Changing ourselves by changing our situation standpoint and self-identification

[Seminar at the Arsa-kesari temple, Singapore] Video:

Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, I am grateful to be here amongst all of you today.

I'll speak today on the topic of changing ourselves. Changing ourselves by changing our situation, our standpoint and our self-identification. Basically, we all at some time in our life experience that I want to become a better person.

I want to become more patient, less short tempered. I want to become more orderly. I want to become more understanding.

I want to become more disciplined. I want to become more spiritual. So we all feel at times that we want to become better.

Especially New Year is the time when many people make New Year resolutions. That this is what I am trying to improve. A couple of years ago I was invited on a talk show on the New Year.

And I did some study about New Year resolutions. So I found that more than 90 to around 95% of the resolutions that people make every New Year, the resolutions are not new. They had made those resolutions the previous years but somehow they couldn't keep it.

So changing ourselves is not an easy task. So when it is not easy, what can we do about it? How can we work towards changing ourselves? So our existence has three levels. The body, the mind and the soul.

So if you want to change ourselves, the change has to work at all three levels. So changing our situation refers to our body, our extra physical level of reality. Changing our standpoint refers to from where we are looking at things.

That refers to the disposition of our mind, our attitude. And changing our self-identification refers to our understanding of who we are. That is our spiritual self-understanding.

So let's take some metaphors for understanding this. Say somebody is an alcoholic and the person has now decided that alcohol has got me into a lot of trouble. I want to give it up.

Now that resolution to give it up is very important. But at the same time if the alcoholic is living right next to a bar, then giving up the alcohol will be next to impossible. So in some situations changing the externals is almost always necessary.

So if you want to make a particular change, then changing our situation, that person may decide, I can't stay in this place, I'll have to take a new home somewhere else. That's of course a radical change. But the point is that for most of us, our consciousness is largely influenced by our externals.

And so changing our situation is vital. Because whatever situation we are put in, we are affected by that situation. Or some people say that actually God is present in our hearts, why do we need to go to a temple? Yes, that is true.

God is present in our hearts. But our consciousness is not present in our heart. Our consciousness is present in the world around us.

And because of that, even if God is present in our heart, our consciousness is present in the world. So that's why we don't get much influence positively by God's presence in our heart. We get influence much more by what is present in the world around us.

And that's why we need to go to a place where God is manifest in the world. That's a temple. So when we go to a temple, when we go to a holy place, at that point, just changing that situation, I go to my home, I go to my office, I go to a market for shopping, I go here, I go there, but when I come to a temple, then just coming to that place, to some extent spiritualises my consciousness.

So our externals affect our internals. Ultimately, no change is possible without change of internals. But in many cases, without change of externals, the change of internal is not possible.

When I was in America, a couple of months ago, I was on a 2-3 month tour of America, so there I had gone to a mental health care centre. Now, in Hindi, we might use blunt language and say a mental health care centre is a pagal khana. But it is not exactly like that.

It is not that people who live there are mad. They are just mentally disturbed to an extent that they are not able to deal with reality. All of us, we face problems.

And we may have a normal way of behaving, and when trouble comes in our life, then that normal way of behaving doesn't remain. For example, somebody may be normally very gentle and sweet and kind, but when they are under too much pressure, they have to do this work, this work, this problem is there, that problem is there, then you suddenly explode. And we wonder, what happened? He was such a nice person, she is such a sweet person, what happened? Why are they exploding like this? So, all of us, when we are pressured or provoked, we deviate from our normal course.

Now, the extent to which different people deviate will vary. Some people may just be a little rough, leave me alone. I don't want to talk with you right now.

Just go away. Some people just blast out, shout at us. Although it's not our fault, something else is going on in their life, but we become the brunt of their anger.

Some people don't just shout, they may physically attack. Some people may not just physically attack, especially, say, in America, where people have easy access to guns. There is the danger of road rage.

Road rage means if you are driving a car, and somebody else is driving in front of you. And, when we are driving, in the western world, actually, if we are driving, if somebody is driving very inappropriately, we may blow a horn. Now, in India, on the cars, they write, horn, please.

You know, don't bump into me, please blow a horn. Because the whole traffic there is so disorderly, that most people don't follow order, so you have to blow a horn. But in the western world, if you are driving, if you blow a horn, it is considered to be an insult to the other person.

Do you think I don't know how to drive? Why are you blowing a horn? Sometimes, the person may be driving inappropriately, but if the person behind blows a horn, this person says, how dare you? This person just turns around, picks a gun and shoots it. And people die because of road rage sometimes. So, in driving guidance, the drivers are told that if you see somebody driving very erratically, don't confront the person, just inform the police.

So, the point here is that all of us, we are put under pressure by life. But under pressure, we may all deviate from our normal course. But how much we deviate, that will vary from person to person.

So, as I said, some people just shout, but some people become physically violent. So then, when this reaction to disturbing situations becomes disproportionate, becomes excessively violent, then such people are considered to be mentally unstable. And they may be required to be admitted to a mental health care centre.

So, it's not that they are bad people, it's not even that they are mad people. It's just that under provocation, they snap. So, now some people get into addictions.

So, for such people, I met one person over there who was a double PhD from an Ivy League university. I said, what has such a person got to do in a mental health care centre? But he had somehow become addicted to drugs. And now, sometimes when people get addicted, they are forcibly, they have to choose it, but they are put in a de-addiction centre.

And there, their freedom is voluntarily restricted. They have no access to drugs, they have no access to anyone who will have drugs. And by accepting that restriction, they chart the path to recovery.

So, here, it's not that the person is bad. It's just that for that person, the pressure is becoming too much. So, the changing of the externals, changing one's situation, is an aid in changing oneself.

Krishna also talks about this in the Bhagavad Gita in 2.58, when he says, यदास् सम्हरते चायं कूर्मोन्नानिव सर्वशः इन्द्रियाणिंद्रियार्थेव्यस् तस्यप्रज्ञाप्रतिष्ठता So, just as a tortoise withdraws its limbs into itself, similarly, we need to withdraw our senses from tempting sense objects. Now, we may not need to be admitted in a mental health care centre, we may not have an addiction, but all of us have our vulnerabilities. So, when we know what our vulnerability is, we have to prepare ourselves to protect ourselves.

Caution begins with precaution. Caution means to be alert to danger. Precaution means advance alertness to danger.

Psychologists talk about a concept called propinquity. Propinquity means the effect of space and time on behaviour. So, for example, if this is a person's home, this is a person's office, and along the way there is a restaurant.

