Change your inner world to change your outer world
So, I will talk about two main points with respect to our inner world and our outer world. There are two main differences.
The inner world is also as real as the outer world. I will be sitting comfortably in an air-conditioned room, but if I am having negative emotions, they have a real effect on me. I feel distressed, I feel angry, I feel helpless.
So, the inner world is as consequential as the outer world, sometimes even more consequential. People sometimes get depressed and internally they get eaten up. So, the inner and the outer worlds are almost equally consequential.
But the major difference is that in the outer world, we can decide not to do something. Say, for example, if I decide I will not touch this bar, it is cold, I do not want to touch this bar, I will not touch this. And I can choose not to touch it.
But in the inner world, we cannot choose not to think of something. If a recovering drug addict decides, I will not think of drugs, I will not think of drugs, I will not think of drugs. Now, in not thinking of something, we are thinking of that thing.
So, whenever we think of not thinking of something, if we consider a thought to be like energy which goes and contacts that object, then it is already contacting that object. So, in that sense, the way to not think of something is not by deciding not to think of that thing, but rather by thinking of something else. So, there is, in this principle, if you want to practise spiritual life, normally we think of indulgence and abstinence.
Say, a drug addict indulges in taking drugs or abstinence. No, I won't indulge in it. Now, we may do that with specific activities.
I indulge in something, I abstain from something at a physical level. But at the level of the inner world, even the abstinence is also a connection. Because when I decide I am not going to do this, still I am thinking of this.
So, there is, we need to go to really explore our inner world. And to free our inner world completely, we need a dynamic beyond indulgence and abstinence, that is transcendence. So, if I decide that there is a cookie in front of me and I am dieting, so I am not going to eat this cookie.
If I look at it, I am not going to eat it. I am not going to eat it. I am not going to eat it.
Just by thinking about it, the desire is going to come and the desire is going to grow. So, the way to not think about it is, I have something else to think about. Maybe I am doing, I am writing something, reading something, watching something, and I lose myself in that.
And once I lose myself in that, then I am not thinking of doing this, not thinking of avoiding it. I am just thinking of something else. So, similarly in spiritual life, with respect to our inner world, often we have, we have our emotions which go wild in various ways.
Like say, two people develop a relationship. Say, they fall in love with each other. And then, they say, I can't live without you.
They are ready to fight with the whole world. I can't live without you. And then, they come together, they live with each other, and then inevitably friction starts coming up.
And then after that, the same two people say to each other, I can't live with you. And then, when they say that, when they meet each other, at that time, suppose somehow, they decide to separate, and one of them wants to talk with the other person. I won't talk with you.
I don't want to spend any time with you. And they say like that, I won't spend any time with you. But actually, in my mind, I am spending a lot of time.
Why did he do like that? Why did she speak like that? So, that means, although we are, in a sense, distancing ourselves physically, but we are not emotionally distanced ourselves. So, attachment and aversion are two sides of the same coin. First, I talked about objects.
Now, I'm talking about relationships. And in relationships also, sometimes when we are very angry with someone, we will physically refuse to talk with that person. But in the mind, we are spending so much time on that person.
I'll do like this, I'll do like that, I'll speak this to you, I'll speak, do this. So, if we are really to get over a particular bad relationship, then one way is attachment will be consumed by that person, aversion also will be consumed by that person. To get over means just have something else to do, have someone else to relate with.
So, in the inner world, we cannot not think of something. It's only when we have something else to think of, then we can automatically as a byproduct, implement not thinking of something. So, in the bhakti vision of spirituality, there is a affirmative description of spiritual reality.
So, we, in the material world, there are many attractive things, and sometimes we get attracted, we enjoy them, we get some pleasure, and afterward we feel, what's more? I need something more. And sometimes, that more makes us explore the spiritual. Or sometimes, in the material, we experience some frustration, some disappointment, and then we start experiencing this, exploring the spiritual.
So, now, some people think that exploring, becoming spiritual means, you know, I want peace. I don't want any anxiety. I don't want any emotions.
I just want peace. And this vision of spirituality, you say, no, I don't want any relationship. Spiritual existence means it is simply peace, simply existence.
Yes, it is pure existence. But there are two visions of pure existence. So, one is that in the spiritual reality, there is no personality, there is no relationships, there are no reciprocations, and there is just peace.
That is one vision of spirituality. Now, this vision of spirituality, it's also one level of spiritual realisation. But it is still very world-centred.
One world-centred vision of life is, this world is all that there is. Now, if I just find the right person, if I just find the right job, I just find the right home, I just find the right looks, then I'll be happy. That's one vision.
The other vision is, you know, all forms, all relationships, all personalities, all objects, they simply entangle, they simply cause distress. Some people who have had some bad relationships, just don't want to have any relationship. Become like relational touch-me-nots.
Now, when they become like that, it's, they may say, I just want to be alone. But then, actually, their conception of the world is shaped by their negative experiences in the world. So, when this same thing is extrapolated to the spiritual level, then the idea is, I just, I want a vision of spirituality that has nothing, that has no relationships, no complications, no misunderstandings, no broken hearts, no problems.
But this vision itself is, at one level, a problem. Because it's based on negation. You're still extrapolating from our experiences in this world and saying, I don't want anything like this.
