Devotion is not just emotion – it is conscious continuous cultivation
So so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so debated.
So cultivation of devotion, if we compare our heart to like a garden and that cultivation will require three things. The soil has to be fertile. That is like we live a pious moral life.
If we are too materialistic, if we are too sensual, if we are too anti-devotional, then that attachment will make our heart hard and we will not be able to focus on Krishna at all. Then the watering is like, this is the process of sadhana bhakti. Just connect ourselves with Krishna and just as rusted iron filings, when the rust is removed they become attracted to magnets.
Similarly our heart will naturally be attracted to Krishna. We just keep exposing ourselves to Krishna and the fencing is avoiding offences. By that the garden will grow and then I talked about continuous.
This garden has to be watered regularly, not just intermittently as per mood. Similarly bhakti has to be practised consistently. Although we may not see the result on a daily basis, just like when a child is growing, the growth happens gradually.
Just like the Sun is rising, Sun is rising continuously, we realise it at one moment. Similarly we will in times of difficulty realise that bhakti has given me an inner strength that I did not have earlier. So devotion is continuous cultivation, conscious cultivation.
That means that we have to have a desire to connect with Krishna. Without that it will just be mechanical, it will be ritualistic. And then that ritualistic devotion will not lead to much transformation.
It is like shooting with an empty gun, with a gun with no bullets. The bullet is our desire to serve Krishna, desire to love Krishna. To the extent we have the desire, we invest that desire, whatever little we have and we practise bhakti, that desire will grow.
And I concluded by the story of this Christian pastor who by the regular chanting experienced freedom from a habit which is otherwise very difficult to give up. So it was cultivation that led to the transformation. So for us when we understand bhakti to be conscious continuous cultivation, then the devotion that will emerge in our heart will be rich and lasting.
The process of bhakti is evolutionary, the result is revolutionary. Thank you very much. Hare Krishna.
Are there any questions or comments? Is there something in your mind? Okay, fine. Can I explain offence? Okay, there are, let's talk three levels. Suppose, you know, we are walking along the road or walking along a crowded room.
And we step our foot on someone, our foot. Then as soon as we realise it, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Now that has hurt them.
But it's a minor hurt and as soon as we realise it, we stop it. But sometimes the road, the room may be very crowded and practically walking would mean stepping on someone's foot. So if the room is crowded, it will be almost impossible to avoid it.
That's one, where it's unavoidable, it's almost unavoidable, it's unintentional. As soon as we realise it, we correct it. The other extreme is, you know, we are angry with someone and we are waiting for an opportunity and then when we have nice thick sandals we are wearing and we see that person barefoot and then we go near them, bang our foot on their leg.
Cry out. Sorry, we walk. So there is actual intention to cause harm to others.
So these two are extreme. And somewhere it might be in between that we are just walking along and we are in a hurry to get somewhere and our mind is caught in many things. You know, for me it happens because when I walk with my crutches, the crutches are generally a little distance away from me.
So sometimes the crutch will go on someone's foot or someone's footwear. Because my full weight comes on the crutches more on my leg, so it's quite heavy. So I have to be very cautious about it.
But sometimes we are not intending to hurt anyone but just we are caught in our own thoughts. We are going somewhere and suddenly something like that happens. So one is completely almost unintentional and unavoidable.
It's unintentional and almost unavoidable because so much crowd is there. The second is avoidable, the other extreme is intentional. And in between is unintentional but avoidable.
If I had been a little more cautious, I would not put my crutches or my foot on someone. So now the third is definitely an offence. If we intentionally do something which we know will hurt the other person and we do it because we feel we want to get back at them for whatever they have done, then that is an offence.
Now of course sometimes somebody may have done something grievously wrong and that needs to be corrected. But there is a system to correct it. There is a proper system.
If somebody has done something wrong and we have some concern or some complaint about it, then we go through the proper channels and try to deal with it. It's like in a normal system also if somebody has robbed someone else. Now then the proper way to deal with it is you go to police, complain and get the things done, get the things resolved.