So, this person is going from office to home. This restaurant has a delicacy which I like. And suppose they are obese and they are trying to cut down and not eat fatty food.

But then, this restaurant is there, let me just eat it. And they go in and they give in to the temptation. But, suppose they are going along and they find there is a big crowd over there.

There is a big crowd and they think, oh, if I have to eat this I will have to wait for half an hour to get to the place and then half an hour to get the order. One hour, come on, who will do it? So, they forget it. So, our mind usually chooses the path of least resistance.

Whatever can be easily done, the mind does that. So, when we change our situation so that the provocation or the temptation is not easily available. Then, for the mind, the path of least resistance is not indulging in the temptation.

If the temptation is easily available, then the path of least resistance is indulging in the temptation. If, oh, I have to wait for one hour to get this food, one hour is too much time to spend, forget it. So, many times there are desires which just pop into us from our circumstances.

They are casual desires, stray desires. We don't really want to indulge in them, but somehow circumstances bring them into us. So, if we change our situation, then to a large extent the temptation can be avoided.

So, for example, this person is, this is the home, this is the office, along the way there is a bar, and this person is trying to recover from alcohol. They just decide, I will not drive along this way. I will drive from some other path.

It might be a little longer, but just avoiding that exposure can decrease the probability of relapse. So, for all of us, if we find out what our triggers are, sometimes when we are interacting with some people, we tend to get provoked. The way they talk, the way they behave, that tends to provoke us.

Now, if we come to understand, okay, now this situation is getting provocative, then as soon as we realise that, we pull off. Let's not talk about this now, we will talk about it later. Then it might appear rude to walk away from that situation, but staying there and having a confrontation will be worse than rude.

So, we all have to know where our weak points are. In the Ramayana, when Sugriva lives in the forest, because Vali is pursuing him for a long time, then finally Ram arranges to have Vali killed, and then Sugriva becomes the king. And then Chaturmash says that the heavy rains are there, so they cannot find Sita during that time.

Now, during those four months, Sugriva starts engaging in ramathri, all kinds of worldly enjoyment. Now, Sugriva is not a bad person, but after having lived in abstinence in the forest for so many years, now suddenly when he gets royal opulence, it's just overwhelming for him. So, it's not that he is a bad character, but that situation was a situation of great temptation.

And he became overwhelmed by that. So, if we find out what our triggers are, what situations bring out our worst, we all have a good side within us and a bad side within us. Some situations bring out our worst.

Then either we change our situation or we at least move out of that situation. So, this external change is vital. It is not sufficient, but it is necessary.

In mathematics sometimes we have this necessary but not sufficient condition. So, when we are pure at that time, even the external provocation will not affect us. But we cannot assume we are pure right now.

We have to be humble. Before we can become pure, first we have to become humble. And humility begins by acknowledging our impurity.

Assuming purity is a sign of pride. So, if I recognise this is a situation I get provoked, I avoid that. If I know that some person, it's difficult to get along with this person.

So, then we are in advance itself we are prepared. We take precaution. Whatever happens, I am not going to shout.

I am not going to do this, I am not going to do that. When we take precautions, then we are better prepared to deal with that situation. Say, we normally drive smoothly in a car.

But say if it's a rainy environment like this, where the car may slip, the wheels may skid, then we drive slowly. So, caution, there should be caution while driving. But precaution means in advance we prepare our mind.

In this situation, I have to take care of this. So, any kind of change has to begin with change of externals. Now, there may not be a permanent change, there may be a temporary change.

But especially when we are getting provoked, if we just avoid that situation for that time, that helps quite a bit. So, second level of change is the change of standpoint. Standpoint means that, first is where I am.

Standpoint means where I am looking from. What is my attitude? Where am I looking from? So, for example, if I am in Singapore, we have skyscraper buildings, 20-30 storey buildings. If we are at the bottom of the building, it looks huge.

If we are in an aeroplane above the building, the building looks small. A 20-storey building and a 2-storey building. From an aeroplane's perspective, it may not seem much different.

So, our mind shapes our perception substantially. And there is physical reality around us. There is the mental reality or the mental world, we could say, in which we go into daydreams or at night we dream.

And there is a spiritual level of reality. So, normally we are experiencing life at the physical level. So, all of us sitting in this class and we are discussing.

But our mind does not stay at the physical level. Although we are at a particular physical level sitting, but the mind goes off in its own world. So, for example, if in a class, we are here in a class and then the mind says, this is not very interesting.

Mind says, let's go for a walk. Now, physically we would walk out of the class and go, but our mind just goes off. Goes off to home, goes to office, goes here, goes there.

And then, if there is a joke in the class, and everybody starts laughing, then mind runs back. Hey, what was the joke? What was the joke? Tell me. Because the mind wants to have fun.

So, the mind is actually not necessarily connected with our physical reality. It is meant to be, but it is not always connected. So, perception or when do we see or hear or perceive things? When the soul, the mind and the body are in the same light.

Say, for example, right now, you are hearing. Or you are seeing. So, there is a soul, which is a source of consciousness.

The mind, which is the channel of consciousness. And the eyes, which are the tool of consciousness. So, from the soul, the consciousness comes through the mind to the eyes, and to the eyes to the external world.

So, then we can see. But if sometimes we are absent-minded, then absent-minded means what happens? Then, the soul is there, the eyes are there, but the mind is not there. And then we don't perceive things.

Sometimes we say, people are absent-minded. Now, absent-minded doesn't mean the mind is absent. The mind is always existing.

But the mind is not present where the body is present. So, in that sense, we can't perceive if the mind is not there. If the mind has wandered off.

So, if we look at ourselves, how do we get provoked? We all, at times, do things which we regret later. I should not have spoken like that. I should not have done like that.

So, now, when we get tempted or provoked, it can happen in two ways. One is from outside in, and the other is inside out. Outside in means that there is some provocation in the outer world.

Somebody behaves in an unreasonable way, we may get angry because of that. Or we see some tempting object and we indulge because of that. So, the provocation comes from outside today.

But sometimes it can be inside out also. Sometimes the desire pops up in the mind from somewhere else. From our past recollection.

From our past conditionings. And then, from inside, say, a drunkard is sitting peacefully at home, alcoholic, recovering alcoholic, and there is no stimulus over there. But suddenly, some past memory of drinking comes up.

I want to drink. And then from inside, from the recollection comes in the mind, and from that, it comes to the external level. The person goes to a bar and drinks.

So, our indulgence may happen inside out. Now, what exactly is the mind? And how does it function? As I said, we change our situation to avoid provocation. But what do we do about our recollection? So, we want to change our standpoint.