Yes, that's fine. But there is another vision of spirituality, which has got nothing to do with this vision. Just like, so when I'm thinking, I don't want to think about this.
I'm still thinking about it. So, when in the spiritual world also, spiritually, we are thinking that I don't want to think about this. I don't want any experience like this.
I don't want any relationship like this. I don't want any problem like this. Our reference point is still the world.
So, spiritual growth is not just about changing our activities. It is, spiritual growth actually happens when we change our reference point. What is the reference point based on which we are viewing everything? When I was coming here, I just came from Jacksonville.
So, my seat in the plane was just next to the wings. And now, if we sit in the plane next to the wing, the wing appears to be moving very slowly. It almost appears as if the plane is going on a stroll.
It doesn't appear to be moving at all. Only when you look down, and if you're not so high up that you can see something on the ground, then you can see the houses are whizzing by. So, what happens when I'm just looking at the plane, the reference point for looking is the sky.
And the sky is so big that in comparison to that, even the high speed motion of the plane doesn't appear very fast. But when I look at the ground, it's moving so fast. So, basically, when we are to grow spiritually, the spiritual growth centres on changing our reference point.
And Bhakti Yoga is actually about that process, that either we can think this world is an enjoyable place and there is indulgence, or this world is never good enough, and there is abstinence. But Bhakti Yoga is beyond both to transcendence. There is a different vision of reality, where there is pure love, there are pure relationships, and there is the permeation of all relationships with a selfless rule of service.
And that is a reality of a different category. So, we just, if we extrapolate from the reality of this world to the other world, then we either feel that it is very attractive, but then we are extrapolating from here. It is the same old thing, same old problems, same old relationships, but it's a completely different reality.
And the way we rise from this reality to that reality is through the experiences that the process of Bhakti offers us. So, Bhakti Yoga involves, say, mantra meditation, seated mantras, doing various devotional activities. They are like an elevator for our consciousness.
They take us from this reality to another reality. And the more we practise Bhakti, actually, we don't try to physically live this reality, but our consciousness rises. Basically, we are practising Bhakti, our gradually our reference point changes.
Rather than seeing everything in relationship with the world or with me in relationship with the world, our reference point becomes the spiritual world. And based on that, life actually, while being lived in the same way, it is not lived the same way. At the end of the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna tells Arjuna that, I'm thrilled.
Sanjay, the hearer of the Bhagavata says, I'm thrilled at every moment. Constantly I'm experiencing joy. That is a vision from a from a perspective where the reference point has been changed.
And when we come in spiritual gatherings, that's what we try to do. We try to understand life from a different reference point. And gradually, through education and through experience, we rise to a life where actually when the reference point is something much bigger than ourselves, then we reveal that life has its own order, has its own purpose, and has its own sublime joy, which is not dependent on externals.
So we go beyond the dynamic of abstinence and resistance to indulgence and abstinence to transcendence. So that positive direction, elevation of our consciousness happens through bhakti. These are a few thoughts.
I thought we can have question answers before that. Thank you. So you brought up a few very good points.
We had a yoga class yesterday. We had this verse that came out 253. Now I want you to elucidate upon this based off of what you said before.
You're saying we have a reference point with the world. You're saying we have a process called bhakti that can help us build it. But I'm a sceptical New Yorker.
I don't trust the process. I read a verse like this, when your mind is no longer disturbed by the flowery language of the Vedas, and when it remains fixed in trance and self-realisation, then you have attained divine consciousness. At some point, will I go beyond the rituals and activities of a process? Because it's a reference point.
And how do I know, how do I trust my heart that what I'm following is going to take me somewhere? Yeah. So when we follow a process, we want to experience something. And how do I know in advance that this will actually lead me somewhere? And is there a stage when we go beyond just the process and the rituals to experience? The process is, whenever we think about process or rituals, the idea comes in, this is sectarian.
There's this process, there's that process, there's that process. And everybody seems to claim that that process is the best. So, or sometimes that process is the only process.
So then it just puts people off. I'll give two metaphors to explain this. One is climbing up a mountain.
When you're trying to climb up a mountain, there can be different paths, different trails up the mountain. And now some trails may be suitable for some people, some trails may be suitable for some other people. But the whole point is that one needs to get to the top of the mountain.
So, if we are going by a particular trail, say where there is a lot of overgrowth, then I may need to take an axe or a hatchet to cut my way through. If there's another trail, where maybe there is snow, then I may need some other set of equipment to go up. If there is another trail, where there is dangerous wildlife, I may have to take a gun with me.
So, depending on the particular trail I am taking, I may require different equipments. I may even require different training to go up that trail. But the point is not just the equipment or the training.
The point is to go up the trail. So, if somebody is going up by a trail, and they are using axes, and they're going with that. Somebody else is going with clothes, which are very suited for cold.
And this person at the bottom of the mountain, they go from here, they go to other places. You fool, why you take to this? You need axe, take axe and go up. And they start arguing.
Should we take axe or should we take a gun? They have got wildlife that way. So, they just keep arguing there and neither of them goes up. The point is, similarly, different religions are different paths, not just religions, different paths, different processes.
They are for people, because all of us are at different reference points, at different points at the bottom of the mountain. So, from where we are, there's a path to move up. Now, if this path is taking me up, and there's a particular language, there's a particular culture, particular background frame of looking at the world, from that point I rise up.
