angeles there was a severe set of fires. And, there was a severe water shortage.

So, they had to desperately transport water from other places. So, now, the clouds are like a mobile airborne water tank, which is made of aircraft-proof technology. So, in the twin towers they are not able to have that kind of technology.

So, now, this is so amazing, you cannot but say that there must be some divine arrangement behind this. But an atheist will say that if God made clouds to give us rains, then why do the clouds rain on the ocean? The answer is so that you can ask this question and stay atheist. So, Krishna will… The case for God's existence is a reasonable case.

But it is not an irrefutable case. And that is Krishna's reason. So, like, there are 999 rooms which are clean and tidy.

There is so much evidence of design, of order. Now, there is some evidence of disorder. We can either choose to focus on the evidence of disorder, or we can choose to focus on the evidence of order.

That choice is always up to us. And now, we can rationally use our intelligence to say that there is order over here. I was in America, in a university, I was giving a talk and one boy asked, I am an atheist, he said that.

I asked him, you know, what prompted you towards atheism? So, he said that, you know, why do bad things happen to good people? So, then I told him, why should bad things not happen to good people? I said, what do you mean? Good things should happen to good people. Bad things should happen to bad people. I said, if there is no God, then who decided this? He said, if there is no organising principle, then anything can happen to anyone.

So, the question itself has a foundation that implies the existence of God. Why not? It is normally that good things do happen to good people. If we eat healthy food, our health still is good.

It is possible that somebody eats healthy food and still they might get some cancer or something like that. But, does that mean doctors say there is no use eating healthy food? No. You know, there is inner and those exceptions require an explanation.

But, the exceptions don't disprove the rule. So, this is an exception. There is one place where there is a mess.

One room is a mess. Now, the exception, it requires explanation. That is definitely there.

But, the explanation, it doesn't. Does it implies disorder or non-existence of order? No. So, yes, we can see there is order.

Now, we can go into philosophy and understand how karma acts over long periods of time. And, that's why sometimes we may do something good and still bad may happen to us. But, that does not mean God is against us or there is no God.

Because, we will see that there are times in our life when things work in our favour. Sometimes what happens is, I may do work worth 100 and I may get result worth only 10. That means, sometimes we are working in a project.

We do most of the work. But, when the project is completed, the credit is given. It is mentioned as one footnote over there.

Maybe I don't get enough credit. Now, that is true. But, if we are honest, we will also notice that there are times when we do work worth only 10 and we get result worth 100.

Maybe we join the project when it is near the concluding stage. And, the project becomes a spectacular success. And, we are honoured.

Oh, you are a part of the winning team. So, there was one cricket player, when India had won the World Cup. He didn't play a single match.

And, still his photos are all the World Cup winning team photos. So, he didn't do anything. Generally, we tend to remember the times when we get less than what we deserve.

But, there are times when we also get more than what we deserve. Most of you know that I need crutches for walking. So, when I was one, I got polio.

My mother took me to a polio, to a physician to give a polio vaccine. But, the power supply in that particular fridge where the vaccine had been kept had gone off the previous night. And, we were in a small town.

So, the physician didn't notice that and he gave me that vaccine. And, because of that power supply not being there, the viruses had multiplied. And so, preventing preventing the polio, the vaccine ended up causing polio to me.

So, now I don't remember that. I was just learning to walk and I fell and I could never walk after that. But, my first memory of that is when I was about two and a half or three.

Some distant relative had come to meet us and she was consoling my mother. She said that it's so sad that your son has got polio. And, I remember my mother's voice very calm, clear, confident.

She said, whatever he lacks physically, God will provide him intellectually. I don't know. I don't know why my mother said that.

But, somehow that stayed with me. And, at that time, initially, I didn't focus on the God part. I focused more on the intellectual part.

So, as I grew up, I realised that I just couldn't play outdoor games like other kids could. But then, I noticed when I started reading, I could just read things very fast. I could remember things quickly.

I could grasp and articulate them well. So, somewhere in the back of my mind, it settled. And, yeah, I could say it's unfair that I had this physical disability.

I didn't do anything to deserve it. But then, I didn't do anything to earn or deserve this intellectual ability also. So, in one sense, life is unfair.