Standpoint means where we are looking for. What is our attitude with which we are looking at things? So, this means that the mind is to be understood in a way that it works for us instead of against us. The mind is also a part of the material body.

And in that sense, the mind is non-lyric. But the mind is not simply non-lyric. The mind is subtle.

So, if I consider a computer, the body can be compared to the hardware of the computer. And the mind is like the software of the computer. Now, many softwares have their own settings.

So, for example, now, if you search for something on Google, and I search for something on Google, both of us will not get the same findings. Why? Because Google keeps a track of our past searches. And it customises the results according to our past searches.

So, that means when I log in with my Google ID, and then when I am searching, then although both you and I are searching for the same item, but the past customises it. So, we can compare Google to our mind. So, we go in and we want to do something.

So, for example, say, I come into the temple and you come into the temple. Now, when we come into the temple, different people see different things. Some people may focus on the details first.

Some people may focus on who else has come over here. Some people may look at who is dressed in what. Some people may think who is doing what exactly.

We all have our preconceptions about people. This person like this, this person like that. So, depending on every situation that we are in, whatever situation we come in, it is our mind that determines how we process it.

So, the mind is a reservoir. Just like Google has a record of all our past searches, which customises the results that it gives. So, like that, whatever intention we have, whatever desire we have, actually the mind gives its own results.

So, the mind does not determine what we do, but it proposes what we can do. And if we are not careful, we might just accept its proposition. So, for example, if there is a South Indian.

Now, South Indian has a particular bodily complexion. There is a Gujarati. There might be a particular bodily complexion.

There may be a Bengali. There might be a particular bodily shape or something like that. But more important than that, it is not just geography.

It is also psychology. Because our culture are bringing shapes to us. So, say a Gujarati, a South Indian, say a Gujarati, a Tamilian, a Bengali, all of them feel hungry.

Hunger is the common stimulus. But as soon as hunger comes, South Indian may think, oh, I want idli sambhar. Gujarati may think, oh, I want dhokla.

And a Bengali may think, oh, I want chandu. What is a Bengali delicacy? Rasgulla. Rasgulla.

Okay, some snacks? Okay, as I say, so, each of us, the same stimulus, the hunger is the same stimulus. But what I feel, what I desire when I get hungry, that is shaped by our past psychology. By our past, the way we have lived, the way we have acted.

So, the mind is, in that sense, we have certain intentions, but how we execute that intention, the mind offers propositions. So, now, what we need to do is, we have to change where we are looking from. So, the mind is going to offer certain propositions.

Just like in the outside world, there are so many advertisements. Say, in the past, we might have been looking, oh, I want to buy this, I want to eat this, I want to go here, I want to go there. And we look at the advertisements.

But suppose I start practising bhakti, and I understand, I don't want to get involved in materialistic things. I don't want to eat this, I don't want to eat here, I don't want to eat there. Just because our intention has changed, does that mean the advertising is going to stop? No, the advertising is going to go on.

Because the advertisers, they have their business. So, we can compare our mind to be like an internal advertising agent. So, just because our intention changes, doesn't mean the mind's disposition is going to change.

The mind is still going to advertise. Come on, eat this, come on, watch this, touch this, do this, buy this. So, there is the action, which we are doing physically.

Okay, I'm not going to buy this, I'm not going to do this, I'm not going to do that, whatever it is. We want to avoid it. But, we don't want to do the action, that's our intention.

But, in between comes the mind. And the mind shapes our perception of things. So, if I'm habituated to buying things a lot, some people are shopaholics.

Just keep buying, buying, buying. So, even if I decide I'm not going to buy so much, but still the mind, hey, maybe you can try, maybe there is some offer. You can get something for sale, something on discount.

Anyone miss it? Come on, just look at it. The mind will keep prompting, will keep prompting. So, now what the mind prompts for whom, that will vary from person to person.

So, for somebody who is never drunk alcohol, even if they pass by a bar, the mind is not going to propose a drink. That is not there only. But, for somebody who is drunk a few times, every time they pass by the bar, the mind will propose.

Come on, let's have a drink, let's have a drink, let's have a drink. So, the propositions of the mind are going to come. So, if I'm going along a road, and if I sit and look at the advertisements, this looks nice, this looks nice, this looks nice.

If I look at the advertisements, the more I look at it, the more my desire will increase. But, if I decide I'm not going to look at the advertisements, I just move straight forward. So, when I move straight forward, then I will not be so tempted.

So, similarly for us, within our mind itself, there will be many advertisements, which will come, hey, come on, eat this, come on, watch this, come on, do this, do that. So, when these advertisements come, this is our mind promoting things. And if we understand that just because something is being proposed by the mind, that doesn't mean I have to do it.

Even if the desire comes within us, that doesn't mean I have to do it. The desire will come, they stay for some time, and after that they go. So, if we do not understand, say, the Bhagavad Gita's analysis of the self, that there is the mind and there is the soul beyond the mind.

Then, what happens, whenever any desire comes in the mind, we start thinking, this is my desire. But just because it has come in our mind, does not mean it is our desire. It is just a proposition coming from the mind.

Just like, say, somebody comes and tells us, come on, let's go to a hotel and have some food. Now, we may consider it. Should I go or should I not go? But just because somebody is proposing it, that doesn't mean we will do it immediately.

Why? Because we understand that what the mind is saying, that when somebody is proposing, we understand, this is a different person from me. And it is for me to decide whether I should go or not. So, same way, when an idea comes in the mind, it is not our idea.

It is the mind's idea. Now, it is not necessary that all the mind's ideas will be bad. Some ideas will be good also.

But they need to be evaluated. So, in the 14th chapter of the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna talks about this, becoming an observer of our emotions. In 14.22-25, he says, प्रकाशंच प्रवृत्तिञ्च मोहमेवच पाण्डव नद्वेश्टिसं प्रवृत्तानि दनिवृत्तानि काम्षति उदासीन वदासीनं गुणेन्यो नविचाल्यते गुणावर्तन्मिदित्येव योवतिष्ठतिनेगते So, he says, प्रकाशंच प्रवृत्तिञ्च मोहमेवच पाण्डव These three are the shorthands Krishna uses to refer to the mode of goodness, passion and ignorance.