Somebody else rises from some other way. But the point is to rise up. One of the great saints in our tradition, Bhaktivinoda Thakur, in his book Chaitanya Shikshambhava gives this example that different people are looking at the same peak of the mountain from different ways.
And then they may describe the mountain slightly differently also. They will describe the path of the mountain also differently. But the point is to go up.
So, if people just keep arguing, you know, you should do like this, you should do like this, both of them will stay at the ground. But if you move up, now somebody says, oh, I've seen people with axes, they are doing nothing, they're just quarrelling with each other. And somebody says, I've seen people with guns, they're quarrelling with each other.
And therefore, neither axes are needed nor guns are needed. But then, the point is not the axe or the gun. The point is to go up.
So, yes, when we see sectarianism, when we see narrow-mindedness, we actually put off. But that doesn't mean that to climb up a mountain, no path is needed or no equipments are needed. So, sometimes some people just get caught up in the specifics of the equipments used, the specifics of the trail up the mountain.
And then they forget the purpose. The purpose is to go up the mountain. And for that one has to climb up.
So, in that sense, there is a process which is essential. But the process, one can get so caught in the externals of the process that one forgets the purpose of the process, which is to raise oneself. The bottom of the mountain is like material and worldly consciousness.
The top of the mountain is spiritual consciousness. And we have to go up. But some of us can get so caught up that they don't move up.
So, that is to be avoided. The second point I was going to make is scepticism is useful for us to understand what is wrong. But scepticism in itself can never tell us what is right.
If I go to a doctor and the doctor tells me, okay, you have this disease, take this medicine. I become sceptical. What is your qualification? Maybe you are here to cheat me.
Maybe you just want to fleece money from me. Yes, I can find out faults with this, I can find out faults with that. If somebody wants to be very suspicious about doctors, you can just Google everything the doctor says and check it out.
This doesn't make sense, this doesn't make sense, this doesn't make sense. And then what happens? At the end, the patient stays sick. Scepticism will not heal the patient.
At one particular point, patient has to put faith in the doctor and take a medicine. Now, scepticism is good. But you know, we have to be, some people say, I'm very sceptical, I won't believe any religion or any path.
It's good, but they are not taking their scepticism far enough. Because if they were really sceptical, then they should be sceptical about scepticism also. Okay, if you're not going to believe in any process, then why are you believing in the process of scepticism? The scepticism, even if it works fully right, at the end of it, it will only tell you what is wrong.
It will never tell you what is right. So we can be sceptical, but we need to be sceptical about scepticism also. So at one particular point, okay, I hear this doctor's diagnosis, I hear this doctor's diagnosis.
If I want to be healed, I need to take a medicine. So same way, we observe. We don't just take any doctor's prescription.
We see whether what a doctor says makes sense or not. Maybe if it's a major surgery or a major treatment, we may consult some other patients and check whether they have been cured by this doctor or not. So like that, when we are trying to follow process, we check whether it is sensible and whether it is verifiable.
Sensible means what is being spoken, does it really make sense? Does it help me understand life better, understand myself better? And is it verifiable? Has it worked for other people? Other people who are following it, somebody say, okay, this is the path to go up a mountain. Well, where are you? If you are still at the bottom of the mountain, then I won't want to follow the process. But if somebody has really risen up, I can see their consciousness, they are spiritually evolved, they have changed people.
And then I myself try it out for some time. Okay, does it really help me? The doctor says you have to take this treatment for three months. Okay, I'll take it for one week and see, does it really at least start healing me? So then that is verifiability.
So that way, we can be, we can understand that there are processes and practises needed. But the process and practises can be non-sectarian, in the sense that I accept this is one way of the mountain, and that is also another way of the mountain. Now I have committed to this way, because I found this way works for others whom I know, and this way is accessible to me.
So I can, we can be, we can be committed to one process, and still be open minded about other processes. And sometimes if you go to the other extreme, and we say, I will be not committed to any process. But then that will not be open mindedness.
I won't take any path up the mountain. But I'll go up the mountain. How are you going to go up? You are not going to go up.
So if you are uncommitted, we are not just being open minded. We are actually being empty minded. The mind is so open that the brain falls out.
That is of no use. Thank you. Any other questions? Yes, please.
Very important question that if we are spiritually inclined, the people around us are materialistic, and they, they are not going to become spiritual, because they are at a particular level. And they don't want us to also grow spiritually. So we can't cut off our ties with them.
But at the same time, we don't want to compromise our spiritual growth also. So how do we do that? Yeah. So the two main things for having a harmonious social existence, while being spiritual, is to have boundaries, have boundaries and have pathways.
A simple example for this, say, if there are two people who are neighbours, and then they have their properties next to each other. And if there is no proper demarcation, hey, this flower is, this rose is in my garden. No, this rose is in my garden.
There will be conflict over that. But there is a fence. Both agree on the fence.
This is your property. This is my property. So they say that there's a saying, good fences make good neighbours.
So once you have the fence, yeah, we agree. This is my property. This is your property.
Conflicts will still be there. But many conflicts will decrease if both of them have a mutually agreed fence. So our relationships are also like that.
That we all have two basic human needs. We have a need for connection. And we have a need for space.