There's no doubt about it. But, in the big picture, life is fairly unfair. Fairly unfair means sometimes we get more than what we deserve, and sometimes we get less than what we deserve.

So, this is where we feel it's unfair. But, here it's more than fair. So, again, it's a question of it's a choice of what we will focus on.

Will we focus on the unfair part? Or, will we focus on the fair part? So, that's why with our intelligence, we can make this decision that there is a reasonable case to be made that there is a disability that maintains order. And, sometimes there is disorder. We could go into questions of explanation of past karma.

What is there? So, the basic explanation is that sometimes our past karma comes as, in this case, a sign. And, because of that, what I get is less than what I deserve right now. What I have done right now.

But, similarly, the past karma being plus 90 at times. So, I do little. Little also, I get more after that also.

So, in that way, with our intelligence, we understand that it's worthwhile. He's considering that God may be on my side. And then, what do I do after that? So, with our intelligence, when we understand that Buddha is that Atman is.

So, rationally, we choose maybe God is on my side. Then, what do I do at an emotional level? We try to fix our mind on Krishna. So, we're talking about this lane of our consciousness.

This is my consciousness. And, this is Krishna. Then, first lane that we direct towards Krishna is the rational lane.

It is bhakti. Serious bhakti has to begin with our buddhi. Evam buddhe param budhva.

I said earlier in 343 in the Bhagavad Gita. After that, we direct our mind towards Krishna. Okay.

Let me try this out. Let me try out this chanting. Let me try out participating in the kirtan.

Let me try out doing some puja. Let me try out doing some practises of bhakti. So, then, this is, our mind may not want to focus at these times.

But, using our intelligence, we focus on it. So, there is a difference between concentration and absorption. Or, now, concentration means what happens is that, this is my mind and I bring Krishna into my mind.

And, I focus on Krishna. So, right now, there are many things in this room. You could be looking at the pictures.

You could be thinking that I'm sitting on the floor. It's uncomfortable. Your belly might be feeling hungry.

And, there are so many sensations. But, you choose, okay, I want to get this. That's concentration.

So, concentration means that Krishna is one stimuli. Concentration means we give entrance to Krishna. We concentrate.

You could be thinking about consciousness, but you choose to focus on Krishna. So, actually, you could say this is attention. Attention is the first thing.

We give entrance. But, after entrance, there is Krishna's consciousness. Now, another word for absorption is immersion.

Now, what happens is we realise that actually Krishna is far bigger than me. And, it is our mind that gets sheltered. It is not that we give entrance.

It is we gain entrance. It is sometimes when we are immersed in some deep chanting, deep prayer or very ecstatic kirtans, then we feel as if geographically we are not at that place at all. We are somewhere else.

We got transported somewhere else. So, in one sense, so, it is that our buddhi, we give attention. So, attention means Krishna is one stimulus in our consciousness.

But, that one stimulus we give attention, attention, attention, it starts becoming bigger and bigger and bigger and bigger. And, Krishna doesn't just become big enough to fill our consciousness. Krishna becomes bigger than our consciousness.

Then, our consciousness becomes immersed in Krishna. And, this is where, actually, at an emotional level, when this entrance comes, at a very basic level, we experience relief. We experience peace.

And, then beyond that, we start experiencing joy. So, both of these, experiencing ourselves to be peaceful and being joyful, both of these are very powerful and transformative experiences. So, once we get these experiences, then the result of that is that, A, this makes sense to me, but, it also feels good.

I have experienced it. It's like, okay, this doctor, whatever treatment is, it makes sense. But, after that, I've seen this doctor's treatment works for me.

Then, after that, so this is where the second link gets directed, the emotional link. Then, it feels good. Now, it may not feel good all the time, but there are times when it feels good.

Then, you say, we take a treatment from a doctor, and we start feeling better. Then, even if the doctor says, it's a chronic disease, it's going to take some time to recover. But, it takes time to recover, say, okay, I'm going to stick with this doctor.

That is where our allegiance comes in. But, there's the Atmanas Tan Nishthas. So, this word Nishtha is different from the word Shraddha.

Shraddha is like an initial faith. Shraddha is, it's almost like a favourable curiosity. Let me try this out.