In goodness, there is illumination. In 14.11, he says, सर्वद्वारेशु देहेस्मिन् प्रकाशंच मोहमेवच जायते ग्यानमिदा विद्ध ग्यानमिदा विध्या विद्धम सत्तो विध्यूत So, he says, when Prakash is there, when illumination is there, when you can see things clearly, that is the mode of goodness. प्रवृत्ति लोहः प्रवृत्तिरारंभाः कर्मणावश्यवास्प्रुहाः वजस्येतारिजायन्ते विद्धेवर्तर्ष्यवाः And, मोहं अप्रकाशो प्रवृतिष्चो मोहं एवचे पाण्डवः नदेश्टी So, अप्राशो अप्रवृतिष्चो मोहं एवचे पाण्डवः Krishna says that, when there is no Prakash, when there is no illumination, and there is no action, there is simply delusion, मोहं, that is, So, these are the three modes of material nature.

Another way to understand it is Some people make things happen. Some people watch things happen. And some people wonder what happened.

So, people in the mode of goodness make things happen. They think, they plan, Okay, do this, do this. I'll do this, I'll delegate this to others.

And we'll get it done. So, some people make things happen. Some people watch things happen.

People in the mode of passion, they run around doing things. They try to do one thing, but because they act thoughtlessly, so one thing leads to that problem, that problem, that problem. And then, hey, what happened? Just watch things happen.

What's happening? And some people, so caught in their own world, wonder what happened. What's going on around me? So, they're just completely caught in illusion. They're completely unaware.

So, these are the three modes of material nature. And these modes, they have, they associate with them, their own dispositions. How they, sometimes we may feel illumined, or clear.

This is what I should do, this is what I should not do. Sometimes we feel passionate. I want to do this, I want to do that.

Sometimes the mode of ignorance. Let's forget everything. So, like that, these kind of emotions will come within us.

Krishna says, Whatever, sometimes we just feel a lot of desire, a lot of craving, a lot of anger. Krishna says, don't resent when they come. Just observe them coming.

And sometimes, some good feelings, they are there, but they go away after some time. Don't crave for them. What do you do? Be situated as if detached.

Know that, don't be agitated by the modes. Know that this fluctuation of the mind is simply happening because of the modes. One who is situated, fixed.

In this way, that person will stay sober. So, Udasi means detached. Vad means as if detached.

We can't be entirely detached because the emotions are coming within us. The desires are coming within us. So, we have to evaluate them.

That means, in English, to put it this way, there are two words. There is uninterested and there is disinterested. Sometimes the two are used as synonyms, but actually they are not.

Uninterested means, having no interest in anything. Disinterested means, having no vested interest. It's impartial.

He is a disinterested part. That means, he has nothing to gain by who this person wins or that person wins. So, say, consider a cricket match.

There is an umpire. The umpire needs to be disinterested, not uninterested. If the players appeal, how's that? The umpire says, I was not looking at the match.

What do you mean? Why is there an umpire there? So, the umpire has to be interested. But then, the umpire should not have any vested interest. I want this team to win or that team to win.

The player's duty is to appeal. Even if the batsman is not out, the player has to appeal. Now, what the umpire has to do is, evaluate.

Is this appeal valid or is it not valid? Is the batsman out or is he not out? And then make a decision. So, like that, we need to become umpires of our own emotions, of our own desires. They are going to appeal, come on, eat this, watch this, why is this person like this? Anger will come, desire will come, greed will come.

They will come. But, just because these desires are coming, doesn't mean we have to act on them. Just because those emotions are coming, that doesn't mean they are our emotions.

So, when we change our standpoint, we don't identify with the emotions, we identify the emotions. Rather than saying, I am angry now, rather, anger is coming into me now. And, how should I deal with it? So, anger is arising within me.

And, we acknowledge that. Like a player is making an appeal, the umpire has to acknowledge. But, just because they are acknowledging, doesn't mean the player has to accept that.

So, okay, I am getting angry right now, what should I do? How should I respond to it? So, now this may seem a little difficult. But, actually, the characteristic of the mode of goodness is that we become more and more aware of our situation. We become aware of our physical reality and we become aware of our mental reality.

So, the more we come to the mode of goodness, we want to be, there is a physical reality, there is a mental reality, there is a spiritual reality. Bhakti means you have to become aware of the supreme spiritual reality, Krishna. But, before we can focus on Krishna, we have to make peace with our physical and mental realities.

That doesn't mean we accept it entirely and surrender to it. We just have to learn to live with it. So, the more we can become aware of things.

So, most of the times, say for example, when we chant the holy names, we are meant to be aware of spiritual reality. But, quite often, what happens is, we are not aware of spiritual reality, we are aware of mental reality. That means our mind is bantering, this person said this, this happened over there, I have to do that, I have to do that.

So, the mind is very forceful. Takes us here, takes us there, takes us there. That's why, if we do something physical, if your mind is bantering too much, just get up and walk a little bit.

And if you walk, what happens? We are forced to come back to physical reality. And when we come to physical reality, we at least become aware, oh, I am being absent-minded right now, I am supposed to chant, what am I doing all this? So, the mind, when we understand that it is very forceful, we just have to recognise that this mind is different from me. So, if my standpoint is that I identify with the mind, then it becomes impossible to resist what the mind is saying.

But when my standpoint is that I identify the mind, this is the mind speaking. This is the mind speaking right now. And it is my mind, so I have to deal with it.

I cannot deny or reject it. But I don't have to immediately accept it. We become an observer of our emotions.

And actually, this, this may not be possible to do in the heat of the moment. But again, I said earlier, caution begins with precaution. So, if I know in advance, in these situations, I tend to get angry.

Then, at that time, we can start asking ourselves, now anger is coming within me. And we prepare and pull ourselves out of that situation. So, gradually, as we start practising bhakti, what happens is, we start identifying with the positive in the mind, not the negative.

The mind is not entirely or anything. In the mind, there are some good things also. We may like kirtans, we may like some philosophy, we may like to come to temple and associate with devotees.

Almost everybody likes fasad. So, we all like something. And the mind has some good likings also.

The mind has some bad likings. So, what we need to do is, we have to identify with the good within the mind. We have certain good habits, we have certain bad habits.

Now, no habit can just be rejected. But habits can be replaced. So, what we need to do is, we have to identify properly.

If there is inability to identify the enemy, then we increase the enemies. Just like, there are terrorists over there, and we want to bomb the people over there. But, we think everybody over there is a terrorist, so we bomb everyone.

Then there are civilians over there, they also get angry and they start attacking us. So, what happens is, you have to pinpoint who is the enemy. The mind itself is not the enemy.

In the mind, there are certain conditionings, certain bad habits, which are the enemies. But, even within the mind, there are certain things which are positive. There are certain inclinations of the mind which are positive.

So, we identify with them. So, rather than thinking, oh, I am feeling bored, I want some stimulation, I want some pleasure. So, one part of the mind is, come on, watch some TV, just surf on the net, play this game, do this.

