Empowerment through Austerity

Hare Krishna.

Hare Krishna. Bhagavateer Uttama Shloke Bhagavateer Uttama Bhagavateer Bhavati Naishti Ki Bhagavateer Bhavati Naishti Ki Krishnaaya Vasudevaya Krishnaaya Vasudevaya Devaki Nandanayacha Devaki Sopakumaraya Kuntrajpirit Bhagavatam Canto 2, Chapter 9, Chapter Entitled Answers by Citing the Lord's Worship Verse number 24 Srujami Tapasai Vedam Grasami Tapasa Punah Vibharmi Tapasa Vishwam Viryamme Duscharam Tapah Srujami Tapasai Vedam Srujami I create Tapasa by the same energy of penance. Eva Certainly Vedam This Grasami Tapasa I do withdraw also by the same energy.

Punah Again Vibharmi Do maintain Tapasa By penance Vishwam The cosmos Viryam Potency Me My Duscharam Severe Tapah Penance Translation in Purport By His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Sri Prabhupada Translation This is the Lord speaking to Brahmaji I create this cosmos by such penance. I maintain it by the same energy and I withdraw it all by the same energy. Therefore, the potential power is penance only.

Purport In executing penance, one must be determined to return home, back to Godhead and must decide to undergo all types of tribulations for that end. Even for material prosperity, name and fame, one has to undergo severe types of penance. Otherwise, no one can become an important figure in the material world.

Why then are there severe types of penance for the perfection of devotional service? An easygoing life and attainment of perfection in transcendental realisation cannot go together. The Lord is more clever than any living entity. Therefore, He wants to see how painstaking the devotee is in devotional service.

The order is received from the Lord either directly or through the bona fide spiritual master. And to execute that order, however painstaking, is the severe type of penance. One who follows the principle rigidly is sure to achieve success in attaining the Lord's mercy.

The Lord orchestrates material energy in a way in which lessons can be learnt by anyone who wants to learn. So right from the beginning of creation, the Lord is revealing the basic principle of creation. So, Brahmaji has performed his austerities, the Lord has come, given his darshan.

In the last five verses, this is the culminating verse, after this, Brahmaji will start speaking, expressing his gratitude to the Lord. In these five verses, the Lord is speaking. Every single verse talks about penance.

The Lord is first saying that, because I was pleased with my penance, that's why I have come before you. Then he says, now you can ask me for whatever you want, but the best benediction is to have my darshan, which can be had only by penance. The ultimate fruit of all penance, the highest of all benedictions is to return to my abode.

And in the previous verse he says, penance is my life and soul. And in this verse, the Lord is revealing a very important secret. Generally, especially in the modern society, the idea of any sort of austerity is not very attractive.

Any sort of austerity, any sort of penance. And generally among the six opulences of Krishna, not so many people are attracted to renunciation. People are attracted to wealth, beauty.

Of course, a person has to be little bit in sattva guna to appreciate the value of renunciation. All of us, how many of us would have been attracted to renunciation before we came in touch with devotees? Not really. So then, how is renunciation one of the attractive opulences? Actually, people are not attracted to renunciation, but they are attracted to the fruit of renunciation.

What is the fruit of renunciation? Tyaga, Shantir, Anantaram. Who doesn't want peace of mind in the world? Now, even when people work in high stress industrial jobs, like say stock markets or other places, there also, if somebody can stay very peaceful and composed in disturbing situations, that is considered an opulence. Now how? We can stay cool in all situations.

So where does that coolness come from? That coolness comes either from renunciation or from a show of renunciation. Isn't it? That means I am not attached, I am not disturbed by this. So in that sense, renunciation is an opulence, the fruit of which people want.

They don't want to be renounced, they want to enjoy the sense objects, but at the same time they want to be peaceful by which they will not be disturbed when some things go wrong. But the general ethos of modern times is that the world is for my enjoyment. So why should I abstain? Why should I renounce? Now it is interesting that the Lord is empowering Brahma to create.