Sometimes we just want someone to talk with, or someone to talk to. We have something burdening our heart, and we want someone to hear us. And there are other times when, just leave me alone.
I want to be alone. Now, depending on whether we are introverts or extroverts, the need for connection may be more for extroverts. The need for space may be more for introverts.
But we all have these needs. We all need space, we all need connection. And accordingly, in our relationships with different people, we will have this fence at different distances.
So in a particular relationship, two people are very nice with the other, but they both need their space. Woody Allen, he said about a marriage, he said that, you know, he said about a husband and wife, it's a joke, he said, you know, we come to the home at separate times, we go out at our home at separate times, we eat separately, we sleep in separate bedrooms, we are doing our best to keep our marriage together. So there, you know, emotionally, they are completely separate lives.
But physically, they are just, or legally, they are just trying to keep it together. That is a relationship where, practically, the space need is so great, that the connection is practically nothing, only physically they are staying in the same house, that's all. So that's the extreme example.
But I just give that example to illustrate this point, that some different relationships require the fence to be at different positions. And in some relationships, now we expect the fence to be at a particular place, but the other person expects the fence to be in another place. But the point is that fence is there in every relationship.
Even in the closest of relationships, ultimately, each one of us is an individual. And each one of us has to grow individually and collectively. We want our relationship to grow, we want our family to grow, but we also want to individually grow.
So most conflicts come because we don't have a mutually agreed position for the other. If two people just have an honest conversation, wherein they decide, this is my expectation from you, as I said, one thing is we need a fence, but then we need also pathways, because we need to connect with each other. So we have a need for space that is provided by the fence, we have a need for connection that is provided by the pathway.
So sometimes there is no fence, only pathway. And what happens, there is no space in that relationship. There is only connection over there.
Sometimes some people feel overwhelmed, some people are like overbearing, they just want to poke their nose into everything about other person. Other person feels intruded all the time. So then there's like there's no fence in that relationship.
So basically, when you're practising spiritual life, and not just spiritual life, actually, just living our lives individually, there has to be a fence. In some relationships, the fence may be less and the pathways may be much, much more. Or the fence may be at a very close place, both of them are very close to each other.
But still, there is a fence. So now, if we are practising our spiritual life, especially in today's world, which is quite individualistic. Generally, when most people, they won't force us to do something.
Initially, they will come with me here, do this, and don't do that. But after some time, people give us a space. If they say this is what you're going to do, then you do it.
The problem comes when they feel we are forcing them to do that. You are like this. They may not be happy with it.
But they are, they accept it. There is, they're accepting something, is adopting something, and there is rejecting something. So now, in these three, what we would like is if we are becoming spiritual, our relationship is also become spiritual.
A lot of them also become spiritual, is accepting them. Now, we may feel that they are at the level of rejecting. Not only that they are not accepting them, but they want us to give this up.
But if we are firm, this is a part of my life, and I'm not going to give this up, because it's important for me. There may be some initial tension, is basically a renegotiation of the position of the fence. But once they recognise, if as long as they are feeling that we are forcing them to do what we are trying to do, then they will force us to do what they are doing.
But once you negotiate that fence properly, so we can, one of the things is, when in our relationship, when we become spiritual, we feel this is so wonderful. This is so good. Why would anyone not practise it? It makes so much sense.
But the point is, it makes sense to me. Somebody else at a different level, it may not make sense in that way. Like you yourself, quite insightfully pointed out, they are not at a level where they can take it up.
But generally, in relationships, there are certain things which we can be strong about. If they feel that our becoming spiritual means, we're just creating not a fence, but a wall around ourselves. And then basically, if they feel that our becoming spiritual means our relationship with them is going to end, then they will vehemently oppose it.
But if in my spiritual life is, I would like to do these, these, these things. And other things I can do, but there are these things which I may not do. So this proper communication, by which we explain that this is the fence, but there are pathways in between also.
Then overall, it will take some time to negotiate, but things will come to a balance. So the Bhagavad Gita says that to some extent, we need, for those who want to be spiritual, they need some amount of seclusion. Not seclusion in the sense of living in a forest necessarily, but seclusion in the sense that the ways of the people, they are not the ways in which people are going, spiritualists live.
And if we feel a little hesitant about this, how can I tell them that this is going to be a fence, that this is not what I, that I'm going to do this no matter what you feel. We can actually take inspiration from people at the other extreme of consciousness. Now, we are, we are at the spiritual, we are trying to become spiritual, but there are people who are materialistic and there are people who are extreme materialistic.
Some extreme materialists, they do what they want to do so aggressively. This is the way I want to live. This is my, this is my inclination.
This is my inspiration. This is my passion statement. This is my way of living.
There are people who actually may be living very selfishly, not in a value judgemental sense, but they're just living only for themselves and whatever others are, you don't care for them. We are not doing that. By our becoming spiritual, they will also be benefited.
So Bhaktivinod Thakur again says that by seeing how determined materialistic people are for their material growth, I feel inspired to become determined for my spiritual growth. So that way, if we just understand this principle that we need to have a fence and we need to have pathways between the fence and then we discuss and we understand that person's nature. Basically, if you understand their needs and we communicate our needs, then over a period of time, things can be worked out.
