Does bhakti make us unambitious?

Question Does bhakti make one unambitious about one's career when we understand that everything is temporary then we don't feel very ambitious about growing in our career about getting a good job, about getting promotions and succeeding in our career and sometimes this fear that we may not succeed in our career can also make us unenthusiastic about bhakti so how do we deal with this situation answer bhakti involves organic renunciation and engaged action it is not artificial renunciation so what does that mean organic renunciation means that when we practice bhakti that leads to knowledge and renunciation and spontaneously arises so now when we are practicing spiritual life we are devoting ourselves to Krishna so often we differentiate between spiritual life and material life this differentiation is valid and important but in material life also there is sattvic, rajasic and tamasic so now the sinful activities that are there definitely we give them up that is important for our steadiness in bhakti now beyond that the tamasic activities we give up but then there is as far as our career is concerned it is not that we have to give up our career aspirations even if somebody doesn't become a renunciate somebody is a grasta does that mean that the grasta has to give up career ambitions no not necessarily and it may not be desirable also for some in some situations so organic renunciation means that a person by the practice of bhakti gets higher experience of Krishna and by that experience of Krishna gets the inspiration of how best to serve Krishna in this world even when we understand that this world is temporary and that we are meant to go back to the spiritual world ultimately that doesn't mean that we can wish away our bodily existence in this life we still have to live in this world and the whole process of bhakti is not to reject this world but to connect this world with Krishna so connecting the world with Krishna means also connecting our career with Krishna so Maharaj Yudhishthir for example was a great devotee but at the same time he performed a Rajasuya Yajna and now we see the Rajasuya Yajna involves so much material endeavor sending he send armies and he ensure that all the kings subordinated and then such a huge management to organize the Yajna and then the purpose of the Yajna was to ultimately glorify Krishna how did he glorify Krishna by having him as the Agra Purush offering him the Agra Puja as the foremost person in the assembly of all the greatest persons in the all the great persons from the universe who had assembled there so through it all he glorified Krishna so now one option he could have said oh this world is temporary why bother about all this he did not do that he glorified Krishna in this world so now the important point is that that example is also available for devotees as sadhakas who are living in the world if we have a particular profession and we may not exactly be able to perform a Rajasuya Yajna but the point is the principle the principle is that he glorified Krishna through his profession when Prabhupada interacted with George Harrison George Harrison asked whether he should renounce the world and join the temple Prabhupada said no, you sing songs of Krishna songs about Krishna so that's what he did now that is an example of adaptation according to time, place, circumstances now how we can glorify Krishna through our profession will vary according to time, place, circumstances so if we are good at our work if we excel at our work that itself attracts and impresses people and that will attract people to Krishna because people know that oh this person is a devotee of Krishna and this person is also an achiever, a success, a performer and then what makes a person click like this so that will, we can talk about Krishna consciousness at that time, that enables people to come closer to Krishna so yad yad acharati sreshtha tattva devetarojana, sayat pramanam kurute, lokas tad anuvartate so Krishna says that that as all as great people act, so common people follow, so great people have to set the standards, so now the it is people in people in general will be inspired, will be attracted by material success and will be inspired by those who are materially successful that is the way of the world so now this verse yad yad acharati sreshtha what does it mean that that the people who are leaders they should act in exemplary ways, set an example for others, so at one level we can say that leaders should be devotees then they will set an example for others to become devotees, but other way of understanding the verses also is that devotees should be leaders because who else will set an example for people then if devotees don't set the example who will set the example, so now the danger over here is that in trying to excel in material life one may get so caught in the passion of material life that one starts neglecting one's devotion, so now rather than artists separating between material and spiritual we can separate between also we can additionally separate material in further categories there is in material there is there is a lot of unnecessary socializing chit chatting, wasting time mundane entertainment that is often a waste of time, not the most constructive use of time definitely, so now we may feel that if I practice bhakti seriously where will I have the time for my career but actually bhakti will not take away our work time bhakti will take away our waste time much of the time which we spend in unnecessary, in not very valuable things, gossiping chit chatting seeking pleasure through some mundane entertainment, all that is the time that can be saved because we get our fulfillment we get our rejuvenation from devotion and then we don't need these things so our time, we will find actually that it is not that our time will go away if we practice bhakti, another thing that happens when we practice bhakti is not just that we avoid time wasting activities but additionally bhakti enables us to gain better control over our mind, get better concentration and then that enables us to work more effectively so bhakti, actually the practice of bhakti can increase our efficiency increase our effectiveness so beyond that a lot of time and energy at a subconscious level goes away in worrying when we practice bhakti, when we understand our spiritual identity, when we understand Krishna's supreme position and protection for us then that gives us faith and faith is the most powerful counter to worry so a lot of mental energy which goes away in worrying is saved by the serious practice of bhakti which raises us above our worldly situations and the worries that are caused by those worldly situations so in that way also we can actually perform more effectively so that means in terms of the desire to excel in material life that desire can be if we have that desire we can dovetail it in Krishna's service by seeing that as a seeking excellence in material life in our material profession as a means to glorify Krishna and as far as time is concerned bhakti won't take away our work time it will take away our waste time, our worry time and actually whatever time we have we will be able to use it more effectively now beyond that another point is that when we talk about career ambitions we have to check whether our ambitions are our own ambitions or they are just social impositions on us sometimes when sometimes because of peer pressure because of others expectations we start pursuing certain goals which actually are not compatible with our nature and which really don't do justice to our talents or motivate as much so this is this is an example of people getting into incompatible careers or having job dissatisfaction lacking job satisfaction because of being in a materially incompatible situation so now in such a situation forcing oneself to excel in one's career may actually be may actually cause great distress and suffering to the person so at such times some people may get into a profession a few may get into a profession because they have a great passion and zeal for that profession and such people so somebody gets into physics and because great interest in physics such a person can can see how one can spiritualize one's devotion one's study of physics and then one can actually excel in the field and use that excellence for glorifying Krishna most people practice spirituality get into a career primarily for as a means of earning as a means of gaining a social position and it's not that they are very interested in that particular field and such people can act according to can pursue the career as a means to glorify Krishna not so much by going deep into that particular field necessarily but by using the position and the and the influence that is acquired through that position for glorifying Krishna and others who may not have an interest in that career at all they may even change their career they may actually when they say they may become less ambitious that doesn't necessarily mean that they are giving up ambition but they are choosing something that is more compatible with their nature and compatible with their situation so in this way according to time, place, circumstance different people can choose to act in different ways as per their nature and as per their inspiration so it is not necessarily as I said organic renunciation means that as per one's growth in spiritual life one starts seeing material things in perspective but it is not necessary that just the practice of bhakti has to make one materially unambitious actually bhakti enables us to find a materially harmonious position because bhakti raises about our situation, about our worldly situation and then we can see our situation with greater maturity and with greater clarity and how we can be best situated in material life that we understand by the practice of bhakti so rather than leading to material dissatisfaction actually the practice of bhakti if understood properly and practiced properly can lead to a greater material harmony and greater material effectiveness also in one's career. Thank you. Another question is that.