Q and A 3 ways to see Krishna’s hand in our life everyda Varanasi – Chaitanya Charan

This is an AI-generated transcript and it might not be fully accurate:

Are there any questions or comments? Thank you Prajit for this. So, I have two questions. One thing, like we were discussing with Prabhuji also yesterday that sometimes, while doing a kind of service, there are some things that come up to us that might be important.

And that the inner thing, its amplitude is so small, or I don’t take care of that thing and later on I regret that why I didn’t listen to that. If I would have listened to that in that moment, now the situation would have came. So, how to amplify that inner voice, first thing.

Second thing, you told about reflect being. Okay, is that a separate question or a related question? I think separate. Okay, that’s okay.

So, how to amplify that inner voice? As I said that, you know, the tuning of our consciousness to Krishna is an ongoing process. So, again, don’t be so self-conscious. Why was I such a fool that I didn’t listen to it? Think that, be Krishna conscious, as Krishna was there.

So, it is not that Krishna has abandoned me. It is not that Krishna has rejected me. So, sometimes what happens is that because we tend to keep making the same mistake, it is not that Krishna abandons us, it is we abandon ourselves.

It is almost like we stop trying. So, rather than thinking why did I listen to this voice, try to look at it more positively. Krishna was there guiding me.

That means Krishna has not given up. That means Krishna still has… I may not have faith in Krishna, but Krishna has faith in me. That is why Krishna is still there in my heart.

So, try to shift that focus. And that will give us a more positive, hopeful way of looking at it. And then, in general, if we can find… So, that is one side is, we try to attune ourselves more and more to that voice.

Just be grateful that the voice was there, rather than simply being regretful or resentful that we didn’t listen to the voice. It is important to be aware of that also, but don’t let that consume. Although I didn’t listen to the voice, the voice was still there.

So, that be grateful and that itself will show Krishna that we want that voice. Now, apart from that, if we can recognize some patterns, that means, what are the times when I tend to get provoked? When I tend to do something wrong. So, have you heard of this? Have you heard of this, halt? What is halt? Halt, stoppage.

Halt, stoppage. Halt, stoppage. It is four things.

When we are hungry, anxious. What is the third one? When we are hungry, lonely, anxious, lonely and tired. So, these are the times when we all tend to be more vandalicals.

So, when… And that is the time when some temptation comes, somebody speaks something which is a little irritating, we explode. So, try to observe some patterns of when we tend to get provoked. And these are four broad parameters, but they are not only, for instance, each one is a bit different.

So, if we know that there are certain situations when certain things happen like that, then try to prepare for it. So, if I have a very important meeting with somebody, I know it is going to be a difficult meeting, then don’t keep that meeting at length of a day when I am tired. Or if you have to have it at the end of the day, try to arrange the schedule in such a way that you can have some rest, maybe have a short nap or just relax and recollect yourself.

So, try to prepare and prevent. So, now this itself is not a guarantee, but this shows Krishna that I am also trying to do my part. So, like we have these two fingers, Shuddamai is trying to tie and Krishna allows to be tied.

So, for us, when we know that we have certain weaknesses, then we need to do our part in trying to minimize our vulnerability to those things. So, see admitting our vulnerability itself is not weakness. You may think, people will think I am weak.

Impossible. But it’s actually not admitting our vulnerability that makes us weak. It’s actually denying our vulnerability.

Say, if I have some injury because of which I can’t lift a weight, and I don’t admit it, I still can’t lift a weight. Then after some time, I will become a weight that somebody else has to lift. So, the idea is that vulnerability itself does not have to be weakness.

I am vulnerable only. So, try to be aware and try to take some protective preventive measures that show Krishna. Second question is, in the guide part, you were telling that over the day, we have certain choices to make and we make good approaches.

So, you also wrote, we should, at the end of the day, we should reflect upon how Krishna guided me through the day. So, to be reflective, especially at the end of the day, if I try to recall things. Generally, we are so mechanical in our feelings and acts that we don’t even recall how.

So, how to be conscious over the day so that at the end of the day or at any time even, I can think over what all things happened. How to be more self-reflective? See, different people have different natures. Some people, they may be too self-reflective and some people may be too less self-reflective.