It will take some time, but if, as long as they don't do things, they don't feel that we are imposing our views on them or that we are cutting ourselves off from them because of being spiritual. If those two perceptions can be avoided, then eventually they will give us our space for practising spiritual life and they will also have, we'll also find a way to connect with them. Yes, please.
Yeah. Yeah, sure. You don't go at all and then continue on that path.
Yeah. If we see somebody else is following some other path, but they're not following it well, it may take a long time for them to grow by that path and should we encourage them take the path of bhakti, especially if we have experience that this path helps us grow up. So, this depends on firstly, our intention and secondly, their commitment or their conception, basically.
If my goal in trying to tell someone else is just to increase my own sense of security and ego, sometimes if we are not really very committed to our path or no, if you're not convinced about our path and seeing others follow their path makes us insecure. Maybe this person is following so diligently, maybe their path is right and my path may not be right. So, many times, especially in the field of faith, not always, but many times aggressive proselytisation is a result of inner insecurity.
Now, I am not connecting with higher spiritual consciousness. I am not experiencing satisfaction within and because of that, now I need some sense of satisfaction. So, I don't get spiritual satisfaction internally.
Then I get egoistic satisfaction externally by converting others to my path. That's not the only way. It can also be somebody may want to share because they are so joyful and they want others to be joyful also.
But aggressive proselytisation can happen because of the first also. So, I have to check my intention. When I am going to tell others, why am I doing so? Is it simply so that I converted you? If that egoistic pleasure is what I want, then that person, I am not really concerned about that person.
I am concerned only about overcoming my own inner insecurity. And that person is simply a tool to overcome my insecurity. But if we are really concerned, this person can be benefited.
Say, for example, I had some friends who were alcoholics, badly alcoholics and then I started practising bhakti. I had some weaknesses, which I was able to very easily overcome by the practise of bhakti. So, I shared with bhakti principles and several of them took up and they have become much more responsible, mature, happy people now.
So, I could see that I was benefited and they were benefited. So, if we have that concern for others and with that intention we are sharing, then that is positive. We can and we should do that.
And now with respect to them, when they are following a path, there are two ways in which people can follow a path. One is nominally and the other is, you could say, substantially or seriously. Satyaraj Prabhu, one of our devotee scholars, he comes here for the programme sometimes.
So, he once told me that he was talking about Krishna with his friends, with his family members, relatives and he was from a Jew background. So, his uncle said to him, are you trying to convert me? He said, I didn't know that you belong to any religion. So, he knew his uncle was an atheist.
He said, I am a Jew. I am an atheist, but I am an atheist Jew. Now, what has happened over here, in Judaism, the first commandment is to love God with all thy heart, all thy soul and all thy mind.
If somebody is an atheist Jew, then Jew is not a spiritual designation for them. It is simply, you could say, a cultural designation or a genealogical designation. This is the family language I was born.
So, in such a situation, if that person is not at all practising, not at all interested, not at all committed, then that means they are at a particular, they are at the bottom of the mountain at a particular, of a particular path, but they have not started climbing up that mountain, on that path and they have no interest also in climbing up that mountain. Then we can very well invite them. Very well invite them, yes, this is the path by which you can climb up the mountain and you can experience a difference.
It is not that somebody is climbing up a mountain and we climb up that path and pull them down. Pull them down. No, don't go up there.
Not like that. So, if somebody is committed, then we encourage them. You just follow this, understand the principles of spirituality and follow it better.
So, Prabhupada's approach was, if somebody is just nominally born in some religion, but they are not following it, Prabhupada would encourage them to practise Krishna Bhakti. If somebody was seriously committed to any religion, then he would encourage them to practise the principles of their religion more seriously. So, ultimately the criteria is that we develop love of God.
So, if somebody is developing that, then that is auspicious. If somebody is not developing that and they are just nominally belonging to some path, we can encourage them to explore other paths. The point is that we should not make people lose faith.
Our purpose is to enhance their faith, not to damage their faith. So, I will give another metaphor for this. Say, now everybody has certain conceptions of their life.
So, if somebody is at a cliff on a mountain at a particular level and that path is not going further up. They have come up till there, but they are going to be there only. If they want to go up, they should come to some other part and from there the mountain goes up further.
So, now if they are at a particular cliff here, I am at a particular cliff here, so then we need to build a bridge between them so that that person can come across. Building a bridge means that we establish a human connection. We establish a loving relationship and then whatever that person's conception is, they may grow and then they may cross over the bridge.
Now, there are two dangers over there. If first is I build a bridge to just establish a connection and then I pull that person across. I pull that person across and that person doesn't want to come.
Then what happens? That person stays there and we alienate that person. You are so pushy, you are so domineering and that person stays at that cliff and becomes hostile to some other thing which may take them higher. Hostility is undesirable.
But worse is, they start coming on the bridge and then we get into a conflict with them. You are wrong, this is right, this is right. If that sort of confrontation happens prematurely or insensitively, then they are on the bridge and we break the bridge.
We break the bridge and what happens? They fall down. Say somebody is following a particular religion and then we get too much into heated theological or philosophical or whatever sort of conflicts with them. And they think this religion says this, this religion says this, this whole business is so messy and so confusing, better I will not have anything to do with anything spiritual.
