Daily-Bhagavatam 61 – 11.07.51 – Live beyond the world, as does the sun

With Krishna Thank you 11.751 11.751 11.751 11.751 11.751 11.751 11.751 11.751 11.751 11.751 11.751 11.751 11.751 11.751 11.751 11.751 11.751 11.751 11.751 11.751 11.751 11.751 11.751 11.751 11.751 11.751 11.751 11.751 11.751 11.751 11.751 11.751 11.751 11.751 11.751 11.751 11.751 11.751 11.751 11.751 11.751 11.751 11.751 is constantly subjected to change and some changes bring happiness, some changes cause pain, so victory, defeat, honor, dishonor, these changes keep happening and the serious spiritual seeker needs to make no necessary big issue about these external changes because the seeker's growth is internal primarily in the inner journey towards the topmost spiritual reality which manifests ultimately as Krishna.

So that is the central purpose of the yogi's life and so the serious seeker does what is necessary with respect to the externals but doesn't get emotionally entangled in them. If we let the external world become the center of our emotional world, then we will not be able to do much in terms of being able to perceive or relish spiritual reality because our consciousness will get caught in the emotional upheavals created by the ups and downs of the outer world. Now the solution is to at one level remember the soul's transcendence means none of these things are actually affecting me because I am different from all these things, I am above these things, I am spiritual and although this is an intellectual exercise, even the intellectual exercise can help in cultivating a certain distance and a certain sense of detachment from its outer upheavals.

Beyond that of course for a devotee it's not just a distance from the material, the central point is proximity to the spiritual. So proximity to the topmost spiritual reality means closeness to Krishna. So when we cultivate a closeness to Krishna that means that we try to render various forms of devotional service which evoke his presence and attract his mercy.

So when we are engaged in devotional activities and when we get encompassed or consumed or engrossed in spiritual reciprocations and spiritual emotions in relationship with Krishna, then we are not affected by externals. Of course a devotee is not necessarily utterly indifferent or blind to externals because devotees know that the external world is the arena where they can render service to Krishna. So the important thing is to recognize that it is not possible for us to either completely close our eyes to the external world or to let our eyes stay fixed only on the external world.

Because not only do we have to do our daily activities while we are in the material world, as Krishna says in 3.8, that we have to do our bodily activities. And in the Prasidh Gita Karmala, not doing any activity will not even maintain the body. So we do have to do our duty.

Beyond that we also know that our ultimate duty is to Krishna because we are at our core souls. So we primarily focus on connecting with Krishna and then in the external world we act not only to maintain our body but we can also do various forms of practical service to Krishna. And to the extent we cultivate serious Krishna consciousness, to that extent we will be able to deal with external situations without getting overwhelmed by them.

So we can be concerned but not disturbed by them. We are concerned because we know that this is the arena of our service and we need to be careful so that we do our service effectively to the best of our capacity. But we're not disturbed because we know that even if nothing works out over here, still I have my relationship with Krishna and Krishna is never going to desert me as the people of this world may.

Krishna is always going to be in my heart and he's always there for me to remember and take shelter of. So with that inner security we can face external situations with gravity and maturity. Gravity means that we know that there is a possibility of temptation if I get entangled but there is also a possibility of trouble if I become too indifferent or irresponsible.

So there is gravity. At the same time there is maturity. We don't have knee-jerk reactions.

We think clearly and then we respond. So like that we can be situated like the Sun. The Sun initiates action.

When the Sun gives the sun rays then the birds start chirping, the flowers start blossoming and activity happens in the earth. But then the Sun is not affected by that. Although Sun affects changes over here.

Similarly as souls we can actually affect changes over here but not get affected by those things unless they are connected with Krishna. When they are connected with Krishna the effect on us will be that we will intensify our remembrance of Krishna and that way we will go further closer to Krishna. So by remembering the transcendence of the soul and by cultivating a devotional disposition we can actually transcend worldly ups and downs and.