It’s like, very easy to get lost inside our head. And the other is, we get lost, we lose ourselves inside our head and the other is we lose our head. That means, you know, we think too much or we don’t think at all.

We get caught in our thoughts. So, I think both are a problem. So, that’s why I find it helpful, some kind of structure.

Like this gap is a structure. So, you know, each of these, you could formulate a clear question. Okay, how did Krishna guide me? Instead of just saying that, okay, I can’t think of anything.

Think of something in that direction. Try to come up with something. Something is remote.

Something, you know, okay, I’ll spend maybe one minute at the end of the day answering each question. Nothing comes up, at least start thinking in that direction. In writing, there is something called a writer’s block.

Somebody wants to write, author wants to write and you just don’t get any ideas to write. So, one of the ways that, one author, famous author, overcome the writer’s block is, he says, you just fix the time you are going to write. You are going to write for one hour, write.

And if you don’t get any ideas to write, write just that. I just don’t get any ideas to write. Keep repeating that sentence again and again.

Write it ten times, you’ll get bored and you’ll write some idea. So, in one sense, often, you could say, quantity has to come before quality. Just give some time for it.

Even two minutes, three minutes, one minute for one question. Just give some time. And then gradually, when you put in the effort, it will happen slowly.

Now, if you have some close friends with whom you can talk, then talking also helps us to think more. So, that’s also quite helpful. Those two things I would suggest.

So, Prabhu, let me know when to stop. Krishna says, do not destroy the mind, but to make it a friend. What does it mean, making a mind a friend? What does making our mind a friend mean? That means that, if you consider our mind, there are two ways to look at it.

Let me look at both ways of looking at it. So, in the mind, there are things which are, there are impressions that are negative. But inside the mind, there are also impressions that are positive.

There are negative impressions, and there are also positive impressions. So, now, what do I mean by negative and positive impressions? If we consider, this is where our vasanas are there. Now, English words vary, but you could use the word impulses over here for this.

But this is also where our vrittis are there. Now, you could use the word vritti, you could use the word, if you are not comfortable with that word, you could use the word varna. So, that is, our instincts are there.

This is where, so some people, if you consider they have, some kids just have great musical ability. Yeah, I was in Dubai one day, there was a four-year-old kid, four-year-old little kid. You know, he was leading, playing the mudanga for a big program.

Very nicely was playing. And it was amazing to see, I asked him, what did he learn? He said that, he started practicing at two and a half. He was weak, he was playing mudanga.

This is what is called as prodigies. Prodigy means, kids who just have phenomenal abilities. Somebody might be a maths prodigy, somebody might be a world prodigy.

See, in the West, Indians we consider are not very good at English. No, Indians are often, what I say, become massacre of English. But, you know, actually, it’s only with spoken English.

In the West, there is competition called spelling bees. I don’t know how common it is in India. But, it’s from, I think, 2012 or 13, every single spelling bee in America has been won by an Indian.

So, Indians have a logical, linear mind. And they remember spellings. Very complicated.

The whole competition has been taken over. There is no chance for anyone else to win. And, so my point is that, some kids just have the talent.

So, where is the talent stored? It’s not exactly in the soul. It’s not in the body. You got a new body.

So, that is also stored in the mind. So, there are positives also in the mind and the negatives also. There is lust, anger, greed also.

But, there are also innate abilities that are there. Our good samskaras are also there. So, the point is, what we want to do, when we say, make the mind our friend, that means, we want to ensure that these negative impressions become very less and the positive impressions start becoming more and more.

So, this is how our mind becomes our friend. It’s not that whatever thought comes from inside us. So, if somebody is good at music and somebody is good at language and they come up with a particular sentence, a particular idea, then they say, everything is coming from Krishna.

Yeah, ultimately from Krishna. But then, why doesn’t it come through everyone? If Krishna is in the hearts of everyone, why doesn’t it come to everyone? It comes to that particular person because there are some impressions in that particular mind which make that person more receptive to those particular inputs, those particular ideas. In science, there are so many people who study science, but some people become groundbreaking scientists who make revolutionary discoveries or revolutionary inventions.