If somebody who has been wronged, that person takes the law in their own hands, that will become another kind of problem. So if somebody has hurt us and we feel angry about it, we feel revengeful, we feel resentful, now that itself is not an offence. But when we ourselves hit back at someone and then we are like taking the law in our own hands.
So we cannot just deny our hurt feelings in the fear that I don't want to offend someone else. If I'm hurt, I have to deal with that hurt properly. Somebody has hurt me, then I may have to take the right action against them.
But when our emotions become the sole purpose for doing the action and you want to pull the other person down some way or the other, that's when it's an offence. In the first case, it's unintentional and unavoidable, that's not an offence. Sometimes we have many services to do.
Janmashtami is there and there are so many things to be done and somebody, we have told them to do something, they forgot it and we get angry at them. How can you forget like this? Now, that is not such an offence. It's not that we are always going to shout at them like that and it's just a one-off thing that happens.
We can always apologise afterwards, but that's not an offence. In the practical conduct of getting things done, if something is not done properly, at that time annoyance or anger, it's understandable. We don't want it, but sometimes it may just come.
That's not an offence. In between is where we are so caught in our own world that we become uncaring about others and then others have some expectation from us or we are expected to do something and we don't do it and that disturbs them, that hurts them. Then that also is not the second level of offence, intentional and malicious, but it is something which you should be concerned about.
So our purpose is to get things done in Krishna's service, but it is not just to get things done. Now, devotion is not just meant to be transactional, it is meant to be transformational. Transactional means that you just do this, okay, I'll tell you to do this, you do this, you do this, you do this, it's done now, it's transactional.
But devotion is actually meant to be transformational. Through the interaction with devotees, we get the things done, but through the interactions we come closer to each other, we come closer to Krishna. For us, service is not just a means to get things done.
For us, service is a means by which we connect with Krishna and we connect with each other. So therefore, we should not in general make the pace of service so high that for the service, connections get destroyed. We should not put so much pressure on ourselves and others that we are constantly irritated with ourselves, irritated with others and irritated with the state of things.
Let us slow down then and move things in a more harmonious way. In general, we want to have warm relationship with each other and we also want to serve Krishna together. So how best to do it, that's the balance which all of us have to learn and we don't have to live in paranoia.
Oh, what if I commit offence? No, we just want to serve Krishna as well as we can. And one way of serving Krishna is by getting things done for Krishna. Another way of serving Krishna is by interacting nicely with devotees.
I was in Portland in America. One devotee asked a question. He's a manager in the temple.
He said that we have an important service to do and two devotees are very good at it. But they don't get along with each other. He says, but how do we persuade them to get along with, to do that service? So I told him, tell them that if you do this service, you will get the credit of doing two services.
He says, what do you mean two services? One service is doing the service. The other service is working with another person. That is also a service.
Because ultimately, when two people don't get along with each other, Krishna is in the hearts of both of them. And Krishna understands that we all have our natures and sometimes working with some people is quite difficult. So if still for Krishna's sake we decide to work with someone, then Krishna appreciates that as a sacrifice from our side.
So if we think, you know, you did like this, so I'll do like this. If we are just interacting with other persons simply based on how they are acting, if we are responding, then how is our relationship any different from materialistic relationship? For a devotee, in every interaction, there is a third person. That is Krishna.
So I act in a way, not just responding to the other person, but also in a way that will please Krishna. So basically, rather than being fearful of committing offences, we focus on cultivating a service attitude. If we do that, how can I best serve Krishna, how can I best serve devotees, then actually the offensive mentality will itself be avoided in a healthy way.
The unhealthy way of avoiding offences is always being fearful and because of fear not doing anything at all. We want to do service for Krishna, but the healthy way is cultivate a service attitude. Does this answer your question? Yes.