And in this verse the Lord is saying, that it is I who create by tapasya. And then he says similarly, it is I who destroy by tapasya. And, it is I who maintain by tapasya.

That means actually the functions which the three chief demigods, Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh do, creation, maintenance, destruction, actually they are done by the Lord. Then how is it that these particular entities are able to do it? Because of their tapasya. So, that means that tapasya is the link that connects the living entity with the Supreme Lord.

Tapasya is the means by which the living entity becomes an instrument for the Lord to do his extraordinary activities. So in that sense, tapasya is the way to empowerment. Generally the idea is if I do tapasya means I have to give up something.

I have to give up this, I have to give up that, I have to give up that. But actually, we gain much more than we lose. We gain the Lord's favour and we gain the Lord's empowerment.

Actually Prabhupada explains in the Parpot, that okay, Brahmaji created this material world and for that he had to do tapasya. And we don't have the service of any creation. But for us what is the tapasya? Prabhupada says that we should be fixed in wanting to go back home, back to Godhead and be ready to do whatever it takes for that purpose.

Now again in the Bhagavad Gita, 7th chapter when Krishna is talking in verses 8 to 11 about how he is the essence of everything. Where he says, that I am the penance of the ascetics, of those who perform penance. In the 10th chapter of the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna talks about the Vibhutis, the different opulences.

Now, there are two kinds of opulences. The 10th chapter is Vibhuti Yoga, 16th chapter is Daiva Asura Sampad Vibhaga Yoga, the Divine and Emotionic natures. So, the two kinds of opulences are Daivi Vibhuti and Asuri Vibhuti.

Asuri Vibhuti means, say, Hiranyakashyapa performed austerity. That austerity is also Vibhuti. But that austerity, and it is Krishna only who is giving them the ability to do that austerity.

But, that austerity is not connecting them with Krishna. So, Krishna is all austerity. All austerity is ultimately given by Krishna.

But the question is, is all austerity taking us to Krishna? That's like recently, we have an e-forum. So, one person asked me a question, that is, now why are you Hare Krishnas against the scientists? This fellow seems to know some Bhagavad Gita. So, he says, actually all scientific inventions are done by the grace of God only.

It is God who gives inspiration from within the heart. And that's how all the scientists are able to do their inventions. So, when you are criticising science, you are criticising gifts of God.

So, actually everything is given by God. But that doesn't mean that everything is the desire of God. Everything is given by God.

But not everything is the desire of God. So, the scientific inventions, the scientific discoveries, are they taking us towards Krishna? Or are they taking us away from Krishna? So, some of us as devotees, we may try to use some of these inventions to come closer to Krishna. But the vast majority of people are using it to go away from Krishna.

Same way with austerity. So, Prabhupada explains that even in material life, people have to perform austerity. If somebody wants to become a sportsman, then right from childhood, you just keep practising, practising, practising.

Some people have to do musicians. You know sometimes, there are musicians who practise for 15 hours a day, 18 hours a day, just singing, singing, singing. And that's how they become champions.

I was reading this George Harrison's book, Here Comes the Sun. Yogeshwar, one of Prabhupada's disciples has written it. When they would start practising, they would just forget day, forget night, just keep practising, practising, practising.

And that time also, it's not that it's easy for them. They also have to do austerity. So, austerity is required even for success in material life.

But that austerity does not necessarily give us the eternal fruit. It gives us only a temporary fruit. That's why, in the 17th chapter of the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna classifies austerities into those austerities in goodness, passion and ignorance.

So, we will discuss something about these three types of austerities, and then we will discuss something from the Acharya's commentaries, about how they give us additional insights into these three types of austerities. So, you can recite these verses after me. This is 17.14 to 16.

devadvija guru prājñā pūjanam saucamārjavam brahmacaryam ahim sācha vācārīram tapaucchate So, devadvija guru prājñā That pūjanam, pūjanam is to respect or worship. So, Baladevidyabhusham says that this is in a descending order. The highest respect is to be given to Deva, the Supreme Lord.