Another part is, maybe I can hear something, maybe I can hear some class, maybe I can read something which I have read earlier. So, we have to empower the positive side within the mind. So, standpoint means, we identify in the mind, hey, this is my past negative conditioning speaking.

And then, instead of identifying with it, we focus on the positive in the mind. So, here, it's important to know that the mind does not work so well with negatives. It works much more with positives.

That means, we can treat the mind like a child. If you tell a child, don't do this. And most children have, let me try it out.

Isn't it? But instead, if you get the child, if the child says, don't touch the fire, let me touch the fire, what happens? But if you get the child and say, I am trying to play with the child, he starts playing with the child, forget the fire. If you tell the child, don't do that. But you don't focus on that.

If you give the child something constructive to do, then the destructive thing will not be there. So, this is how our mind works. In the physical level, we can decide not to touch some things.

If I come to know that there is, in this device, some electric charge is there, and I touch it, and I get a shock, then I may decide, I don't want to touch this. So, something physical, we can decide not to touch it. But something mental, we can't decide not to think of it.

Why? Because if I decide, I am not going to think of this. But if alcohol is there, I am not going to think about alcohol. But if not, I am not going to think about alcohol, then I am thinking about alcohol.

Psychologists call this, in various names, for one name they say that, if you have the pink monkey experiment, thought experiment. Tell people, for the next one minute, please don't think of a pink monkey. Now, in their whole life, they have never thought of a pink monkey.

But in that one minute, they have thought of a pink monkey. So, what happens with respect to the mind is, to tell the mind, don't do this. It doesn't work.

Because the mind is acting, the mind is energetic. It has to do something or the other. So, if I keep saying, I will not do this.

The mind will come quietly with the eraser and erase the knot. That means, I will not do this, I will not do this. The mind's eraser will erase the knot.

And what will happen? I will do it. So, obsessing too much on the negative, it doesn't work. So, whenever there is something which we don't want to do, we may have to resolve this, I am not going to do this.

But the focus has to be on positive. What am I going to do? Unless we create something positive, just saying no to the negative is not going to last for long. And, this brings us to the last part, that is, self-identification.

So, I talked about changing our situation, changing our standpoint, and then changing our self-identification. Self-identification means, who do I think I am? Most of us, we identify with ourselves in the body. And most of us, when we come to bhakti, we understand that we are souls.

But at a functional level, we all identify ourselves in particular ways. So, if, if, say, an alcoholic identifies oneself as alcoholic, then that person thinks, oh, I am alcoholic, I can never give this up. And, even if the person gives it up for some time, after a while the desire comes, what is this, I am like this only, I won't be able to give up.

So, whatever we identify with, whatever we identify ourselves as, that is how we will act sooner or later. So, if I identify myself as a male, then I'll feel, I need a female. If I identify myself as a female, I think I'll need a male.

Yes, we have bodies which are males or females. And we may need the association of the opposite gender. But that is not our primary identity.

We are souls. If I identify myself as an Indian, I think Pakistanis are bad people. If I identify myself as a Pakistani, Indians are bad people.

Whatever I identify myself as, that brings with it certain worldview, certain attitude, certain desires. So, if I identify myself as a boss, and then somebody who supports me doesn't behave properly, then how dare you behave like this, I become angry. If I identify myself as a mother, I think, you know, my child should obey me.

The child doesn't obey me? What is this? How dare you not disobey me? So, we all identify ourselves as something. And based on that identification, comes a set of expectations. Comes a set of desires.

Comes a set of actions. And ultimately, to change ourselves, spiritually means to change who we identify ourselves as. We identify ourselves as souls.

जीवेर स्वरुप होए, कृष्णेर नित्यदास। ममई वाम्शो जीव लोके, जीव भूदः सनातना। Krishna says we are all eternal parts of Krishna. So, I identify myself as a soul who is a servant of Krishna. As a servant of Krishna, I may be a boss in a particular company.

As a servant of Krishna, I may be a mother. As a servant of Krishna, I may be a husband. As a servant of Krishna, I may be a wife.

So, if I identify myself as a servant of Krishna, then in every situation you can think, okay, how can I best serve Krishna? As a mother, I have a responsibility. As a boss, I have some responsibility. I have to do it well.

But this is a service to Krishna. And how can I do this service the best? And sometimes the nature of the world is some services work out, some services don't work out so well. Kunti Maharaj gives the example, O my dear Lord, just as the Ganga flows towards the ocean, let my consciousness flow towards you.

Now when the Ganga flows towards the ocean, how does it flow? Especially when it comes to the plains, it may become a big forceful river. But high up in the mountains, it may initially be a small trickle. And sometimes it may get blocked.

So then when the Ganga is flowing, if one channel gets blocked, it finds some other channel and moves on. If this channel gets blocked, from here. If this channel gets blocked, from here.

This channel gets blocked, from here. So like that, our consciousness is meant to flow towards Krishna. And the various services that we do are like channels for the consciousness to flow towards Krishna.

Now, some channels, the consciousness may flow smoothly. And some channels, the consciousness may get blocked. Some things just don't work out.

Some things we are trying to do, they just don't work. So if we identify ourselves with the channel, so I am a preacher, I am a speaker, I am a manager, I am this, I am that. And whatever role we are playing in this world, I am a husband, I am a wife, I am a father, I am a son, I am a daughter, whatever.

And somehow, in some roles, we face problems. Then that channel is blocked. If our self-identification is with that channel, if that is our identity, then when the channel is blocked, we feel, what is the use of my life? What am I doing? But if you understand, yes, this is an important service for me, and I will try my best to do it.

But if it is not working, okay. The channel is blocked right now. Let my consciousness keep moving towards Krishna through some other channel.

I am a soul. As a soul, I am doing this role. I will try to do it well.

But if it is not working out, there are many other ways I can serve also. Let me continue serving in that way. And gradually, this thing will resolve itself.

So to the extent we identify ourselves as souls, to that extent, the external obstacles will not trouble us so much. The external obstacles are going to come. Earlier when I talked about provocations, I was talking more in terms of desires and agitating situations.

Here now I am talking in terms of problems. Sometimes when problems come, they just block us completely. And sometimes temptation brings out the worst within us.

We indulge very badly. And sometimes troubles bring out the worst within us. When troubles come, we react very excessively, irrationally.

We become angry, violent, whatever. So when one particular channel is blocked, this was not working. But I am a soul.

I am a servant of Krishna. How can I serve Krishna now? If we identify ourselves as Krishna, I am your servant. Please guide me.