Any other questions? Yes, please. Yeah. So why does Rupa Goswami address Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu as Krishna? Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is a devotee, then why does he accept being referred to as Krishna? Lord Chaitanya is playing a dual role.
So it is described that Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is a manifestation of the divine couple. God is not just one person. God is a divine couple, Radha and Krishna.
And when Lord Chaitanya manifests, it is Krishna who sees that Radha, Radharani has so much love for me. She feels so much attraction towards me. She feels so much joy when I reciprocate with her.
What is her emotion? I want to understand that emotion. And therefore, Krishna takes on the mood and the complexion of Radharani. So Krishna is blueish black in colour, Radharani is golden in colour.
So Lord Chaitanya is golden in colour. So Krishna has taken on the complexion and the disposition of Radharani. So normally Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu acts in the mood of Radharani as a devotee of Krishna.
Radharani is a devotee of Krishna. But he is Krishna. He is in the mood of Radharani, but he is Krishna.
So that's why there are some devotees and some occasions when Lord Chaitanya manifests his divinity. Most of the time he acts as a devotee. And that's why most people may consider him to be a devotee alone.
But he is not just a devotee. He is a great devotee. And even if somebody considers him to be a great devotee and learns devotion from him, that also is wonderful.
Bhaktivinoda Thakur says in his life and teachings of Lord Chaitanya that if somebody can't accept Lord Chaitanya as God, they can consider him to be a great saint. And they can apply the message of bhakti which he has given and they will experience a flood of love for Krishna in their heart. But he says the devotees in the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition, they accept Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu as God.
So Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has a dual role. At different times he manifests as a devotee and sometimes he manifests as the Lord. Any other questions? Okay.
So we talk about these two kinds of people, emotional and rational. Sometimes an emotional person may also be using the intelligence in his own way while making a decision. But sometimes some emotional people may just be too overly emotional.
So how can they become rational? On the other hand, if somebody is rational, their emotional side may not be seen and some people may consider them to be rude or insensitive. First of all, we have to understand that in many ways our mind is like our body. Mind is like our body.
That means it's like when the weather is cold, some of us may feel very cold and some of us may feel not so cold. Now if somebody says, I'm feeling cold, you tell them, don't feel cold. What do you mean don't feel cold? It's not in my hand.
I'm feeling cold. Now if somebody says, I feel, I'm feeling cold, then they have to acknowledge I'm feeling cold. But then they have to take the necessary precautions.
If they're going out, before I'm feeling cold, I'll not do any work. I'll not go out. No.
And you have to wear more warm clothes and then go out. So just as for that person, feeling cold is not a choice. But feeling cold should not become the sole basis of their actions.
Because I feel cold, so I'll not go out. Because I feel cold, then I have to prepare properly. I have to get adequate warm clothes, then I can go out.
So similarly, each of us has our mind. You could say our psychophysical nature. And some people are just more rational than emotional.
And some people are more emotional than rational. If we tell someone, don't be emotional, no, that's the way they work. And if you tell them, don't be so logical, don't be so rational, no, that's the way they work.
But if both kinds of people understand that just because this is the way my mind works, that doesn't mean that is the only way I have to work. Just like I feel cold, but that doesn't mean I cannot go out. I have to take adequate precautions.
So if I know that I am overtly emotional, then before taking an action, let me consult somebody who is a little more rational. If I am too rational, let me consult someone whose emotional side is a little stronger. Then that way, consultation is just one aspect.
It may not be the only way. But if we are aware of our particular, the way our mind works, then we can make it work properly. Otherwise, we'll just get carried away by it.
Now, emotional, there is a kind of intelligence is called emotional intelligence. So emotionality may not be good in the sense of somebody always experiencing a lot of emotions, just going up and down with emotions. But somebody is emotionally intelligent, they can understand what emotions someone else is going through.
And then they can know what to speak at what time. So some people just at the right time, they speak the right words, it will win somebody's hearts. And somebody who doesn't, who doesn't have an emotional intelligence, they may speak a wrong word, they may break people's hearts.