So, why does that happen? Krishna is present in the heart of all scientists, right? They have the talent, they have done the training and that’s how those ideas come to them. So, that’s why in the sense that we don’t destroy the mind means, it’s not that we say that everything that is coming from inside me, if my mind is any man, I’ll never listen to my mind. There are many times you should not listen to your mind.

But there are many times we, there are many words for this instinct, gut feeling, sixth sense. So many things to do with that. That is, ultimately we can say it’s the voice of the Bhagavad Gita, but immediately it’s coming through the mind.

Hare Krishna Guruji, Krishna doesn’t discriminate, but in Bhagavad Gita says, who remembers me, I’m very happy by that person. Then, is it also not discrimination? Krishna does not discriminate, but does he remember me, I’m very happy with him? Well, yes, see, Krishna does not discriminate, but he reciprocates. See, what does reciprocate mean? That means, if you are interested in me, I’m interested in you.

Now, Krishna, if you’re not interested in me, doesn’t mean Krishna, I’ll reject you. But Krishna says, I don’t want to force myself on you. See, like, after a class, if a speaker discriminates me, you know, a person wants to talk with them, they refuse to talk with them.

But, reciprocates means, if somebody wants to spend time with the speaker, the speaker spends time. But if somebody doesn’t want to talk with the speaker at all, as soon as the class gets over, the person just runs out of the door. Then, does the speaker have to spend time with them, call them and talk with them, force them? Not necessarily.

So, it’s like, could put it another way, that if you consider Krishna, Krishna, Krishna. Now, everybody is in the circle of love for Krishna. So, they are the most of the copies of Vrindavan.

Then we have the Vaishnavasis. Then we can have the Vaikundavasis. Then we can have the Siddhavardas.

The pure word is written old. Then we can have the Madhyamanikaris. Those who are serious Sadhakas.

Then we can have the new Sadhakas. Then we can have the ISPs. Then we can have even the materialistic people.

Krishna says that he is Krupana Vatsala. So, everybody is in one circle of love. But, some circles are closer, some circles are further.

So, in that sense, Krishna does not discriminate and say that I will throw you out of my circle. What is happening, Krishna places a particular person in a particular circle. Krishna does not discriminate.

Thank you Prajit. It actually handles to become quite reflective. The way you explained the gap at Kondal.

And how Krishna guides us. How God Krishna arranges for us. Even the best of our efforts.

And what all things Krishna permits whenever we are even making some wrong choices also. Buddha messed up. So, still Krishna helps us in those situations.

Very nice framework for seeing Krishna’s hand in our life. So, thank you very much for that. So, I wanted to ask this question Prajit.

How to we learn something when we see that Krishna is guiding us in a particular way. Krishna is teaching us certain lessons. So, how to remember those lessons in our life.

Like how to make the impressions of those lessons very deep in our consciousness. How can we make the lessons that Krishna teaches us, make the lessons deep? It’s difficult. First thing is don’t devalue if we learn the lesson and apply it even once.

Because good choice is also valuable. If we consider in the process of Bhakti Shravana and Smaran. Shravana, Kirtana, Smaran each of these are distinct limbs of Bhakti.

And after Smaran comes people say Dasa Seva or Pada Seva. So, even if we just hear and never apply still we are performing Bhakti. Because at least the time we are hearing we are connecting with Krishna.

So, that’s why sometimes what happens is we focus in our Bhakti on what we are not able to do and we end up devaluing what we are able to do. So, even if we are able to do learn a lesson and do one right choice and leave that. We don’t want to overvalue that and think I have to go in that direction.

But, Prabhupada translates this as gradually step by step. 6.25 in the Bhagavad Gita. So, gradually step by step.

One of the one of the ways one of my interests is psychology and philosophy. So, you know one of the things which I find that sometimes as devotees we misapply humility and we create unnecessary trouble for us at the mental level. That is when as devotees even when something good happens to us or something good happens through us means we are able to do something good.