And they become materialistic. They were at a particular level but we pull them from there and then we let them fall. That is undesirable.
So our goal should be to enhance people's faith. See we are not here to in a sectarian way promote the numbers of a particular organisation. Prabhupada said this is the International Society for Krishna Consciousness.
So we are here to raise people's consciousness. And whatever is the best way they can raise their consciousness, we are happy to support, assist them in that. So we have found our consciousness raised by this way and that's why we naturally encourage others.
But if we become too aggressive and then we make people, people who are spiritual are so aggressive, I don't want to have anything to do with spiritual business and they become materialistic. And that's like we are breaking the bridge, we are doing disservice to them. So if our intention is actually to help others and if people are open to understanding, then we can definitely invite them.
Krishna's mood in the Bhagavad Gita is not imposition but invitation. And he is God. He is a supreme being.
But even what does he tell Arjuna? Deliberate deeply on this message and then do as you desire. So what Krishna is offering is, he is not just saying do as you desire. That everybody is doing.
Krishna's special thing that he says, deliberate first. So for most people in today's world, their whole worldview is just a materialistic worldview. Spirituality is not even an option in their worldview at all.
So what we do is, we provide them spiritual knowledge, we provide them some spiritual processes for getting spiritual experience. We bring that spiritual option in the ambit, in the circumference of their consciousness. So deliberate, think about this and then do as you desire.
So if we just tell people do as you desire, we don't tell about spirituality, then we are doing disservice to them. But if instead of asking them to deliberate, we impose on them, then again we are doing a disservice. So we deliberate, that means we give them something to deliberate, to think about and then we leave the choice to them.
And they will grow accordingly. Does that answer your question? Anyone else has a question? I will come back to you. Anyone else? So when we fall, at the same time we also need to exist, we need to spend for ourselves, find money, find… When you are doing this, you might be in a stage where you think, yeah, I mean, that is, you know, spiritual growth is the ultimate thing.
But at the same time, I have to pretend to people that I am passionate in doing my work, you know, my job, you know, whatever day to day thing I am doing. That might not be my actual interest, that might just be a way of, you know, just a way to get my food, my daily bread. But, I mean, how do you get that, you know, amount of passion in your day to day life to do things that you might actually speak, that actually might be mundane, but you need that just for existence.
You know what I mean? When you go to a job interview, you need to say that, oh, I love doing this, I might actually not be really interested in it. But, you know, to sustain your life, you need to do this. Yeah.
So, if we become spiritual, then we become somewhat uninterested in material things. And then to grow in our career, we need to be materially passionate. So, how do we how do we act like that? Actually, there are, at least in the initial phases of our spiritual life, we see the material and spiritual as two distinct categories.
This is spiritual life. Okay, I come to a spiritual centre, I practise spiritual principles, I do some directly spiritual activities. And that's what makes me spiritual.
But otherwise, I think everything else is material. But as we grow spiritually, we understand that the spiritual and material are not just entirely divorced. Because ultimately, the supreme spiritual reality is God.
And he is the source of the material also. So, if we see Arjuna at the start of the Bhagavad Gita was saying that I don't want to fight. I just want to renounce the world.
Krishna told him fight. The Bhagavad Gita actually advocates an engaged form of spirituality. When Arjuna throughout his life was fighting archery, was practising archery.
Now, he would stay awake late into the night just to practise that archery carefully. That's why one of his names was Kudakesha, one who has conquered sleep. At that time, when he was practising his archery, Arjuna did not know necessarily, that in the future, he would be fighting a war of dharma.
And in that his archery skill would be useful. But it turned out to be useful. So, sometimes, how our material skills, how our material positions, how our material abilities or material resources may also become of use for our spiritual growth, we do not know.
We see that whatever I am doing, the defining difference between material and spiritual is not just the external. Is this connected with something spiritual directly? And this is not connected. That is the difference.
And that sort of difference is important in terms of ensuring that we have adequate time for a direct spiritual connection. Now, we come to a spiritual programme, we associate with people who are spiritually minded, we have spiritual sound vibrations, spiritual music, spiritual wisdom. So, for that kind of categorisation, so that we give due time to spirituality, the categorisation is helpful.
But beyond that separation, it's also integration, because spiritual is ultimately an attitude. It is the attitude of service. When I come to a temple, what am I doing? I'm coming to a spiritual centre, I want to serve Krishna.
I want to serve God. I want to serve others and develop my mood of loving service. And this mood of loving service, actually, in a competitive world, I may not be able to have that loving mood per se, but still we can have that attitude of service.
It is Krishna by your arrangement, I'm in a particular position in my life, I have a particular career, I have a particular financial situation, and I need to do this. So, we can do even that in a mood of service. Prabhupada writes in the Bhagavad Gita in the 18th chapter that, you know, a person can be working in a factory and the person can be thinking that I'm doing this work for Krishna.
And that will just be thinking alone, and not an authentic spiritual connection, if that person is not having time for direct spiritual activities. But if there is time for direct spiritual activities, which spiritualise our consciousness, which make the goal of our life spiritual, then thereafter, whatever we do, we can do it in the mood of service. And through it also will grow.
We'll grow towards Krishna because we're developing the mood of service. At the very least, even if in future, no connection of that thing with my spiritual side is discovered. Like I said, the archery I was able to use in Krishna's service.