But, Nishtha is more like personal conviction. This works. And, it's worth trying.

I'm going to stick to this. So, even if it doesn't feel good all the time, it's actually good. So, Tan Nishthas.

Even at this stage, if we come, this is the stage where even if things don't feel good, we will pursue it. And, it is not just based on my intellectual conviction, I have to do this. It is something more than that.

It's our realisation. This has worked for me. This will work for me.

I just need to be patient. And, this is a place where a person becomes very, very strong in their bhakti. They become unstakeable.

So, let's just give the example where you become like a, initially, bhakti is like a banana tree. You know, shaken by any weight. But, then it becomes like a banana tree, not shakeable.

And, then finally, you know, somebody may trust their doctor very much. You know, this is the doctor I go to. But, most people don't allow their doctor.

Unless they want to get married to their doctor. It's a different situation. But, most people Krishna as a doctor is one thing.

But, beyond that, is not just going to cure me of what is afflicting me. So that I can just go on with my life. No, Krishna is the goal of Maya.

It is, I don't remember Krishna so that I can stay free from Maya. I remember Krishna because he is the source of the greatest joy. There is a difference.

Initially, I may remember Krishna because there is an external problem and Krishna will solve the problem. And, similarly, I may remember Krishna because or otherwise, I get into trouble. That's a good thing.

But, that's still something beyond. It's not that Krishna we are loving Krishna for Krishna's sake. So, Tat Parayana means that Krishna it is not just that you will give me a better life in this world.

Remembering me will give me a better life in this world. Actually, you are the way to a better life. So, here, if I consider, say this is the material world and we are going on our path.

Now, remember I talked initially that we can be underproductive or counterproductive. So, we have some destination over here that we want. Okay, I want to be a famous scientist.

I want to be an award winning researcher. I want to be a billionaire. Whatever, we may have certain goals and for pursuing those goals, we seek Krishna.

That is also good. Krishna says that such people are also good people. But then, what happens is we understand that Krishna is up here.

But, it is that we are seeking Krishna. Yes, I want the goal in this world but I want Krishna as my goal. And Krishna is such an important goal that even if I don't get this, still I want to get Krishna.

So, we would prefer this is what we prefer but this is what also we are ready to accept. That means, it is not that a devotee wants to necessarily as a matter of principle live without any of the good things in this world. A devotee gets wealth, a devotee gets fame, a devotee gets power.

A devotee can use Krishna's service for so much good in the world. Yudhishthira Maharaj wanted a kingdom because with that kingdom he could do so much good to the world. He wanted to perform the Rajasuya Yagya by which he could glorify Krishna.

So, seeking power or fame or wealth are not bad things in itself. But the problem is when they become what we seek as the supreme. So, this may be Artha but Krishna is Param Artha.

So, we can seek Artha but our desire for Artha should not be at the cost of Param Artha. So, if I get Artha and Param Artha, that is wonderful. But even if I don't get Artha, still I want to make sure that I get Param Artha.

That if I get good things in the world, that's wonderful. Abhimanyu What is Krishna's claim? We don't know. Abhimanyu did not live to see the glory of the Pandavas.

Arjuna lived to see that glory. So, Arjuna got Artha and Param Artha. Abhimanyu did not get Artha but Abhimanyu still got Param Artha.

But, if we seek only this and nothing more. So, when Artha when we start seeking Artha becomes our Param Artha. Param Artha means my supreme goal.

When Artha becomes my Param Artha, that itself is Anartha. When money becomes the supreme goal of my life, what happens is, that will lead to greed and that is Anartha. Making money is not bad.

We all need to make money in life. Making money is important. That is Artha.

But, what we are making with money is even more important. What are we using our money for? That is even more important. So, basically for a devotee, impurities become cleansed by the Gyan that Krishna is providing.

And what is that Gyan? That means, in my life whether I get Artha Artha and Param Artha We could say this is best. If I get only Param Artha that is also good. Not everybody who will necessarily become famous or popular or wealthy but if I seek only Artha then that is something which we don't want.

