Failure, divine & demonic responses Bg 18 14

This is, when action leads to success, what are the factors involved in that? So, I'll explain the words.

The Sanskrit is a little more complicated than the normal Sanskrit or the Bhagavata. But not very. So, Adhishthanam.

Adhishthanam means the place, the venue. So, Krishna is telling, these are the five factors that determine. There are five components of action which are involved when there is success.

So, Adhishthanam is the place where something is demanded. Tatha, Karta. Karta is of course, the doer, the soul.

So, Adhishthanam Tatha Karta. Now, Karanam. Karanam is the senses.

It's not Karanam. It's Karanam. Karanam is causes.

Karanam is instruments. Senses are the instruments. So, Karanam Chaprathak Vidham.

That means, Prathak is various. So, the different senses are involved in each work. Karanam Chaprathak Vidham.

Karanam Chaprathak Vidham. Then, Vimidha. Similarly, there are various Chaprathak.

Different kinds of Cheshta. Cheshta is endeavour. So, to succeed, we have to use different kinds of senses.

Say, for example, if we are going to become a public speaker, then the most important part of it is our voice. But then, along with that, we need to learn gestures. We need to not only express ourselves properly, we also need to have our eyes alert to see how people are responding, which point people are getting, which point people are not getting.

So, various senses are involved in activities. But also, various kinds of endeavours are required. Vimidha, Vimidha Chaprathak.

Cheshta. Vimidha Chaprathak Cheshta. And then finally, Daiva.

Daiva is destiny. Daivam Chaeva. Also, certainly.

That is certainly a factor. Daivam Chaeva Atra. Atra is in this factor, in this analysis, Panchamam.

Panchamam is 5th or 5. So, Pancham means the 5th day. So, Daivam Chaivatra Panchamam. Adhishta, together.

Adhishtanam Tatha Kartha Karanam Chavrata Vidham Vimidha Chaprathak Cheshta Daivam Chaivatra Panchamam Adhishtanam Tatha Kartha Karanam Chavrata Vidham Vimidha Chaprathak Cheshta Daivam Chaivatra Panchamam Adhishtanam Tatha Kartha Karanam Chavrata Vidham Vimidha Chaprathak Cheshta Daivam Chaivatra Panchamam So, let's try to understand these factors. Now, these can be understood from a philosophical perspective. But they can also be understood from a practical or empirical perspective.

So, well, let's look at it from the empirical perspective. So, among the 5 factors, Kartha. Kartha is the doer or you could say the soul.

Ultimately, although it is said that the soul is not the doer, what the Bhagavad Gita means is that the soul is not the only doer. Because Krishna clearly tells Arjuna, do as you desire at the end of the Gita. Karishe, Arjuna says, yes, I will do your way.

So, to think we are the doer is not the illusion. To think that we are the only doer, that is the illusion. In fact, two verses later, that's the exact point Krishna will say.

Patraivam Sati Kartaram Aatmanam Kevalam Tuya Pashyata Akruti Buddhitva Nasapashyati Durmati That is Aatmanam Kevalam If somebody thinks I am the sole doer, that person is Nasapashyati, he is not saying properly. Durmati, their consciousness is misdirected. So, we are definitely the doers.

Right now, I am speaking, you are hearing. So, I am a doer, you are also a doer. So, that is involved.

If you consider the doer to be the soul, then the soul is involved in the action. Then Adhishthana. Let's move from inside outwardly.

So, we have Karanam. Karanam is what? Senses. Right now, I am trying to give this class, but if I have eaten something that has caused my throat to become sore, then I won't be able to speak.

So, the Karanam has to be appropriate. If it is a sports match, a cricketer gets injured, then they will not be able to play. Maybe they have pulled their hamstring or whatever.

So, Karanam, the appropriate senses are required. Then Karanam, then Adhishthana. Adhishthana is the place, the venue.

Suppose somebody wants to play a cricket match, but it rains. Then the players will be fit, the audience will be there, but you cannot play the match. If you want to have a talk, but there is no venue available.

Then we need an Adhishthana, we need a place. Now, these examples will become more sophisticated as we move forward, but at a simple level. For doing an activity, we need a place.

And then, Ksheshta. Ksheshta is, we need to endeavour. So, endeavour means, it's not that the first time a child picks up a bat to play, the child will be able to succeed.

The child has to practise. If we are all learning to be public speakers. It's not that the first time we talk, we are going to be fluent.

The first time I participated in an elocution competition in my school, what happened was that, generally, when I become nervous, I speak faster. When I am calm, I speak slowly. If I have not planned my class properly, then I am not sure how much I am going to cover.