The Bhagavad Gita is quite significantly a very rational book. It is discussing serious philosophy. And there's a verse in the Bhagavad Gita in the third chapter which says that the person in knowledge is not attached to putradaragraha adishu.
Asaktirana means ambishwanga, putradaragraha adishu. One is not attached to one's children, one's, Krishnaji has specifically the word putra, which means a son, one's son or spouse. Now, after the Bhagavad Gita is spoken, the Kurukshetra war occurs.
And in the Kurukshetra war, on the 13th day, Abhimanyu is killed. When Abhimanyu is killed, at that time, Arjuna is infuriated, devastated, going through a whole panorama of emotions. There's almost a whole chapter in the Mahabharata, which describes Arjuna's emotional trauma.
At that time, Krishna doesn't tell him, hey Arjuna, you forgot the Bhagavad Gita. Krishna is by Arjuna's side, empathising with him, helping him to deal with that emotion, helping him to come out of that distress. And Arjuna is lashing out at everyone.
He's angry with his brothers, he says, all your weapons, are they just like bangles? You couldn't protect my son with all your weapons? So, Krishna tells, oh Arjuna, you can see that your brothers are as distressed as you are. Please don't speak a word that will increase their distress. So, he acknowledges, as distressed as you are, because otherwise they don't feel distressed.
He empathises. So, that means, even if we have, even if there's a time to, there's a time to preach, and there's a time to reach. Preach means teach the philosophy.
Reach means connect with the heart. So, preaching can also be a way of reaching. But sometimes you may reach without preaching also.
So, that sensitivity, that is emotional intelligence, that is also very important. So, now, if we, if somebody is very rational, they need to balance themselves. That means, if an important decision is taken, don't let me just take it based on logic alone.
Let me wait after logical analysis. See, what happens when somebody is very emotional, they're driven by emotions. I have to do this right now.
And similarly, somebody is very logical, they're actually driven by their logic. This makes sense. This is what should be done.
But when we are under the forceful flow of logic, there will be certain things which may not be considered at that time. So, maybe just press a pause button. We cannot say no to our emotional nature.
We can't say no to our rational nature. But we can say wait. And nobody is entirely rational, nobody is entirely emotional.
If somebody were 100% emotional, they couldn't survive in life. Somebody were 100% rational, they also couldn't survive in life. So, what happens is, usually our first reaction, when we say somebody is more emotional than rational, that means their first reaction is they're more emotional or more rational.
Then if we make sure that the first reaction is alone not the basis of our action, then what will happen? Okay, pause. This is what I'm feeling. This is what I'm reasoning.
But I'm not acting. Wait. And then let the day pass, even 24 hours, if you let it pass, then what happens? That force of logic or force of emotions calms down.
And then we discuss it works much better. We'll be able to counter. So, we will be able to balance out and come up with a more holistic course of action.
Does this answer your question? Okay, so when we don't have an opportunity to consult, and should we take an emotional decision or rational decision? Now, all of us, for no one of us, life ever comes with a guarantee of the right decision. Sometimes we make the decision right. Sometimes we make the right decision, and sometimes we have to make the decision right.
I have taken the decision, and I have to work with the decision. Now, if we start waiting till we made the right decision always, we will not be able to do anything. So, we just do what we can.
But usually, the Bhagavad Gita says there are three modes, goodness, passion, ignorance. These three modes, the characteristic is that in goodness, we have two aspects, there is contemplation and there is action. So, in goodness, contemplation comes first, action comes later.
First, look before you leap. In passion, action comes first, contemplation comes later. Just do it.
Nike slogan is there, just do it. That is passion. Ignorance is, there is neither action nor contemplation, there is simply delusion.
So, I put it that some people make things happen, some people watch things happen, and some people wonder what happened. So, the first are in goodness. They make things happen.
Okay, I'll do this, you do this, you do this, we'll manage it. They think and then act. Some people watch things happen.