Dvija, dvija is not just any ordinary brāhmaṇa. It is those who are realised brāhmaṇas. And then, among such brāhmaṇas, one is our teacher.

So, this teacher doesn't necessarily, this doesn't necessarily have to refer to the shikṣā guru. It also refers to the shikṣā guru. He says, it also includes all those from whom we have learnt.

It may be our mother and father also. And then, he says, prājñā. Prājñā is the learned people.

Prajñā, from that adjective, is prājñā. devadvija guru prājñā, pūjanam. Shaucam, of course, is internal, external cleanliness.

devadvija guru prājñā, pūjanam, shaucam, ārjavam, straightforwardness. So, the word ārjuna comes from ārjavam. One who is straightforward.

So, I will come back to this later on in the austerity of speech. And, brahmacharya mahim sāju. So, Kalakanta Prabhu, one of Sri Prabhupāda's disciples, he has done a poetic rendition of the Bhagavad Gita.

So, all the verse, eighty, seven hundred verses of the Bhagavad Gita, he has rendered them in poetic form. So, it's very sweet. So, I will tell those translations also as we go along.

So, Penance of the body is to worship God and teacher. Stay celibate and clean at peace with every creature. At peace with every creature.

So, that is actually ahimsa. So, actually, this is very difficult in Kali Yuga. It is extremely difficult.

As Rādhānanda Mahārāja says in one lecture that in Kali Yuga, every molecule is fighting with every other molecule. So, that's why it's not easy. But, then it's an austerity.

And if we do that austerity, so these three austerities, what Kṛṣṇa tells us in seventeen chapters, they bring us to the mode of goodness. And when they come to the mode of goodness, then we can joyfully execute devotional service. su-sukhaṁ kartum avyayam Kṛṣṇa says.

But, as long as we are covered by the modes of passion and ignorance, we cannot experience the joyfulness of bhakti because our consciousness is misdirected. So, this creates the foundation by which we can receive the grace of Kṛṣṇa. This austerity of the body.

We will come back to this later. So, again, Viṣṇujitara also says that these three austerities are also progressive. Austerity of the body is easier.

Austerity of the speech is more difficult. And austerity of the mind is even more difficult. So, then he says, anudvega-karam-vākyam satyam priyahitam chaya svādhyāya-vyasanaṁ chaiva vānmayam tapa uchyate So, the first characteristic of speech he describes is anudvega-karam that this world, already enough misery is there.

Don't add to the misery of this world by speaking agitating words. anudvega-karam Sānākya Paṇḍita says that if there is one principle by which you can conquer the whole world, so that one principle is always speak sweet words. Of course, whether we can do good to others, we don't know.

But he says, if you want to conquer the world, always speak sweet words. So, that is qualified. It's not just we speak non-agitating.

Then he says, anudvega-karam-vākyam satyam priyahitam chaya Three more things. Satya is truthful. Priya is pleasing.

And hitam is beneficial. Now, Vishwachit Gadagur gives an interesting insight of anudvega-karam-vākyam. Actually, Prabhupāda writes in the purport here, that as a preacher, we cannot be anudvega-karam-vākyam.

We have to speak the truth even if it is going to create udvega. Even if it is going to agitate, we have to speak the truth. But, Uchyāntaka Upanishad explains that if somebody attacks a devotee, somebody does something which hurts a devotee, the devotee does needful to respond.

But he does not do anything to hurt the other person. That means, he may have to do the needful. If somebody is doing anything which disrupts the mission of the Lord, then we have to take the needful action.

But we do it in a non-unimical way. So, just as in the Jews, struggle was going on to acquire that land. Mr. N and after that Mrs. N, they were doing all sorts of legal and other plots to take the money and the land both.

So, at the end of it all, Mr. N passed away because of a heart attack. And then Mrs. N went to the court and she tried to have the whole temple demolished. And then, the devotees managed to have it saved and the whole thing became a very bad publicity.