We tend to devalue or discount the positive. It’s like suppose we work hard and are able to do some service works out very well or some festival goes very well or somebody appreciates or you did something so wonderful. Or there is no everybody is working together.

It’s good to say that but that should not make us devalue what we have done. We won’t value what others also did but the point is Krishna has given us an ability and not recognizing the ability that Krishna has given us that is also lack of Krishna consciousness. So, our humility is meant to increase our Krishna consciousness not decrease our Krishna consciousness.

Isn’t it? So, yes there are I am not God but I am a part of God and God has given me some part to play. I don’t want to outplay that. So, I think even if one time we make one good choice value that, appreciate that.

Beyond that it’s a see in psychology again how long it takes to build a habit. Some people say to do the same thing 30 days 21 days 40 days and then the habit will be formed. Well it’s true but it’s not really that simple because it depends on how we proved it was the opposing impression.

Like if somebody is somebody before coming to bhakti was habitually waking up at 10 o’clock or 9 o’clock and just just brush your teeth and go to college and now they suddenly start waking up at 4 o’clock. Now, is it by waking up at 4 o’clock or 21 days after 22nd day they won’t be there at 9 o’clock? Maybe not. It depends on how strong the opposing impression was.

So, we also have to be in one sense kind to ourselves. So, if we learned a lesson but we did not we are not able to apply it consistently that means the opposing impression is stronger. So, and but what is the solution? Habitation.

And when I keep repeating doing the right thing so for some people developing a new habit might just happen in 3 days. For some people developing a new habit may require 3 years. I have one devotee who was training me in exercises.

He was a mixed martial MMA fighter before he became a devotee. So, he showed me his house is more of a gym than a house. So, but he told me that he is his father was also an MMA fighter so he said from the age of 2 and a half I have been doing push-ups and exercises.

So, he said that but now he is around 45. He says even now almost 3 to 4 days a week I have to push myself to do exercises. I know my whole his whole career is built on that and he likes to do it also.

But the point is in some in some areas it may be that the impression is not that he is lazy but it is not that it will come out of it. So, does that mean that he is not sincere? Does that mean he is not like that? No, he says you have to push yourself. So, I think we don’t have to be hard on ourselves.

Sometimes the impressions are negative and the impressions are negative then what happens? It takes effort. So, like some devotees after a few months of practicing bhakti everyday they look forward to waking up in the morning and doing sadhana. But some devotees it may not happen.

So, is it that one devotee is better than another devotee? Not necessarily. Bhakti is a big Bhakti is a relationship with Krishna. So, I think let’s be kind to ourselves.

It’s just that we need more support we need more persistence. One thing the last point I’ll make one thing that helps is trying to generally there are many metaphors I have a whole seminar on memory I was talking about how memory works. So, one of my favorite metaphors for metaphoric memory like it’s a map.

What do you mean by map? See, if I am staying here and this is a friend’s house and I want to go here so I can remember the route and I can get there and that’s good but I might forget that route. But if I know another friend over here and I have been there and I create a link over here like this and I know another house over here and get a link what happens? The more linkages I create it’s more likely that I’ll be able to remember that house that I want to go there. So, in one sense if you see we all talk about being absorbed in bhakti so absorption is largely a function of connection.

When do we get absorbed in something that we are hearing something and it’s just triggering okay, you know that point I know over there that experience I had over there that story I had over there the more what we are listening the more connections we are able to build naturally the more we get absorbed. Like if somebody is a big cricket fan and they watch a cricket player it’s their favourite cricket player then they are just not watching that player playing that particular shot and he played that particular shot they were like oh he played that particular shot in that particular match or he scored this many else in that match the conditions are like that so the connections happen. So in some ways you could say absorption happens when the connections just happen naturally.

Now what we can try to do when we try to establish more and more connections so with that lesson ok this lesson I learnt from this experience but then there is the scripture pastime also there is this devotional experience also try to build as many connections as possible the more connections we build the more likely it is that we can have the connection comparing contrasting yes so thank you very much Srimad Bhagavad Gita Mahaprabhu Srila Prabhupada Ki Jai Jai Jai Jai Jai Jai Jai