Bhagavatam-daily 225 – 11.11.31 – Determination is more enriching than wealth

Shrimad bhadbhagavatam 1111 31 apramato gabhiratma triti manji dashat punaha amani manadah kalyo maitra karunikah kavi here Krishna gives instructions to uddhava is continuing to describe the characteristics of the enlightened person and he says triti man which person which enriched with determination now dhanuvan wealthy is what most people aspire to be in fact wealth is the stuff of the dreams of most people but wealth alone does not bring happiness in fact if wealth if it is misused it can become the cause of great misery sometimes some some people get suddenly an inheritance and they get then they start splurging drinking and smoking and partying and they not only squander away the inheritance in a matter of months but they also ruin themselves by their dissolute ways so far greater wealth than wealth is determination triti man because if a person is enriched with determination that person can achieve anything be it in material life or spiritual life of course there are limitations caused by destiny but still a person enriched with determination can achieve far more and lead a far more fulfilling life than a person who is not enriched thus and that’s why it’s important it’s vital to recognize determination to be a treasure and to try to seek fulfillment, seek perfection seek realization through the cultivation and accumulation and maximization of determination that means that first we strive to cultivate okay I may not be able to sustain the determination lifelong to do a particular kind of activity even when I know it is good but student thinks that say I have to study for the next maybe 10 15 years student will feel it as a big burden but the student thinks okay I don’t know what I will or will not be able to do in future but I can surely concentrate and study for the next 30 minutes and the student starts studying diligently for 30 minutes then that student gets confidence so cultivation of determination for 30 minutes gives confidence and then there can be accumulation of the determination, next 30 minutes may student takes a 5 minute break or whatever comes back to study again so it is difficult but it may be difficult still but the confidence has come from the previous experience of studying and now the student can again study for 30 minutes and once the mind becomes habituated to studying like this then there can be maximization of determination so cultivation, accumulation and maximization of determination can put one on the path to success and the same can apply even to person on the spiritual path now I may not be able to fix my mind on Krishna during the entire 2 hours of my meditation but at least for the next 5 minutes I can concentrate and after 5 minutes get over then take a deep breath, pause, reflect and then try to concentrate for the next 5 minutes and in this way we can move onwards so many of these so wealth is a great so determination is a great wealth and determination can help us to acquire further greater wealth through determination we can realize our potential, we can actualize our talents we can manifest our dreams and ultimately we can attain supreme spiritual happiness so there are several qualities talked about in this verse and many of them we have discussed earlier so we won’t go into all of them let’s dwell on some of them so here is Amani Manado so there is actually this particular combination Amani Manado this is an antithesis two opposite sort of attributes are brought together in juxtaposition don’t seek respect for yourself and give respect to others Amani Manado so such a disposition characterizes the saintly now Amani Namanade in the Shikshashtakams celebrated verse where it is stated that actually lord actually a devotee should not seek respect for oneself but should offer respect to others so similarly the same point is said over here Amani Manado now what does this mean it is not that a devotee goes about insulting others or letting others trample oneself down the point is a devotee tries to be always conscious of Krishna and if we are too conscious of our own glories if we are too anxious of whether I am being respected or not then then we end up being very self-conscious and self-consciousness can be an obstacle to Krishna consciousness so on the other hand when we see others and we see certain qualities manifested in them then we see that as a characteristic or as a attribute that can help us recognize that we are at our core souls and we get higher happiness by connecting with Krishna rather than by doing anything else the highest happiness we get by this and by seeing others good qualities as manifestations of Krishna’s opulence Krishna states in 10.40 in the Bhagavad Gita yad yad vibhuti vatsattvam shreemadurjitamebhava tattvadevavagacchattvam mamateyam shasambhavam it’s illustrated that yad yad vibhuti vatsattvam that whatever opulence whatever greatness is in existence shreemadurjitamebhava whatever is beautiful, whatever is opulent, whatever is glorious all that tattvadevavagchattvam all of that manifests mamateyam shasambhavam from a spark of my splendor so whenever a devotee sees anyone with any qualities devotee understands that these qualities reflect Krishna’s all attractiveness and therefore these are actually manifesting, these can remind me of Krishna i.e. Krishna who is choosing to manifest these qualities to this person so let me represent the source as well as the medium through which that source is manifesting.
That is one level of respectfulness for others where they have qualities. Now sometimes we may say that they may not have qualities, they may not have any exceptional talents. But then if they are trying to serve Krishna then they are manushyanam sahasreshu they are one among thousands of people, they are special for Krishna because among the millions of souls in this world, these are the few handful who are trying to come close to Krishna and therefore I must respect them for that and further, if we move onwards, we can say that even if they are not presently practicing devotional service, still they are parts of Krishna and because they are parts of Krishna they deserve respect and they are human beings like us as the golden rule in Christianity says which is actually a universal principle which talks about Atma as Chanakya also talks about a similar principle and he says Atmavatsarvabhuteshu Treat all living beings as yourself that means as you would like to be treated just as you would not like to be neglected or disrespected or unnecessarily targeted or tormented for any reason but similarly we should not do that to others so in this way Amanimanadho so in this way we can actually try to cultivate this attitude of being respectful to others and not being caught up in the consciousness of whether I am being respected or not and in this way we can steadily move onwards in our service to Krishna in our contributions in this world in our own all round growth so enriched with determination, equipped and empowered with determination, Dhritiman we can that determination can act as a key which opens the door to other qualities and the achievement of various targets so therefore what we need to do is choose our battles and focus on those things those inner qualities the cultivation of which will enable us to move onwards in our onward journey towards Krishna