So, then I start rushing forward. So, what happened, I had 7 minutes to speak, and then I got up and I started speaking. It's like sometimes you get into a car, whoosh, the car starts moving super fast.

You know, you are not even, you are just thrown backward. So, you don't even have time to try the seatbelt. So, it was like that, I started speaking so fast, that people just couldn't get what I was saying.

And, they started looking at each other. A sure sign that the speaker has lost the audiences, that people start looking at the watch, people start looking at the door. Or, people just stop looking.

And, they close their eyes. So, that started happening, and because that increased my nervousness, I started speaking even faster. So, I had prepared and rehearsed a 7 minute talk, and it was over in less than 3 minutes.

So, it was a disaster. But, it takes endeavour. You gradually learn from experience.

And, the last is Daiva. Daiva is destiny. So, now, among these, see, the soul is who we are.

We can't change that. That's what we are. Destiny, in many ways, is already fixed.

So, in one sense, this is fixed. We are who we are. Each one of us is an individual.

Our destiny is fixed. So, these three are changeable. So, I'll explain this a little bit more.

A dead body, even if somebody is a top musician, their dead body can't do anything. The soul has to be present. Nowadays, we may laugh at the Egyptians who have kept the pharaoh's bodies as mummies.

You know, they preserve, embalm the body, they preserve them. The idea is that, maybe they wake up or whatever. What their superstition or belief was, we don't know.

But, it's almost like they are preserving the person. But, the person is long gone and dead. Now, scientists have still preserved the brain of Einstein.

They are thinking that one day, we'll find out. And, we'll have Einstein back with us. Well, Einstein was not his brain.

Einstein was his soul. Yeah, he had a phenomenal brain. But, he is not his brain.

So, the karta is the soul. The karta is what it is. Without the karta, nothing happens.

Without the soul. But then, you are a soul, I am a soul, we are individuals. So, in one sense, that can't be changed.

And generally, when results come, most of us think that action produces result. So, if I do an action, I get a result. And, this is how we explain the law of karma.

And, it is an extension or an expansion of Newton's law of motion. While this is true, it is not always that simple. If I do an action worth 10, I'll get a result worth 10.

If I put my hand a little close to fire, I'll feel a little burning sensation. If I put my hand inside fire, I'll feel a much more burning sensation. If I keep my hand inside fire, I'll have no hand to take out.

So, depending on how foolish or foolhardy the action is, that much will be the result. So, this is at one level true. But, many actions are more complicated than this.

Sometimes, I may do an action worth 10, and I may get a result worth 100. Why is that? Because this is my present action. But, the result is coming also from my past action.

So, the past action may be worth 90. So, that means, say, if a person with mediocre musical talent, they pick up a kartal and they start playing that. Sometimes, some people play a kartal and others wonder when will they stop playing.

But, there are some kids who are prodigies. They may still be wearing diapers and they can play musical instruments. So, all their endeavour is just pick it up and that's all.

Even for Prabhupada, his father wanted him to learn Mridangam. Even before his hands could reach to that side of Mridangam, he had to train Mridangam. So, some kids just have enormous talent.

So, the endeavour from this life is very little. There may be endeavour, but it's very little. In various countries, India has got talent, Britain has got talent, all these talent shows are there.

So, it's amazing to see these kids who have so much talent in music or whatever area it is. So, for some people, this is we could say karma and this is the daiva. So, daiva plays an important role.

Now, daiva can also play a negative role. I may do an endeavour worth 100 and I may get result worth 10. Why is that? Because my daiva might cancel my endeavour.

It happens that some people, we do a 100 things for them and instead of appreciating those 100 things, they will only criticise the 101st thing that we did not do. There is just no pleasing them at all. It's like, it seems that they are pleased to be displeased with us.

So, such people are very difficult to live with. Maybe it's our bad karma that it's our destiny that those kind of people are there in our lives. And everybody will have somebody like that.

So, sometimes our huge endeavour gives very little result. Example, if you want to do PhD or you want to go to a bigger university in America, you may want a recommendation from some of your faculty. Now, some faculty might give recommendation very easily.

Some faculty, it's like getting a recommendation from them would mean that you practically have to become like their slave. It's difficult. So, basically, it's not just the present endeavour.

Present endeavour plus past endeavour also plays a role. Our present action plus past action also plays a role in getting the results. Now, the past action, we don't know what it is and we can't change it.