So, we can move straight towards Krishna because in our life even in a devotee's life even in a spiritual seeker's life there will be duality. Duality means, sometimes we will get Artha, sometimes we will not get Artha. Sometimes Artha will come to us, sometimes Artha will go away from us.

It could be wealth, it could be popularity, it could be relationships, it could be faith, it could be health. These are dualities. So, it's not that a devotee does not seek Artha.

It's not that a devotee does not value Artha. But a devotee does not over value Artha at the cost of Param Artha. So, even in a devotee's life what happens is, the dualities will keep coming.

So, duality means there is Artha and there is no Artha. Or rather there is lot of Artha and little Artha you can say. These dualities will be there.

But what happens for a devotee? This graph is not just like this. The graph is like this. What is happening is, through it all, the ups and downs of life are there.

But through it, a devotee is moving towards Param Artha. So, Artha and no Artha. That can happen for a devotee.

Some projects that we take up, they will be very successful. Some projects, they will not be successful. All that will happen for a devotee.

But through it, we will be moving closer towards Arthana. We purify that Jnana. What is the Kalmashya? The Kalmashya is to think that Artha is the Param Artha.

That what is valuable in this world is of permanent value. Not supreme value. So, a devotee doesn't fall for that duality.

That's how a devotee can be steady in marching towards Krishna. To summarise, what we discussed today. Our broad topic was today about becoming dedicated in Bhakti.

How to become dedicated in Bhakti or dedicated in Krishna. So, I talked about this in three broad parts. These were the three verses.

First was this one, 5.15. There we talked about how our understanding of who is in control. It evolved. First, I think self is in control.

We discussed the SIP. Self. When you start understanding that there is some inimical force.

Something inside me. Maybe it is anger. Maybe it is lust.

Maybe it is greed. Maybe it is jealousy. Maybe it is just the tendency to feel insecure and get depressed.

Whatever it is. There is something inside me which seems to work against me. An inimical force is there.

But then after that we understand that there is a purifying divinity. And yes, when Maya is powerful, Krishna is more powerful. So, this is where we started when we talked about this in terms of the four quadrant graph.

That we take Maya seriously or we take Maya casually. And similarly, we can take Krishna seriously or we can take Krishna casually. So, if we take neither seriously than we are underproductive or we are counterproductive.

So, we take somebody by their past conditioning or past samskaras or sattva guna, then they will be underproductive. Somebody who is already Rajoguna or Tamoguna, they will be counterproductive. Now, here, taking Maya seriously but not Krishna seriously will be hijacked and sabotaged and destroyed.

Here, either somebody gets transcendental or looks like we will be reckless. And here we will be safe and maximally productive. That maximal productivity was what we talked about, artha plus paramartha.

Now, in 5.16, we discussed about how that paramartha. So, basically, we understand that Krishna is on my side. And therefore, I should be, I want to be on Krishna's side.

So, in this connection, that, so, I want to be on Krishna's side is actually described in 5.17. So, jnana has these two aspects. The jnana, which is in bhakti, it has these two, both these aspects to it. One and two.

So now, Krishna is on my side. In this connection, we discussed how life is in the big picture. It is fairly unfair.

We can either see that there are 999 rooms that are clean, or I can look at one room that is disordered. So, it is up to me to look at this or to look at this. That is ultimately a rational choice to be made.

And that's what we discussed in the last part. The four lanes by which our consciousness can go toward Krishna. So, this is my consciousness and this is Krishna.

So, R was the rational lane. So, with our buddhi, we understand that actually, Krishna is on my side. It is a reasonable case to me.

Not irrefutable, but it is a reasonable case to me. And then after that, E is emotional. So, after that, we put our mind.

We try to focus our mind on Krishna. And in this case, with respect to our mind, what happens is, initially there is attention. So, attention is basically about, we give entrance to Krishna.

Like, Krishna is just one but from attention, we will eventually come to absorption. So, when we are absorbed, what happens is, we gain entrance in Krishna. We understand that Krishna is the supreme reality.

This is where we experience peace and joy. It is like a medicine that works for us. And after that, what happens is, the next lane is allegiance.

Allegiance means I become committed. I become committed. This is where Krishna works for me.