And she was thinking that I am just dealing with a bunch of inexperienced young foreigners. But then, the devotees converted that into an opportunity for publicity and then, when the court hearing was there, many of the leading citizens of Bombay were there for the hearing. And seeing that, Mrs. N and her lawyers became unnerved because already they had got bad publicity.

So then, they decided to have a settlement outside the court. That's what the devotees were trying for a long time. But, the other party was not ready.

But finally, they agreed. So, at that time, still, Mrs. N was angry. So actually, Mr. N had died of a heart attack ostensibly.

So, Mrs. N was very angry. So, when Prabhupada came there, she said, you have killed my husband. So, there was one life member, I think.

What was his name? Not Setty, somebody else. Saksaria. Saksaria.

Thank you. Saksaria was there. So, he was, he was a well meaning, pious Hindu person.

He was very fed up with the intrigues of Mr. N and Mrs. N. So, when this Mrs. N accused Prabhupada, you have killed my husband. So, he got angry. He said, if you really believe that Swamiji has killed your husband, then you should be afraid of your own life now.

So, then she was shocked when she heard that. Then, Saksaria said, Prabhupada, why are you troubling Swamiji? He is a venerable sadhu. He is doing good to the world.

He is ready to give you the money. Why don't you just give him the land? So, the whole strain of the event and the turn of the event that happened, that created a lot of stress. So, actually, she had come for a confrontation or a negotiation.

But actually, she just fell at Prabhupada's feet. And she said, please forgive me. So, Prabhupada just touched her hand and said, you know, you are just like my daughter.

I will take care of you. Don't worry. And then, they quickly, while they were talking, Giriraj Maharaj of Dadarimuri was working to have all the legal documents ready in the other room.

And they brought the legal documents and then they signed it. So, Giriraj Maharaj was the eye witness. He said, we were feeling as if two world powers who were at war were now signing a peace treaty.

So, actually, Prabhupada did the needful. You know, when Krishna's property was being taken away, Prabhupada was like a tiger fighting. But he had nothing against the person.

And later on, Mr. Jain maintained, actually had, Prabhupada maintained cordial relationship with Mr. So, a devotee does not go out of his way to agitate the minds of people. At the same time, in the name of non-agitating the minds of people, it's not that he lets the mission of the Lord be compromised. So, Shankaracharya in his commentary says, that austerity of speech means all these four things have to be done simultaneously.

Speech that is non-agitating, truthful, beneficial and pleasing. If any of these ingredients is missing, then that is not austere speech. That is loose speech.

It's quite a challenge to speak in austere way. In the Mahabharata, when Vishwapitama is giving instructions to Yudhishthira Maharaj, Rajadharma, actually when Vishwapitama is lying on his arrow bed, first he teaches Rajadharma and then towards the end he teaches Bhagavad Dharma. Rajadharma is actually huge and Bhagavad Dharma doesn't contain it.

Bhagavad Dharma just says he gives instructions this, this, this and in two verses it gets over. But actually if you go to Mahabharata, Bhishma Parva is the biggest because there are so many instructions there. So, so much Bhishma's instructions are there.

Krishna Dharma Parva has written this big Mahabharata and he said if I had included Bhishma's instructions the book would have become three times more big. So it's huge. So there he talks about speech and he says something very interesting about hierarchy of how one should speak.

So he says best speech is that speech which describes the glory of the Supreme Lord. Then second level he says the speech that is pleasing to others. Third is speech that is truthful in a mundane sense.

Fourth is silence and fifth is gossip or malicious speech. So speech describing the absolute truth, pleasing speech, material truthful speech, silence and frivolous or malicious speech. So there's something interesting over here.

You know he puts, Vishnu Pitamah puts, pleasing speech above truthful speech. When you're talking about God, then you have to speak the truth. That is the best.

But he considers pleasing speech more important than truthful speech. Why is that? In Wisconsin University in America, there were a group of writers, budding writers and they decided that, you know, we will all critique each other's writers. So the boys formed a writer's club and when the boys formed a writer's club, the girls thought we will also form a writer's club.