But when we are working, how do we know that the result that I am getting or not getting, especially considering I am not getting the result, then what is the reason for it? Should I just assume that if I am not getting the result, it's in my past karma, it's not there and I won't get it? Or should we think that maybe I need to make some more endeavour for it? So, the idea of putting, Krishna said, Daiva is one of the factors. It is not the sole factor. And we can't be blaming Daiva or using Daiva, destiny, as an excuse for not playing our part.

So, destiny can be an explanation for why things are not working out. But destiny can also be an excuse for we not even trying to make things work. Isn't it? If we are having some, this happens with me many times, especially the extent of human philosophy, we can use it to either rectify what we are doing or we can use it to justify what we are doing.

So, when I travel abroad, I meet devotees, sometimes I stay at devotees' homes. So, many times, if devotees are new, then they take philosophy and either they intentionally supply the philosophy or unwittingly, they will supply the philosophy. So, I was staying at one devotee's house and this devotee said, my wife does not support me in my bhakti and I think, you know, it is because of my past karma that I got such a wife.

So, I said, okay, wait a minute, don't jump to such conclusions. Then after that I talked to his wife and then she was telling me some basic things, some basic family responses that a husband is supposed to do. He was not neglecting that, saying that I am a devotee, why do you need to do this? Well, I said that if your wife is unhappy, as far as I can see, it is not because of your past karma, it is because of your present karma.

So, now it is possible, but we don't need to jump to that conclusion all the time. We need to investigate whether I am doing something right or something wrong right now. So, in that connection, let's look at these three factors, Karanam, Adishta and Chishta.

So, if we don't get, if there is no result, there could broadly be three causes in terms of these three factors. That first is that we are doing incompatible work. That means this is associated with Karanam.

Suppose somebody is a very good singer and they try to do the job of a painter. Now, what is going to happen? The work that they are doing is incompatible. Their Karanam, their senses are not made for that particular work.

So, if you don't get result, one possibility is incompatible work. The second is, it could be an inhospitable place. This is the Adishta.

That means, say now, because Indians are so many in America, cricket is becoming a little popular in America. It's not really becoming that popular. So, the first 50-21 cup is happening over there in America, but mostly it's all with empty stadiums.

There is more attendance in the matches in West Indies than in America. Because America is a huge country and Indians are not so eager to travel across the country to watch. But anyway, if it's 10 or 15 years ago, if somebody had been a cricket player in America, there is nobody interested in cricket over there.

When I started going to America, I often used sports metaphor. So, the devotees in America, especially when I was speaking to American audiences, they told me, don't use cricket examples here. I said, why is that? For Americans, cricket is an insect, not a game.

So, if somebody has cricket talent in America, the place is inhospitable. Or for that matter, say India, somebody has talent in baseball. Those people, baseball, what is baseball? That is the question that will come in their mind.

So, sometimes the place we are may not be hospitable for a particular thing. And we will discuss examples of each of these. So, sometimes the success may not be there because the place is inhospitable.

If somebody is a very brilliant student, but they are in a remote school in some village where they ask questions which only annoy the teacher because the teacher also doesn't know the answers. And the teacher starts telling them, don't be so over-intelligent. Well, it's like they are not being over-intelligent, that's the way they think.

But maybe that is not the place for them. They need to be in a better school. So, sometimes what we are doing may not give the desired results because we are in an inhospitable place.

And the last is, it may be because of insufficient endeavour. This is changed up. That we may be in the right place, we may have the right skills.

When I say incompatible work means, we said we have the wrong skill set. The senses are associated with the skills. So, we may have the right skills, we may have the right place.

But still, we may not have endeavoured enough. Somebody may be brilliant in some of the studies, they like engineering. But if they want to get into IIT, it's not going to be a cakewalk.

There's a lot of competition over there. So, they have to endeavour. So, when success does not come, it could be because of any of these three factors.

Could be one of those factors, two, three. So, we need to introspect, we need to investigate that what is it that is obstructing me. Now, this applies even to bhakti.

But in principle, bhakti is transcendental. In practise, we are doing bhakti in the material world. So, sometimes when we talk about bhakti, it is in principle, it is transcendental.

Transcendental means, it is beyond the material world. Bhakti involves we connecting with Krishna. We, the soul, which we are trying to awaken, the soul exists beyond the material world.

Krishna exists beyond the material world. So, bhakti is transcendental. But in practise, bhakti is done in the material world.

So, bhakti involves also material factors to be considered. Say, for example, if I am speaking right now and the sound system is not working. I can speak and you can hear.

Although when I speak, you are not hearing. Now, you may sit diligently and hear and I may sit diligently and speak. And both of us will please Krishna.

But we won't learn anything. So, if I don't lose my spirit and keep speaking and if you don't lose your spirit and you keep sitting. Maybe some sound vibration is going there but you can't make sense of the sound vibration.