So, even if there are things that are not working for me, I am going to perceive here as this. So, at this level of allegiance, we become committed. Krishna means, in one sense, devotion does not, at the level of allegiance, devotion does not depend on emotion.

That there is some deeper conviction that comes beyond just the emotion of the moment. So, it's not just intelligence. It is a deeper conviction.

It's more like a realised experiential conviction. This has worked for me and therefore, I am going to do this. It will work for me in the future also.

And the last part was the object of our love becomes Krishna. And this is where we discuss that for us. For us, if we are living in this world, we may have some goals in this world.

That's fair enough to see that goal. But then above or beyond this world is Krishna as the supreme goal. So, we want that a devotee can get artha and paramartha both.

And that is good. But even if they don't happen, then at least we will get the paramartha. What we don't want is if you only make this our goal, then that will become anartha.

So, for a devotee, that jnana nirdhuta kalmasya that Krishna is on my side and Krishna can grant me artha sometimes. But the nature of the world is although there is a duality, through the duality what is happening? The devotee is moving upwards. So, through the artha and anartha or no artha and artha that will happen even for a devotee.

Ups and downs will happen there. But then through it, the devotee is moving towards Krishna who is the paramartha. And in that way, each one of us can move closer to Krishna and ultimately we can attain Krishna.

And that is where jnana nirdhuta kalmasya. So, let us pray to Krishna. My dear Lord, please let me take Maya seriously.

Let me seriously recognise my need. I give you my dear Lord. You are on my side.

Let that become my inspiration to always be on Your side. Let me, using my intelligence, dedicate myself to You. Let my mind experience how it is in remembering You, I get the supreme peace and the supreme joy.

Let me thereby become committed to You and may You, my Lord, become the supreme love of my life. Whether I get artha or not, may I, my Lord, keep moving toward You, who are the paramartha of my life. Be Krishna Bhagwan the King.

Be Bhagwan Sita. Be Bhagwan the Lord. Don't ask questions.

Any questions at all? Thank you. My question is what is the difference between intellectual stimulus or we can say experience or what we experience, what we experience. What is the difference between realisation? Realisation is when our mind accepts it.

Realisation is that which is a reality our mind accepts as a reality. Intelligence accepting also is good. And it's necessary.

But sometimes our intelligence accepts something but still our mind says I still want it. This is bad but I still want it. So that means we have not yet really got a realisation.

So when our mind accepts this is really not worth it. This is bad. That's when we gain realisation.

Realisation is that which is a reality our mind accepts it. Suppose we learn some principles of the Bhagavad Gita and we got some experience and we understand what that experience that principle in other words we can say the practicum of that thing. And we understand what that experience is.

So can we say it is a realisation? Yeah, if you got experience then you are right. It's basically like the doctor says this medicine is good. My intelligence understands the mechanism by which this medicine is going to work.

It's good but then after that I see that it works. I have some stomach upset and my stomach is peaceful. So that's the realisation.

So if you get the experience then it is realisation. That's when intelligence itself nourishing our intelligence or convincing our intelligence itself does not give us the experience. Using the intelligence when we follow the process we go along and we get the experience.

Say if somebody wants to go to Mahatma intelligence says you know many people are going it is scriptures are talking about it maybe I should go as intelligence. But just thinking with our intelligence and getting convinced is not the same as actually going and taking bath. So intelligence pushes us to get the experience.

Yes please. Like after getting the experience you get the experience that the process works but how to stay consistently in that process. We may get disaligned sometimes so how to be consistently on that that process.

Yeah. It's like that. We may have one experience how the process works.

But then we have had millions of experiences of material creatures. So this one experience will not counter all of it. And that's why association is required.

That's why over a period of time a devotee needs to be able to take responsibility in Krishna's service. So getting our own experience is good but when we take up some responsibility then that also brings a certain level of commitment. This is what I have told to do.

I will do it. And it brings a certain level of intentionality to the process. The power of intention gets directed.

So we need multiple things to push ourselves up. Like you have seen the sport of wall climbing. So if you are climbing some wall if I am particularly here and I have to go up sometimes the next wall is the next hole.

It might be a nail or whatever. It's like a grip. The hole is right here.

The next hole might be there. The next hole might be there. So like that for us when we want to move there are broadly different holes.