So they also formed a writer's club separately and the boys decided that we want to help each other become good writers. So whatever anyone writes, we will give them a thorough critique. Critique is you need to improve this.

And based on that, everybody will improve and there was a feminist movement. So the women want to rebel against the men. So the girls decided that whatever anyone writes, we will only appreciate it.

We will not criticise the writing at all. So there was a survey which was done maybe in 1970s, late 70s and then researchers tracked back, tracked these teenagers 20 years later and they found that among the boys, they had something like 25 boys who had been good writers in their teenagers. Not one of them went on to become a professional writer.

Not one of them went on to become a regular writer and others also in their normal correspondence when they would write letters, they would be quite poor in their writing and when they were talked with, they told that we would be very hesitant, we would think 10 times before writing anything and then also delete and rewrite. On the other hand, among the girls, there were 25 girls and they found that 23 of them had become regular writers. 7 of them had become professional writers and all of them were fluent in writing.

So what happened? What happened was that here their intention was good but the application of the intention was wrong. For the boys, what they did was they thought to help people become good writers, we should correct them but the result of that was that people became so discouraged, so disheartened and just gave up writing. On the other hand, when the lady students they did that because of the encouragement and the appreciation they kept improving and giving good writers.

So that's why Vishwa Pitamah says that pleasing speech is more important than truthful speech because in this world our goal is not just to find false and to correct false. Our goal is ultimately to encourage and inspire people. So as a part of encouragement and inspiration we may have to point out false but we should do it in such a way that people are encouraged and not discouraged.

Of course it is true that if we are giving some facilities say if you want to make somebody a counsellor or if you want to give somebody initiation or if you want to recommend somebody for initiation then they have to come to the standards. If they are not at the standards we have to point it out not at the standards. But at the same time things should be done in a way that encourages people.

Sometimes in the name of being truthful we may speak things but ultimately what is real truthfulness. Real truthfulness like many people argue that Yudhisthira Maharaj spoke a lie when he said that Ashwatthama has been killed. Now actually Yudhisthira Maharaj didn't speak a lie.

He spoke Ashwatthama Narova Kunjarova but when he was speaking Narova Kunjarova Krishna blue is conch shell. So Narova Nara is human being Kunjara is animal. So Ashwatthama has been killed but then he said either the human or the elephant.

But Dronacharya only heard Ashwatthama has been killed. So Yudhisthira Maharaj didn't actually speak a lie but even if he spoke a lie what is actually real truthfulness. Material existence is itself a lie.

Material existence itself is a lie. You know we are assuming that we are the body. We are taking on a particular identity and we are asking for that identity and actually material existence is not just a lie.

It is a mutually reinforcing lie. Mutually reinforcing lie. I reinforce your lie and you reinforce my lie.

I think that Ravindra Sarkar writes that materialistic people have hundreds of ways of patting each other on the back while they are gliding to death. Everything is alright. Everything is alright.

Material existence itself is a lie. So we don't recommend wholesale lies but the point is material existence itself is a lie. So what is the value of truthfulness within that foundation of falsehood? So real truthfulness is that which helps us to reach the absolute truth.

The absolute truth is Krishna and it is Krishna consciousness. So whatever we speak that enables people to come to the absolute truth that is truthfulness. So sometimes finding false may also be required for that but the important thing is that we have to encourage and inspire people.

That's a pleasing speech. Vishnu Pitamah put that higher and that's why Krishna also says the first thing is non-agitating and of course the last thing he says is reciting the Vedic scriptures. So for us it's chanting the Hare Krishna mantra.

It's very important and similarly there are so many verses, so many songs, so many poems. We recite these and that itself is the austerity of speech which increases the mode of goodness within us. Now beyond that the third part of the austerity is the most subtle and most insightful.

