Are there any scriptural examples of those indifferent to the modes?

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Thank you. So, when Krishna says that in the 14th chapter that those who have transcended the modes, their internal symptoms are that they neither crave nor are averse to the characteristics of the three modes.
Are there any examples of that? The scriptural examples like Yamanacharya and Bilvamangal Thakur seem to be contradictory because they seem to feel aversion or even disgust at a thought of sense gratification. Yes. That’s true.
Bhakti that is talked about in the Bhagavad Gita is somewhat different from the bhakti that is talked about in the Bhagavatam and it is significantly different from the bhakti talked about in the Chaitanya Charitamrita. It is the same bhakti but if we principle of bhakti yoga is the same but first let’s understand in Chaitanya Charitamrita bhakti means dancing and singing loudly. That is not the version of bhakti in the Bhagavatam prominently.
It’s one verse in the 11th canto. Lokabhaya. But apart from that, the way people practice bhakti is by Shravana Kirtan.
It’s sober philosophical discussion. Now, in contrast with that, just as there is a difference between these Bhagavatam and CC of the bhakti, the bhakti talked about in the Bhagavad Gita is more of a intellectualized, internalized transcendence to material feelings. Not so much of positive spiritual feelings.
Although they are talked about in some verses like machitta, madhuta, prana, bodhya, antaparasparam. But if we compare the number of verses in the Bhagavad Gita which talk about spiritual feelings with the number of times when Krishna talks about equipoised, being equipoised among material feelings, the number of times when Krishna talks about equanimity is far greater. And this difference to a large extent comes from the context.
Because Arjuna is getting broken down by his emotions. And that’s why at this stage for him to do his service, he needs to be equipoised. The war is not the arena for experiencing transcendental emotions.
He has to become, in one sense, immune to emotions. At least immune to material emotions and do his duty. So yes, we could say even when he was fighting in the war, he was focused on Krishna and he was remembering Krishna.
But still war is a brutal affair. And amidst a war Arjuna cannot be dancing in ecstasy the way Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is dancing in Vrindavan. The mood is very different.
So that’s why if we try to do a one-to-one correlation between certain verses of the Bhagavad Gita and then examples from Bhakti tradition, it may be a little difficult to find. Not impossible. But for some things, for Machitta, Madgata, Prana, we can find many examples.
But that way, if you simply want to know praharshe priyam praapke no duje praapte cha priyam We can give some examples of Prabhupada’s life when he was lost and he was equipoised. But there are other examples also when Prabhupada was happy when he got a big donation. Prabhupada and some devotee, Prabhupada was disturbed.
So there we will find examples which there also seem somewhat contrary. It’s not contrary. It is more of Bhakti itself involves a wide variety of practices or rather wide variety of forms of expression of Bhakti.
And the Bhagavad Gita’s focus is more on intellectualized, internalized commitment to God which is relatively not very expressive in terms of worldly emotions. So if we look at the 14th chapter, it comes in the Jnana section of the Gita and there Krishna’s focus on spiritual emotions in that section comes only in the 18th chapter. So now when Krishna and Krishna also talks about there about Bhakti, he doesn’t, in 14.26 when he talks about Bhakti, he is focusing on Bhakti more as a means for transcending the modes.
Not as an end in itself. Of course, he talks about it like that Ram Manohi Pratishtha where he talks about himself being higher reality. But the focus on Bhakti is in response to Arjuna’s questions, how am I to transcend the modes? So there the focus is on going beyond material emotions and Bhakti as a means for going beyond material emotions.
So in this context what we will find in the Bhagavad Gita is more of a person who is beyond material emotions. But not necessarily the person who has already experienced spiritual emotions. So when one experiences spiritual emotions there can be distaste or aversion towards material emotions.
But in the Bhagavad Gita’s vision of transcendence the primary focus is on on more on going beyond emotions. So it is like to give another example if a person is fasting. One is that we crave for food.
The other is that we are averse to food. Third could be that when he is so absorbed he is indifferent to food. Neither craving nor aversion.
So on the other hand you know if one is having a so one is focused in fasting one just doesn’t notice the food. But on the other hand if I think within bhakti also that kind of examples are there. Where one does it Arrow maker in the 11th canto.
Narada Muni says Kalam Pratikshan was the first canto. Good example. And also the 11th canto Yeah, that’s a very good example.
I was thinking of the arrow maker also. So absorbed, no attraction no aversion towards the procession. Both examples are good.
Now, the so we can see in Prabhupada’s life at different time there might have been different responses. For the similar situation, sometimes Prabhupada, I am just not able to think immediately of situations. For example, when Prabhupada lost his business at that time he simply said but then later on if some devotees lost some money then Mumbai temple almost swindled the Viju temple from Prabhupada said I will never let this scoundrel steal money.
So there is also the time and place circumstances about how a devotee will respond. Sometimes Vaishnavami just be immune to everything let me disentangle myself from everything. Not worry about anything.
This was especially talking about internal symptoms. The next two verses talk about how is equal happiness That’s correct. That means internally also the person has become almost like inert.
So it’s not so much averse but inert. So it can work in both ways. We have an example of inertness the example of Shukadeva Goswami when he was he saw those women he didn’t notice them or even the other story when the women were bathing he didn’t even notice them it comes in one of the Puranas that sugar was put on his tongue and there was no saliva coming out of it.
One thing we were discussing in all these examples there is something like external subjects so further he is feeling this was talks about internally he is getting some symptoms but then are there any examples in scripture at all of somebody’s internal thoughts without any external stimulus and it’s also when I think when I think about it there was an external stimulus then he got a thought of seeing that lady and then how he responded good question immediately I am not able to think but broadly I would say that it is atleast in Bhagavatam you won’t be able to show an exemplified example that we have seen for the Bhagavad Gita even that section of 5. 7 and 8 where and the person feels that I am I am not eating I am not drinking I am not singing I am not walking if you think about that do you really get an example for Bhagavatam in that also we can say Jada Bharat but Jada Bharat also is not exactly talking in those terms it was just that he was indifferent but normally maybe one example for that could be the story of Durvasa Muni he said that how is Krishna Brahmachari when he is mixing so many Gopis then Durvasa Muni eats a lot of feasts Durvasa Muni said that Krishna is a Brahmachari and I am Nirahari how are you Nirahari you ate so much I didn’t eat, the body ate that is one story I know but in general that that conception of detached or intellectualized transcendence to worldly emotions without a focus on spiritual emotions that is so in one sense the Bhagavad Gita is like a preliminary step and the Bhagavatam is the next you see the next in the in the positive expression of bhakti and the bhakti tradition is focused more on these positive expressions not so much on the equanimity towards equanimity is talked about at one level but the focus is more on positive spiritual emotions I will think a little bit more if I find something