How can I serve you? That question itself, how can I serve Krishna, that will help us find this channel is blocked. This is what I can do. This is what I can do.

This is what I can do. Intelligence has many definitions. One definition of intelligence can be, intelligence means to know what to do when we don't know what to do.

What does it mean? To know what to do when we don't know what to do. In the Bhagavad Gita, in the second chapter, Arjuna is confused. He doesn't know what to do.

He says, I don't know whether should I fight or should I not fight? If I fight, should I fight to win or should I just fight, should I lose? What should I do? None of the options seem palatable for him. So he doesn't know what to do. And what does he do at that time? This is 2.6, he is telling, I don't know what to do.

2.7, he surrenders to Krishna. Krishna, please tell me what is dharma? And the essence of dharma is, Krishna, I am your servant. How can I serve you? So same way, if we, when there are situations where we get perplexed, we don't know what to do.

At that time, we turn towards Krishna. Krishna, please guide me. I am your servant, I want to serve you.

This is what I was doing for you, but this is not working. What do you want me to do? So Prabhupada was asked, what is the best prayer we can offer to Krishna? Prabhupada said, please pray to Krishna, please give me the strength to serve you. Please give me the strength to serve you.

Strength to serve you means, sometimes, that strength is not necessarily physical. An obstacle comes, I can't do it this way. What else can I do? How can I keep my consciousness moving towards Krishna? So if we identify ourselves as anything other than servants of Krishna, then there will be temptation, there will be frustration.

But if we identify ourselves as servants of Krishna, then whatever be the situation comes in our life, we will find some channel to keep moving forward. And in due course, whatever problem is there, that will be resolved, we will be guided. If we stay connected with Krishna, then Krishna will guide us.

You can do this, you can do this. So no matter whatever situation comes in our life, no situation is worth losing our connection with Krishna. Because the connection with Krishna will help us in finding resolution to all situations.

If we let the situation overwhelm us so much that I become disconnected from Krishna, then there will be, we will just be overwhelmed. But if we just say, Krishna I am your servant, please you guide me. And Krishna has a plan.

Eventually Krishna will bring good out of everything. Bad things happen in life. It's not that everything that happens is good.

Bad things do happen. But Krishna can bring good even out of the bad. So rather than obsessing on why did this bad thing happen, we look beyond that bad thing to Krishna.

And we focus on Krishna, try to connect with Krishna. Try to serve Krishna and we find Krishna will reveal something better for us. We conclude with one incident.

I was in America and I was giving a class in Fort Lauderdale. And I was speaking about how Krishna brings good out of the bad if we just patiently perceive it. So after that when the Russian Mataji came and told an incident after the class.

She had been in New Vrindavan, which is a temple in top of a, it's a remote place in West Virginia. And she had got some call from her office. She had to immediately leave and come to the office.

And that is a remote place so there was no way to go. So she came to know that there is one devotee he was going the next morning. So she met that devotee and said, yes, I'll drop you to the nearest airport.

I'm leaving at 10 o'clock. And then she went, she told, you don't come at this particular place. And then she was there at 9.50, 9.55, 10, 10.50, 10.30. She was trying to call this person.

That's a remote area. There was no call coming. The range was not there.

And finally at 11.30, the range went through. And this devotee, he said, oh, I'm very sorry. I forgot completely.

And you know, I also am in a hurry. I can't come back now. And she was furious.

How could you forget? You just wasted my time. She was just so angry. Someone tried to control herself.

That evening, she came to the temple for Aarti. And then another Mataji told her, you know, that boy who had gone today morning, he said, yes, I know. She was so angry with him.

She said, his car had a terrible accident. And he said, he was driving along and a drunk driver hit him. And this drunk driver actually hit him on the passenger side.

He said, oh. And they showed pictures of the car. The passenger side, next to the driver.

Completely devastated. So he had got some minor injury. But he was okay.

So he said, at that time I realised that he forgot that's how actually I was protected. If I had been sitting there, it would have been death for me. So now in this case, why that particular thing happened, she realised after 5-6 hours.

Sometimes, why particular things happen, why a particular channel gets blocked, it may take 5-6 weeks, it may take 5-6 months, sometimes it may take 5-6 years, sometimes it may take 50-60 years also. We don't know. But rather than letting the blocking block us, it has been blocked physically, the channel is blocked, we don't have to let it block us internally.

I don't know why this has happened. But Krishna, how can I serve you? Taking that attitude, then Krishna, first of all we stay connected with Krishna, we will be guided, we will move onwards and in due course, we may even find out why that particular thing happened. So if we identify ourselves as souls, as parts of Krishna, as servants of Krishna, then that is the basis, the foundation by which we can change our default responses, change our default habits and become better human beings, better devotees and that way we can change ourselves in the most foundational and sustainable way.

So I will summarise, I spoke today about how we can change ourselves by changing our position, changing our situation, changing our standpoint and changing our self-identification. In changing our situation, I talked about how our externals affect our internals. Alcoholic who wants to give up alcohol, if he stays near a bar, won't be able to give up.

God is present in our hearts but our consciousness is not present in our hearts. That's why we need to go to a temple where God is present and then we feel godly consciousness. So propinquity is a psychological phenomenon.

It describes how our behaviour is shaped by time and space. So if a hotel is on my way and it's empty also, I can easily go and eat it. But if it's crowded, I won't eat it.

So the mind chooses the path of least resistance. So if we create some resistance between us and the temptation, then the mind says, it's not worth it, we forget it. So changing our situation means creating some resistance between us and our default behaviour.

And that way we can be protected. Now all of us may normally behave properly but when we are provoked, we deviate from the normal course. And people who have to be admitted in mental health care centres, they are not bad or mad people.

It's just that under provocation, their reaction becomes disproportionate. So for us, it's just like those people voluntarily put themselves in a situation where they cannot have an excessive reaction. And recovering addicts put themselves in a situation where they have no access to the temptation.

So similarly we have to see what is my trigger and how I can change my situation so that there is no unnecessary provocation. And that way we can minimise our stray indulgences. The temptations just come in and they provoke us.

So changing our situation is necessary but it is not sufficient. And I talked about changing our standpoint. So it means that our mind even if externally there is nothing, sometimes temptations can come in two ways.

One is outside in or inside out. But from the recollection it may come. So the same stimulus all of us feel hunger.

But depending on whether I am a South Indian or a Gujarati or a Bengali what desire is triggered within me means. Just like all of us may search on Google the same item but different results will come. So we understand that the mind is proposing different things.

But just because the mind is proposing doesn't mean I have to accept. So changing our standpoint means not identifying with the mind but identifying with the mind. This is my mind saying like this.