They act first, I didn't mean that, you spoke that, you understood like that, this happened, that happened, that happened. These things just happen. And some people, they are so lost in their head, they wonder what has happened.
So, in the normal course of our life, we will be in the mode of passion. Although we would like to be in goodness, but our life is so fast. We often act, and then we think, and we just don't have time sometimes to take a decision, do this or do that.
So, what we need to do is that we need to have some time in our day or in our week, when we are in goodness. And in that time, we look back at the decisions that we took. And then we try to learn, was this a good decision? Or I didn't consider this at this time.
And then we can learn for future. So, generally, we will do what we will be prompted to do from within, as per our own innate nature. And we can't afford paralysis by analysis at that time, just have to do and move on.
But when we are in the mode of goodness, that time we can analyse and learn. And then that learning we can bring into bear for our future actions. So, thank you very much.
Tomorrow, there's another programme. As you may know, you may or may not know, I've also written like a 20 books. And we're grateful that he brought those books here with him today.
So, what I'll do is I'll just get him briefly to explain what each one of those books are about. So, you can have a look if you want to purchase them. Okay, just a minute.
Okay, Vishal Prabhupada wanted his followers to present the bhakti message through books. So, I will explain all the 20 books. It will take a good amount of time.
This is this is Gita for Daily Enrichment. 365 articles in the Bhagavad Gita. Each of 300 words you can read in three to five minutes.
It's a practical application of the Gita in today's world. And if somebody can't read one article, then this is a book which has one quote. Especially you can give it to friends whom you want to interest in the Bhagavad Gita.
Many people take the Bhagavad Gita as it is and they keep it as it is, unfortunately. So, you know, we can prompt them to with the desire to read by helping them realise the relevance of the Gita. And this is demystifying reincarnation.
If any of you want scientific evidence or any have friends, scientific evidence for past life memories, near-death experiences, consciousness studies, and then there is a whole section on what Christianity, Islam, Judaism, how they also contain passages compatible with reincarnation. How every major civilisation throughout history has had, on every continent, has had proponents of reincarnation. And the last section answers common questions about reincarnation.
Why can't we remember our past lives? If souls are eternal, why is population increasing? What determines our future lives? What is the practical knowledge about knowing of reincarnation? And there is a whole appendix on ghosts. Are they for real? Who gets haunted by ghosts? What can be done about it? Then there is this. Many people in the western world, they find deity worship quite difficult to understand.
Why are you washing stone images? So, this is a book called Idle Worship or Ideal Worship. It systematically answers questions related to deity worship. The philosophy is explained.
Then we have, I think, do we have PK? Okay, where is it? So, there are two books based on Bollywood movies. There was this movie PK, which was a satire on religion. So, I wrote a small book responding to the questions raised in that movie.
It's called GK for PK. So, GK is three meanings. General knowledge, God knowledge, and Gita knowledge.
I have answered those questions. And if some of you have Leadership Sutras, this is frequently unanswered questions. So, if God created everything, then who created God? So, that kind of questions are answered in this book.
And we have is Leadership Sutras is here. Yeah, these two books I will explain. This is in the corporate world, how can the Bhagavad Gita's wisdom be applied.
It's 10 Leadership Sutras on Bhagavad Gita. And how our mind deludes us and how we can protect ourselves from our mind. This is explained in this book, which has 64 reflections on various Gita verses.
It's called Mind It. And those of you who prefer to hear, we have four pen drives. One of them has around 1500 question answers, like what we had here.
And another has around 250 talks on mind and relationships. Another has about 250 Bhagavatam classes and that level of talks. And one has about 110 first scan to systematic study of the Bhagavatam, verse by verse study.
And as I mentioned, I have two websites, Gita Daily, where you can subscribe and you can get a daily article on the Gita and the Spiritual Scientist, where many of my talks are there. So, thank you very much. Hare Krishna.
And the whole set is available at a much concessional rate in case you want.