So we can recite that. na prasada saumyatvam na prasada saumyatvam maunam atma vinigraha maunam atma bhavasam shuddhi riti etat bhavasam shuddhi riti etat tapo manasam uchyate tapo manasam So manaprasada manaprasada means satisfaction. So satisfaction is the austerity of the mind.

That means to be satisfied with what we have is the austerity of the mind and this is one point where all the acharyas conquer. So Ramacharya, Madhavacharya, Baldev Vidyabhushan, Vishwacharya Thakur, Bhaktivinoda Thakur and of course Shankaracharya. He says, how do you get manaprasada? This is by not contemplating on the sense objects.

So Prabhupada writes in the purport, the more one contemplates on the sense objects, the more one becomes dissatisfied. So manaprasada comes by not contemplating on the sense objects. that is the, but what, ok we say not contemplate on the describe it in the next two lines.

Next line actually. Saumya Tvam. The word saumya means gentleness.

Now actually generally we attribute gentleness with behaviour or with speech. Next quality, maunam. Maunam is also attributed with speech, silence.

But Krishna put both of these in austerity of mind, not austerity of speech. So Shankaracharya explains in his commentary that just as if the cause is activated, the effect is automatically produced. That means if you turn on a tap, water will automatically come.

But you don't activate the cause, you know you can just pour a mug and you'll get some water. But you won't get a continuous flow of water. So if the cause is activated, the effect will automatically come.

Similarly he says saumyatvam and maunam are actually dispositions of the mind. So saumyatvam, gentleness means, so Shankaracharya says it's benevolence towards all living beings. Prabhupada writes in his purport, one should desire the good of others.

In one Bhagavatam purport Prabhupada writes, as soon as a devotee sees anyone, he thinks how can I connect this person with Krishna. In fact the difference between material consciousness and spiritual consciousness is, in material consciousness as soon as we see a person we think what can he do for me? And in spiritual consciousness we think what can I do for that person? What can I do for that person? Now of course, now when we are trying to raise funds for the new temple, then as soon as a person comes we may think how much he can contribute to the temple. But actually we are not what he can do for us.

Actually we are doing something for him by giving him a connection with Krishna. So that consciousness has to be clear. So spiritual consciousness as soon as we see a person, a devotee thinks how can I bring this person to Krishna? That is saumyatvam.

And maunam, he explains, I read a quote, it is there in one of my books also that most people speak because they find sound more tolerable than silence. They find sound more tolerable than silence. Because if you are silent and inside the mind is screaming.

One day this is going wrong, there is that, so many things. So people speak, they have parties, they enjoy or they turn on a television, something by which they try to silence the mind and try to forget the mind. So Madras people when they have their parties they say cheers, you know they have this.

So I wrote one poem, one part of it you know. Their minds are filled with fears, their hearts are pierced by desires, they are on the verge of tears and they say cheers. That is the internal situation, their minds are filled with fears.

Unlimited anxieties, their hearts are pierced by desires. Prabhupada translates the sixteen chapter verse as, they have ascertained that the ultimate goal of life, the prime necessity of life is sense gratification. The prime necessity of life, paramah, paramah means supreme necessity.

So it is said that the problem with the world is that the foolish are confident and the wise are doubtful. The foolish are confident, the Madras people are fully confident. If I can just go to America, I will be happy.

And devotees are chanting Hare Krishna, we have the opportunity to go back to Godhead and we wonder, you know. Does the spiritual world really exist? Will I go there? Will I become happy if I go there? You know. So the problem with the world is that the foolish are confident and the wise are doubtful.

So actually, by seeing the confidence of the foolish, we should get confidence. You know, if atheists, if materialists can propagate their philosophy, philosophy, their foolish ideas with such enthusiasm, such confidence, why should devotees not preach vigorously? So actually, we have confidence. So maudam means, I was talking about maudam, austerity of speech, it's austerity of the mind, because when the mind is peaceful, the tongue will also be peaceful.