So sometimes our intelligence is convinced. That's why I do this. Sometimes it feels good to our mind.

If it feels good to our mind that's the easiest hole right in front of us. If it feels good then we can do it very easily. But that's not some of the nearest hole might not be there.

Sometimes it's our responsibility. A mother who has a newborn baby the baby is crying, the mother doesn't always feel like taking care of the baby. But it's a responsibility.

That's like another thing. So responsibility is more something a person has grown up with a sense of this is what I am committed to do. This is a responsibility also.

Sometimes it may be that I don't really like to do this but I like the person for whom I do this. And to please that person I will do it. So basically in that sense if you want to climb up the wall there are these four let's say this wall is something like this.

So you climb up the wall then there are these different grips that we have. And we have to make sure that when we say some or the other grip has to be there for us to hold on to by which we can keep moving right. So if I am here right now so there are these four grips one is our intelligence our rational, our emotions.

Then there's our responsibility and then there are relationships. So generally if two are external you put two are internal. We have to find out some grip that we can hold on to there's something which I hold on to and from there I move onwards.

Sometimes I may have to hold on to this grip which is the furthest. It's going to require some effort. So it's fine sometimes only to do something at a rational level that this intelligence is there.

But then sometimes that force may not be enough. Even sometimes at the intellectual level we are convinced about something which doesn't make sense to us. The philosophy can inspire us to turn towards Krishna but the philosophy is not greater than Krishna.

Even through philosophy there's something called Krishna that's akin to this. Only through it something has to be important. Krishna is on my side and I want to be with Krishna.

Yeah. So in one sense Krishna is on my side is what we learn to ask for. So but then I want to be on Krishna's side.

That is our commitment. That is our surrender. So in one sense through the whole Bhagavad Gita what Krishna said was Arjuna that what I'm seeking for you, what I want for you is the best for you.

And then at the end is Sarva Dharma Sarva Siddhi Mahamaya That is I want to be on Krishna's side. So for us when we hear certain pastimes we can see how even devotees go through difficulties but eventually they are delivered. Eventually they are taken to a better place.

By that also we can say Krishna is the well wisher of us. And Krishna is not just there, will be here. Krishna doesn't say Suratam Sarva Bhaktanam.

It is Suratam Sarva Bhaktanam. Even if somebody is not a devotee, Krishna cares for them also. Everybody is included in Krishna's circle of love.

That's how He inspires us to turn towards Him. Last question Sometimes we might do we should not do mental speculation but sometimes we do Krishna conscious mental speculation. That means it may sometimes happen that based on the principle, based on the philosophy of whatever thing is happening we may try to derive things what Krishna's plan can be in my life, in this situation.

What Krishna can want me to do. What maya what mayas we give. That way we try to speculate.

So it is good for us. See, speculation is so dangerous that even Krishna would put you in danger if you speculate. It's not like that.

Everything can be used in Krishna's service. In other words, speculation generally has a negative connotation. But the more positive connotation, positive word would be inference.

You know, based on this particular situation, I am making inference. Krishna Prabhupada says in the song that I am making Sanuman, my lord. That when you have brought me here you must have some purpose for me.

Otherwise, why would you bring me over here? Prabhupada has come to America at the age of almost 70. And in many ways Prabhupada faces a formidable task ahead of him. At the same time, the fact that Prabhupada has reached America itself is extraordinary.

He didn't have money, somehow he got contacts, somehow he was able to come and tell him that I survived heart attacks. So he is thinking that Krishna, you have brought me this far. You have not brought me this far to abandon me.

You have brought me this far, this far, you must have some purpose for me. Now, what exactly is that purpose? In bhakti, there is a mysterious combination of certainty and uncertainty. So Prabhupada, for example, said both things.

He said that there are temples and they are filled with devotees, only time is separating us. That's what Prabhupada said. But Prabhupada also said that when I came to America, landed on the American fossil fire, I didn't know whether to turn left or right.

What does that mean? For example, Prabhupada had a hotline to Krishna. Krishna was saying this person doesn't want to become a devotee. This person wants to become a devotee.

What time is this? No, not like that. Prabhupada is trying. Prabhupada is using his intelligence and trying different things.