Arjuna was able to use in Krishna's service. He didn't know he would be able to use. So, similarly, we do not know.
We may learn a particular skill, we may get into a particular position, we may be a particular social situation, and that may turn out to be of use for us in the future. In addition to that, we can see even that as a service. Because ultimately, it is by Krishna's arrangement, we are in that situation, and we can develop that attitude of service.
Thirdly, we can also see that ultimately, spiritual life is about learning to discipline ourselves. That is, this is my intention. When we come to, when we try to do mantra meditation, sometimes we feel like chanting, sometimes we don't feel like chanting.
But if we want to, if spiritual life is about developing a relationship with God, then relationship means there has to be not just emotion, there has to be dedication. It's conscious intention. Whether I feel like it or I don't feel like it, I will do it.
When a mother is taking care of a child, mother can't say, I don't feel like taking care of you today, you cry. No, there is commitment. I will take care, no matter what happens.
So, similarly, if there is to be a committed relationship, then there is emotion, but we need to go beyond the emotion to the dedication. Just as that applies in spiritual life, in our relationship with Krishna, and that requires the practise, the discipline of subordinating our emotion to our dedication. And that we can do, that training we can get even in our profession.
I don't feel like doing it, but this is my service, so I will do it. I won't get myself emotionally completely entangled in it. But whatever level of emotional engagement is required for that, I'll do that.
And that culture of discipline helps. Even in spiritual life, if you, there are different people who come to spiritual life in different ways. And sometimes some people come to spiritual life because they are so materially frustrated.
This went wrong, that went wrong, that went wrong, that went wrong, and they came to spiritual life. That's good. Anyway, we come to Krishna, that is good.
Some people come to spiritual life because they achieved a lot materially, but they feel this is not enough. I need something more in my life. Now, if you see in spiritual life also, who are the people who grow sustainably? Those who had an ethos of responsibility, of dedication, of commitment in their material life, that ethos they will carry in their spiritual life also.
And whatever they do, they will do it in a committed way. Those who were very apathetic, irresponsible, uncommitted in their material life, they may because of frustration come to spiritual life. But unless they change that ethos, they will not really be able to grow sustainably.
So, the point I'm making here is that the ethos that we develop, that shapes our spiritual life. So, even if our work is not directly spiritually connected, we can see it as a place where we're developing an ethos of subordinating our emotions to our intentions, to our dedication. And through that also, we can grow.
We can grow internally. And we need to have a more integrated vision of spirituality. And we see that ultimately spiritual material is not just differentiated by externals, it is differentiated by the intention to serve.
So, if we have the intention to serve, in many subtler ways, we can actually be not just connecting ourselves with Krishna, but we can be connecting others to Krishna. I'll conclude this point with one example. I was in a university recently in India.
And there's a student who asked me, you know, how can I inspire my other friends to also come to bhakti? So, I told him that by studying. I mentioned that, I think last time also. He says, if you don't study, if you study, there is no guarantee that they will come to bhakti.
But if you don't study, there is guarantee they will not come to bhakti. So, we can see this as a service to Krishna. Yeah, please.
So, how do we face reversals? How can we get the confidence that it's God's plan in our life? When reversals come, the natural tendency is to feel frustrated, resentful, to feel helpless. Now, if you consider life to be like a journey. Now, there is past, there is present, there is future.
So, life moves on these rails, from the past to the present to the future. And our consciousness is also meant to move along this. Past, present, future.
Now, of course, life will move automatically, time just moves on. But our consciousness has to be made to move intentionally, with conscious intentions, conscientiously. So, especially when adversities come, then our consciousness gets stuck.
It's like adversities derail us from the path of life. So, especially when we become resentful, those who rail at destiny, derail themselves. They derail themselves.
Why did this happen? Why did this happen? Why did this happen? So, even from a practical perspective, if we see that what has happened has happened. And I can't change it now. So, acceptance is very important for us to focus.
So, when I accept that something is unchangeable, then I can focus on that which is changeable. But if I don't accept only that something is unchangeable, like say I was just in Gainesville, in Florida, and there is this hurricane Irma that has come there. So, there are some people who just refuse to leave their homes.
And then, if they refuse to leave their homes, and then the flood comes, then they can't leave. So, yes, the hurricane is going to come, you can't change that. But that doesn't mean that we can't change anything.
What we can change is, we can move ourselves to safety. So, in every situation that we are in our life, there are some things which we can change, and some things which we can't change. So, when adversities happen, at that time, the amount of things that we can't change may become very less.
But still there is something which we can always change. At the very least, we can change our consciousness. I won't keep reeling at this.
I won't keep thinking about this. So, I have a whole seminar on karma, destiny, and free will. But I'll just give one example over here to illustrate this.
You see, life is like a tennis match. In a tennis match, sometimes, today the US Open final is there. So, the players, when they are playing, sometimes they are serving, and sometimes they are returning.
Now, when the player is serving, at that time, they have much more freedom. Now, whether they serve on the backhand, or the forehand, or into the body, whether at a high height or a low height, and they are returning, the player who is returning, they have little less freedom. Now, wherever the ball comes, I just have to get the racket there, and get the ball back into play.
But there is, so the amount of control is more when we are serving, and the amount of control is less when we are returning. But in both cases, there is control. I mean, there are some players who win matches simply because they are such good returners.