That means, a devotee's mind is fixed in Krishna. And then how is he peaceful? Actually in one sense, Prabhupada's antithesis of a mauni. Why antithesis? Because he was constantly speaking.

All day he was speaking about Krishna to the people who came to meet him, and all night he was speaking about Krishna to people who didn't come to meet him, by writing his books. So what is mauna? Ultimately we discussed, austerity means that which connects us with Krishna. So Prabhupada's speech was connecting with Krishna.

And atma vinigraha means control of the sense, control of the mind. And bhava samshuddhir iti etat. Bhava samshuddhir.

So all these are first, okay, don't contemplate on sense objects, think good about others, contemplate on the spiritual goal of life. Maunam, how does it come? By contemplating on the spiritual values of life, what Acharya described. And then ultimately, bhava samshuddhir, that means purification of the mind.

That comes by chanting Hare Krishna. So I'll just conclude with one incident. There's a very famous and popular author who has written many books, especially novels, which are very popular among the youth.

His name is Chetan Bhagat. So he writes about God and Bhagavad Gita and he quotes Prabhupada's translations in his Bhagavad Gita, whenever he quotes, whenever in his book he quotes it. So he is nowadays coming to Chowpatty Temple regularly and so he came to meet His Holiness Radhanath Maharaj recently.

And then after that he wrote in his blog about his meeting with Maharaj. So, suddenly his new book was launched. So he asked Maharaj that when my book is to be launched, I have so much tension because after the book comes out, some people will criticise it, some people will praise it, there is so much uncertainty and because of which I am not able to sleep at night.

I have sleepless nights. So what can I do about it? He is a famous author, best selling author but even he is sleepless at night. So Maharaj told him, so he said, he writes this, so here is the Swami's reply.

He writes in his blog. So he says that, so Maharaj told him that if there is a small puddle, then if the sun becomes very hot, the puddle will dry. Or if a large flow of water comes in, the puddle will get over flooded.

But if there is an ocean, then no matter how hot the sun becomes, the sun can never dry the ocean and even if a huge flood comes in, the ocean will not overflow. So this is actually adoption of 2.70. So Maharaj said, as a human being, you should strive to become like a ocean and not be like a puddle. And how do you do that? He said, by contemplating how what you are doing in life is meaningful, is what you like to do, what you are doing the best you can and it is serving others.

This is a very beautiful way of intersection of mundane goody-goody philosophy and Krishna conscious philosophy. So as devotees, sometimes we also may get what we want, may not get what we want, even if we want for Krishna. We may get it, we may not get it.

We may be doing our best to serve Krishna, but sometimes some people will praise us, sometimes some people will criticise us. So if we are convinced that what we are doing is meaningful, yes it is meaning, supremely meaningful. So we are trying to go closer to Krishna, we are trying to take others closer to Krishna.

If that is what we want to do, yes, we are doing what we want to do. That is the best that we can do. All of us are trying our best.

It may not be the best, but it is our best and is helping others. Yes, it is helping others. So if we contemplate on this, on why we are doing what we are doing, then we can get this mana, prasad, we can get this inner satisfaction and then we can actually peacefully advance in Krishna consciousness.

So Prabhupada writes in the Purport that a devotee should be painstaking. So what is that painstaking? That painstaking is doing our activities in a way by which we can become an instrument for Krishna and these threefold austerities which I have described, they create the foundation by which we can become a channel for Krishna and become a part of the solution of this world. So I will summarise.

I started by discussing about how austerity does not mean that we lose something, rather we gain something. From the mundane point of view, by renunciation we get peace. From the spiritual point of view, we gain Krishna.

Krishna gives us his mercy and we become an instrument of Krishna's mercy for others. And how do we do that? By doing austerity of the body, austerity of the mind and austerity of speech. And when we do the austerity, when we contemplate while doing this austerity, we may not get immediate satisfaction.

But if we contemplate how what we are doing is meaningful, is what we want to do, what is the best for us, what is the best we can do and it is beneficial to others, then we will be inspired to go on irrespective of what the world gives us.