So if I am here, then in the path of bhakti, on one side, there is certainty. Certainty in what? That Krishna will protect. But the uncertainty for a devotee, the uncertainty is about when and how.

So Prabhupada said that there are temples and they are filled with devotees, but only time is separating us. Prabhupada didn't know whether the time was one year or five years or ten years. But Prabhupada had that faith.

Krishna will protect. Krishna will deliver. So now, as devotees, we have to be able to accept that there will always be some element of uncertainty.

And when there is uncertainty, we try to use our intelligence to figure out what is going on. And using our intelligence, we try to understand, okay, I think this is the problem and this could be the solution for this problem. So sometimes we say there are multiple solutions.

Well, actually, multiple problems require material solutions. You can have a spiritual consciousness while implementing those material solutions. It's like if I got a fracture, the fracture has to have a material solution.

Material healing has to happen. Now we can be prayerful and through the whole experience of fracture, we can come closer to Krishna. So when Sri Prabhupada faced the challenge that, say, in India, the outreach was not successful.

He was trying for many years. Now, Prabhupada could have looked at it at various levels. Prabhupada's spiritual master had said that, so the example I'm using is Anuman, for inference or the speculation or inference that we are doing.

So we could say that what does he think that? That Indian outreach was not successful. Prabhupada had about practically no success, although he had been trying for almost 20-40 years in India, various ways. 10 years, quite seriously, from 1965 to 1965.

So now, the cause, what was it? Prabhupada could have looked at various causes. Prabhupada at that time was preaching in English. Even now, the audience for Hindi outreach is much more than English outreach.

So Prabhupada could have said, maybe I should start speaking in local languages. That could have been one cause Prabhupada could have thought of. Prabhupada was speaking largely to people also.

Prabhupada was not a kathakara so much. So, Prabhupada was a kathakara. Prabhupada could have said that, it is a completely spiritual concept.

Prabhupada could have said that, his Guru Maharaj has said that, if nobody comes for a class, then you should preach to the wards. Prabhupada could have said, maybe this is Krishna's plan for me that I should preach to the wards. Prabhupada could have accepted it.

But Prabhupada in one sense, looked for a material cause. What is the material cause? He said that, Indians are not interested in spirituality because they are infatuated by the West. Now, Indians not becoming interested in Krishna Bhakti is Maya.

Indians being infatuated by the West is also Maya. So, Prabhupada was using one Maya to counter another Maya. He said that, I will go to the West and if Western people become inspired by Krishna Bhakti, then Indians will also become inspired.

So, in one sense, Prabhupada found a material cause for his particular lack of success. Now, of course, you could say there was spiritual rationale also. Prabhupada saw it that his spiritual master I told him to preach in English.

I told him to share the message of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu across the world, especially in the West. So, that was also definitely there. No doubt.

But the point is that now, was this the only cause for a lack of success in India? Maybe, maybe not. So, we have to make inferences. And making inferences, the point is we should not become more attached to our inference than to Krishna.

So, this is my understanding. And with this understanding, now, okay, I will change my focus. Instead of doing this, I will do this.

But, if our spiritual guides tell us to do something else, we need to continue that. But, if that understanding doesn't seem to be there with me, for that understanding, this is what I will continue to do, no matter what happens. You know, maybe I need to learn from others, need to explore.

So, it is not that when we use the word speculation, it has a negative connotation. It is, generally, the idea is that we are using our influence in a way that is taking us somewhere other than Krishna's world. Or Krishna's, to alter that to Krishna.

But, if we, if Krishna is here, and I am here, now, I can use my buddhi to figure out that this is the path to Krishna for me from here. So, this, by intelligence, I arrive at an inference. And that is good, but I may find that, okay, maybe there is a huge obstacle over here.

Then I need to be ready to, okay, I come to here, but then I look for some other path. So, we need to be flexible. So, don't be attached to our inferences.

We can have our inferences, but don't be attached to our inferences. Be open to what Krishna wants. And if our inferences can take us closer to Krishna, then the principle is Anupulya Sankalpa, Uttipulya Sankalpa.

That which is favourable, we accept it. That which is unfavourable, we avoid it. Thank you very much.