Just can get the ball in the, bat in the right, and get the ball back into the court in the right position. Now, if the person who is in the position of returning, if that person expects the freedom of serving, you know, I know where, I want to decide where I will swing my racket. When you swing the racket here, the ball has gone over there.
It is of no use. So, a lot of conflict happens in our life when we expect the freedom of serving when we are actually returning. And similarly, another side of the problem happens when we exhibit the passivity of returning when we are expected to be serving.
So, especially when we face adversities, then we are put in constricted situations. Okay, no, you know, there's a problem in this relationship. I've got a health crisis.
I've lost my job. There's some problems have come up. So, the freedom that I have has become less.
But even then, I have some freedom. So, if we just recognise, okay, what am I, what is it that is in my control? What is it that is not in my control? And we, in adversity, our mind just focusses on that which is not in our control. Oh, you know, why did I speak like that? Why did he do like that? Why did this happen? And so, if the mind gets derailed, it goes to the past.
This went wrong, that went wrong. And it also goes to the future. Oh, you know, this is going to be a problem.
That is going to be a problem. Now, that is going to happen. What will I do? So, basically, when we are thinking too much about the past or about the future, not in the sense of learning from it or planning for it, just lamenting about it or dreading it, then we are basically letting our thoughts dwell on that which is not in our control.
So, why is it like this? Why is it? Why is it not working out like that? We think like that. Basically, we are trying to, we are expecting the freedom of serving when we are in a position of returning. So, returning means, okay, this is my area of control right now.
What can I do in this situation? I can play like this. I can just get the ball in. So, if we look at adversities as situations, not as disasters, but situations where the area of our control has become substantially less.
But it is there. Even if I have lost everything, still I have my consciousness. If I focus on what I have lost, I will become gloomy.
If I focus on, okay, what do I have? I have my health. I have my abilities. I can make a new beginning.
If I focus on that, I still have something to do. So, in that sense, acceptance is not resignation. It is not abandoning.
Oh, everything has gone wrong. Acceptance of the unchangeable helps us to focus on the changeable. Now, with spiritual wisdom, there are two more dynamics which come into it.
We understand that bad things do happen in life. But spiritual life is not about denying the bad. It is not imagining that whatever has happened is good.
No, bad things do happen in life. But it is not that everything is good, but everything can be for good. Bad things happen, but good things can come out of the bad.
But they will come out only when our response is good. So, that means we accept, okay, this is a problem. This is a bad thing that has happened.
I do not know why this has happened. But the spiritual understanding is that, that which is not in my control is ultimately in Krishna's control. And Krishna will bring good out of it.
I do not know how at this stage. Mahabharata says, the inscrutable will of the Supreme is for the good of all living beings. But it is inscrutable.
We do not know how it is. But then how do we live then? He says, if we do His will, we will understand this in due course. How the Supreme's will is for the good of all living beings, that we will understand in due course when we do His will.
Now, what is His will? His will is that within whatever we have in our control, we do our best. So, if we pray to Krishna, if we try to connect with Krishna's devotees, if we try to calm ourselves down with spiritual wisdom, and then see, what can I do now? So, sometimes we have, I will conclude with this metaphor, that sometimes we have our path of life planned out. This is the path I am going to do.
And we see it is all well lit. I am going to do this. I am going to do that.
I am going to do that. And then suddenly, power goes off. I cannot see anything around me.
What do I do? Now, I can rant at the loss of power. That is of not much help. I may do it for a few moments.
I may rant. I may curse. But then, I just take up my phone.
I turn on my flashlight. The flashlight does not replace the street light. It is not the same as having power.
But the flashlight can show me one step ahead. One step ahead. If I just keep using it, I can keep going one step, one step, one step, one step.
So, like that, if sometimes our plan gets disrupted, life's plan gets disrupted, because a big adversity comes. That is like a light has gone off in our life. Then, we turn on the flashlight.
And flashlight turning on is, is our devotional service attitude. Krishna, how can I serve you now? I am your servant. I want to serve you.
How can I serve you now? So, Vishal Prabhupada said, this is the best prayer that we can offer to Krishna. Oh God, please give me the strength to serve you. So, if we have that, that question, that prayer, how can I serve you, that becomes like a flashlight.
Yeah, I can do this one thing. I can take this one step forward. I can take this one step forward.
I can take this one step forward. No matter how big an adversity we are facing, the problems of today are always manageable today. It is only when we add the problems of yesterday and the problems of tomorrow to the problems of today, that it becomes unmanageable.
So, just think of life in steps. This is, okay, this is what I can do now. This is what I can do.
Take one step forward, one step forward. And as we keep taking steps forward, we can cover a substantial distance. And over time, the lights will come back.
Over time, we will see that there is a plan, that things have turned out to be good. Not just good, sometimes things have turned out to be better for me. So, we just have to have that focus.
That when things are going wrong, that it's not that everything is lost. Something is still in my control. And if I focus on that which is in my control with a service attitude, and I understand that that is out of my control, it's bad right now, but Krishna can bring good out of it.
Then we'll be able to move forward. And eventually, we will not only go through that adversity, but we will grow through that adversity. Okay.
Thank you very much. Hare Krishna.