And then just like umpire is not uninterested but disinterested. The umpire evaluates the appeals of the player based on merit and then chooses, makes a decision. Similarly when by the more certain desires come within us, we don't immediately accept them, we don't immediately reject them.

We evaluate them. And this evaluation comes more and more when we come to the mode of goodness. When we become aware of our physical reality and we become aware of our mental reality.

And the mind cannot simply be rejected. The mind cannot work by negation. Tell the mind don't think of this then the mind will think of that.

So rather than rejecting anything we need to replace that. So give the mind something positive to do and then it will stop doing the negative. So our mind is not entirely our enemy.

It is, it has some part which is bad, some part is good. So we focus on the good, we empower the good. And then the bad will be overcome with it.

And the most foundational level for changing ourselves is changing our self identification. That means, if I, we all have certain conceptions of who we are and those conceptions impel us towards certain actions. If somebody identifies themselves as alcoholic, then they will say I am like this only, I can't change.

And they will relapse. But if they identify, no. I am a soul, I am a part of Krishna.

Okay, I have this conditioning but I am different from this. Then we can choose a healthier response. So for us, we identify with our roles and relationships in the world.

And when there is frustration in any of these, we get overwhelmed. And then our worst side often comes out. But if we identify, I am a soul and as a service to Krishna, I am a soul who is a servant of Krishna, as a service to Krishna, I am playing this role.

And even if that channel gets blocked, just like the Ganga, if one channel gets blocked, we find some other way to move towards the ocean. Like that, we find some other way to serve Krishna. So when frustration comes in our life, instead of resenting, we ask, Krishna, how can I serve you? And then, when our consciousness gets channelled towards Krishna in some other way, then we will stay calm and in due course, we will find out why that happened and how it was for our good.

So when bad things happen, rather than obsessing over the bad, we look at Krishna, who is always good, and try to connect with him. And just like, this mother, she came to know after a few hours, why that accident, why that boy got forgotten, it's for her good. So in due course, we may learn why that particular thing happened.

So by identifying ourselves as servants of Krishna, who is all-good, we can deal even with bad things by focussing not on the bad thing, but focus on the all-good law. And thus, by changing our self-identification standpoint and changing our situation, we can change ourselves. Thank you very much.

Hare Krishna. Are there any questions or comments? Hare Krishna. You were telling that mind doesn't determine, but it proposes.

What what is that helps or what is that sparks the mind to propose something to us? Is it the external or is it something of past karma? Okay. Yeah. So what is it that determines what the mind proposes to us? It is largely the past conditionings, the impressions within the mind.

Certain propositions may also come from externals. We can say, the mind, I was at a devotee jeweller shop in America, in Florida. So he had four doors to the jewellery shop.

And because jewels are all expensive, so he had one central monitor from which cameras were coming in from all the four doors. So he could see what is happening at this door, this door, this door, this door, like that. So he can envision the mind to be like a monitor.

And in the mind, we could say there are six monitors. In that one monitor, there are six sections, six tabs, you could say. The five are the five senses.

And the sixth is the past recollection. In fact, the sixth one can branch into hundreds. Because there are so many recollections.

So the point is, what comes on the screen of the mind can be because of the external things that we are perceiving, it can also be because of what recollections we are getting based on what we have done in the past. So just as when we are say, surfing on the net, we search for one thing, a hundred finds may come. We don't go on the hundred find.

We just use our intelligence and see that, okay, this is what I want to do. This is what I was looking for. So like that, we don't have to worry too much why the mind is proposing something.

From where this idea is coming. If we can connect, you know, probably I saw this, I did this, that's why this is coming, good. But the important thing is, we make the right choice.

And as we keep making the right choice, Google is also self, it has a learning module in it. So if we keep making particular choices, those choices will come more and more. So like that, if we keep making healthier choices, your mind will start proposing the healthier choices.

So if it is possible, okay, you know, why is this desire coming within me? I did that. I can avoid that now. But it is sometimes not so easy.

If we have some old house, which we have not been using, and we go there, we find a lot of dirt over there. Where did this dirt come from? Did it come from this window, that window? As far as possible, we can try to find where it is coming from and plug those windows, so that future dirt doesn't come. But sometimes, we just don't know.

From where it came, I don't know. Maybe somebody came in the past and did their foot marks or whatever. The important thing is, clean it off now.

So like that, if we can find out from where the mind's propositions are coming, and if unhealthy propositions are coming, it can block those channels. But sometimes, it may just not be possible to find. Because the reconnections may be coming from something from a previous life also.

So the important thing is, to clean it out now. To not choose that option, but choose a healthier option. And gradually, the mind's negative propositions will decrease.

Does that answer your question? Oh, definitely. Yes. Definitely, yeah.

We can. Can we imprint our mind? Definitely. In fact, the whole process of bhakti is about creating positive imprints in our mind.

We can't just keep retraining our mind. We have to be retraining our mind. And when we are chanting the holy names, when we are practising bhakti, we are retraining it.

And as we keep doing it more and more, the habit becomes more and more to think about Krishna. So definitely, fresh imprints can, and they are being formed all the time. Now what imprints are being formed? That we can choose.

And the whole process of bhakti is to try to give more and more positive imprints in the mind. Okay? Yes. This is a very good analysis, along with our shastras, like Bhagavad Gita and Shiva.

I just want to tell that as we are in the sattva guna, we are doing first part of cleansing. Yeah. Action, yeah.

So, to bring into the sattva guna, as we are very much aware that these four regulative principles are very much required, that those people say, let us take in America. They are, I think, 95% meat-eating, and they live on that. How to bring them without the rest of sattva guna, change our habits, is, I mean, very, very difficult.

How to take care of that, to change that, how to follow the four regulative principles before that, because the base is not sattva guna, no changes can be easily done, though they psychologically and all those things, they might do so much analysis, but do you think it will work? Okay, good question. So, to come to goodness, people have to follow the regulative principles, four regulative principles, and in the western world, people don't follow that, so will any kind of analysis, psychoanalytical analysis help them? The mode of goodness is not just a result of our present conduct. It may also be from the past.

Some people may have lived in goodness in a previous life, and then they may have some inclination towards goodness in this life, and there can be goodness also in different ways. It's the modes, Krishna talks about food in goodness, he talks about speech in goodness, he talks about physical austerities, he talks about so many different aspects. Some people may actually, in terms of speech, they may be in goodness, but in terms of their other lifestyle, they may not be in goodness.

So, we can't actually, taxonomy, taxonomy is a system of analysis, of classification, basically. Taxonomy is never watertight. Like on a map, we may say this is India and this is Pakistan.

But if we go at a border, not every place is going to have a wall over it. Trump wants to create a wall between America and Mexico. But you know, it's not always possible to, it's not so clear, like that.

So, similarly, who is in goodness, who is in passion, who is in ignorance, we can't really say very clearly like that. So, some people might be eating meat right now, but it may be that the remaining aspects of their life may be in goodness. They may be organised, they may be sensitive, they may be cultured in the way they speak.

So, we can't, we can't reject the importance of the four inherent principles, but at the same time, we can't make the four inherent principles as the only prism through which we see the world, see people. So, Hitler was probably killed more, was responsible for killing of more people than any other human being in recent history. Hitler was a vegetarian.

Now, is he, just because he is a vegetarian, he is not eating meat. But does that make him better than all the other people who are eating meat? No. So, behaviour is a complex thing.

And in general, the western and the westernised world is in the mode of passion. But, what we need to do is, where people are, how can we penetrate Krishna's message to them at that place? That is where we have to see. So, for example, in the western world, there is a lot of environmental consciousness.

So, eco-friendly, eco-friendly living, sustainable living, that is something which people are very interested in. So, similarly, mindfulness, becoming a mode, that is also something which is becoming trendy. Yoga, that is becoming quite trendy.

Veganism, not vegetarian, but vegan is also becoming trendy. So, I would say, this interest in yoga mindfulness, this interest in vegan culture, this interest in eco-consciousness, sustainability, all these are indications of some level of goodness rising in the western world also. And in many ways, in America, if you become a vegan, that is considered cool.

But, in India, people think, I have to become a non-vegetarian to become cool. So, in some ways, India is actually 20-30 years behind. In the west, the goodness is coming.

In India, passion is coming. So, rather than just thinking, these people can't follow this, so they are, they can't come to goodness, say, okay, this is where they are now, how can we help them to come to goodness from where they are? So, there are definitely people are very interested in the mind and managing the emotions. And we present the bhakti wisdom, the Gita's wisdom from that perspective, people become interested.

And, in general, we have to present the product before we present the price. For any advertisement, you know, if a new iPhone comes up, they won't say, first thing, you know, 1200 dollars. This feature, this feature, this feature, this feature.

And then after that, somewhere you have to find, what is the cost? 10,000 is the cost. So, unfortunately, what we do is, oh, we tell, we start with the price. No meat-eating, no intoxication, no gambling, no Krishna Bhakti, people say.

You know, we have to focus on the product. Okay, this is the world view that explains life. This gives you meaning, this gives you purpose, gives you fulfilment.

It helps you to change yourself. And then, when we present the process properly, we present the product, that is our process, and people start feeling the benefit. Then they organically take it up.

So, in the western world, and I would say not only in the western world, in many parts of India also, people do eat meat. That's just a part of the culture. The difference between western India is, in India, people eat meat, but many people consider vegetarian to be a more dharmic thing.

They understand, okay, we eat meat, but, okay, on certain days in a month, certain days in a week, certain months in a year, I won't eat meat. They at least consider being vegetarian to be a good thing. But, in much of the western world, before vegan culture came up, eating meat was just a normal part of their life.

So, most people were never presented with the choice itself of being vegetarian. So, rather than judging or condemning people for the way they are right now, where they are, we try to find a channel and connect them towards Krishna. And, as I said, yoga, meditation, mindfulness, ecology, and veganism.

These are three prominent ways in which even western people can be attracted towards Krishna. Thank you. Thank you.

Srila Prabhupada also did the same thing, that when he did first initiation, I know the second initiation as well, he did not tell that he was in tricks, and he did not tell that you have to follow these four resolutions. Then it comes. So, not that I am talking about adamant, but ultimately you have to follow these things, so that to be stay in the goodness.

Yeah. So, ultimately we have to follow these to come to goodness, to stay in goodness, that is true. But for people, they have to start from where they are.

It's like sometimes, we go to some traditional temples. The steps are so tall. It's like, you can't climb up the steps, you have to sit and go up the steps.

Some elderly people, they do that. Most people, unless they are very determined to go up, they will not go up. Forget it.

I don't want to go to the temple. Now, Prabhupada, when he made temples, he made them as accessible as possible. So, like that, you may say, okay, you have to go to the temple, you have to climb this up.

But the whole say, for example, Lord Jagannath's mood is what? People don't come to the temple. I will go to the temple. So, like that, we have to make bhakti available to them where they are.

And from there, it is like a pyramid. So, rather than seeing bhakti as a 1-0 option, you follow bhakti fully or you are in maya. We can see it like a pyramid.

Different people may follow at different levels. So, even if somebody say, cannot follow the four elements, but if they were not chanting Hare Krishna earlier and now they have started chanting, even if they just like kirtans, and they like to get spiritual kirtans, from their perspective, that is a significant step forward in their spiritual life. And it is quite likely that most people are not going to go back to Godhead in one lifetime.

In fact, most of us also, we hope that we will go back, but we don't know. So, spiritual growth is something which takes many lifetimes. Sometimes what happens is, we are so eager that people should follow the high standards by which they can go back in one lifetime that people get fried out.

And they don't even come throughout this lifetime. So, we want to definitely have the standard and want people to come to the standard. But we have to accept people even if they don't come to the standard.

Like Srila Prabhupada, when he came to India, most of the people who helped him did so out of nationalistic pride. Many of the big people, oh, western people, those who ruled us, now they are following us. They are following our culture.

So, many of the Indians who helped Srila Prabhupada, they did not become committed followers. They contributed in helping, building temples, giving contacts. But, they were not ready to become committed followers in terms of following 48 principles, Chinese 16 rounds.

Prabhupada accommodated them. How? By starting a life membership programme. And, so that means that if you consider once, if a pyramid, pyramid can have one this circumference at the top, very thin.

And the pyramid can be very broad at the bottom. So, Prabhupada also had a pyramid approach. Committed followers, they follow this, this, this, this.

But then, life members, just give some Lakshmi, come to temple whenever they can, stay in the temple provided they have some connection with Krishna. And gradually by that, his goal was they will rise upwards, upwards, upwards. So, at one level, we cast the net in such a way people rise upwards.

But we also cast the net in such a way that many people at least get connected with Krishna. So, if we have a pyramid approach, that we connect people with Krishna and we give them the path to rise up, but wherever, at whatever level they can, at their present institutional practise, we accept them at that level. And they all will move towards some higher consciousness from where they are.

Even if they won't come to the standard of practise in this lifetime. Thank you. Hare Krishna.

So, yes.