Because it is too small. So, material factors matter. If there is no power supply, the sound system is not working.

We need to get it to work. So, in practise, material, they are not the only thing that matter. But material factors matter.

Transcendental means what? Intent matters most. That, Bhaktsan Sarkar would talk about this from a transcendental perspective. He would say that if you are trying to share Krishna Bhakti and nobody comes for the programme.

He would say, speak to the walls. Krishna is present even in the walls. He is present everywhere.

He will be pleased by what you are speaking. And you will be purified. Now, that in principle is true.

But when Prabhupada was trying to share Krishna Bhakti in India, it didn't work. Did Prabhupada take that literally and say, Okay, maybe it is my destiny and I will keep preaching to the walls for the rest of my life. No, he didn't do that.

So, in principle, we understand intent is the most important thing. But in practise, when we want to get certain things done for Krishna, we need to be using our intelligence to evaluate. If something is working or something is not working, then why is it not working? So, if we consider these three factors, that the Karana, that is the, do I have the right skill set to do this? Then, am I in the right place where this skill set will be valued, will be utilised? Say, if today, somebody is very good at sword fighting.

Now, even they say, I will enlist in the army. They say, put aside your sword and then come to the army. We don't fight with sword.

If you want to fight with sword, maybe it's like fencing is a game in Olympics or some sport, that's where all you can use it. That's not a skill set which is suitable in today's time and place. So, there are different kinds of skill sets that are suitable at different times.

So, these three, each of these three factors, we can evaluate to see where we are going right and where we are wrong. Now, I'll take one positive example of this and then we will look at a negative example. A negative, I mean, that somebody who doesn't consider these factors but looks at something else.

So, if you consider Shri Prabhupada, again, Shri Prabhupada trying to share Krishna Bhakti is completely transcendental. He is doing it to please Krishna, please Guru. At the same time, it is in this world, he is trying.

Now, if you consider Shri Prabhupada primarily, when did he meet his Guru Maharaj? 1922. 1922, yes. So, from 1922, then you know when Prabhupada took sannyas? 56? Sometimes I ask a question because I don't remember the answer.

It's not that I am not testing you. Let's assume it's 56, 58, 56 I think. Can anyone have Google? Can Google do anything? Google, leave it, don't worry.

I am just joking. I don't want you to go on internet right now. Okay, so, let's assume it's 56.

Now, till that time, Prabhupada was in the Grihasthashra. Now, Prabhupada's hope was that he would earn a lot of money and he would donate that money for his Guru Maharaj mission. And Prabhupada worked very hard over there.

If you know, this is a map of India. You can know, drawing is not in my skill set. But anyway, assume.

Okay, it's atrocity. Let's assume this is India. So, Prabhupada was in Kolkata.

Then he went to Mumbai. And then he went to Prayag. He had his Prayag pharmacy.

Now, I have a friend who has studied Indian history. Most people would not move this much. They would move if they were working in the government and the government transferred them.

But actually to shift one's business, people would not do that. And Prabhupada shifted his entire family. It's a big thing in those times.

It's not easy. But Prabhupada was trying at various places to make his business work. And somehow it just didn't work.

And what was the reason? Now, Prabhupada was, in one sense, his business was the pharmacy. He was a pharmacist. But Prabhupada, when his customers would come, he would start preaching to them.

He was at heart of preaching. So, it was just not a compatible thing for him. Although, if you see in Prayag pharmacy, even his colleague doctor, as well as some customers, there is a description of their experiences with Prabhupada.

And Swamiji was a deeply religious person. They called him Abhay Babu at that time. Abhay Babu was a deeply religious person.

So, while Prabhupada tried to work as a businessman, that was just not his role. That was just not his compatible work. So, he didn't have much result.

Not that he failed, but his business was not spectacularly successful. So, at one particular time, Prabhupada decided that enough is enough. He did his family responsibly as well as he could.

And then he moved on. Now, if you consider from 1956 to 1965, this was when Prabhupada was doing business. Then Prabhupada was doing Indian outreach.

Now, he was doing that before also, but he was trying to share Krishnamukti India. Prabhupada was sometimes in Mumbai, sometimes in Delhi, sometimes he was in Vrindavan. Prabhupada was trying various things.

And he found that at that time, people were just not ready. At that time, India had just emerged from the political struggle for independence and then after the huge political turbulence over partition and the memories and the scars were still very deep. And many factors, broadly speaking, among the relevant factors, India was, India in the 1960s, 50s and 60s, it was in one sense first crippled by poverty.

When people are too poor, they can practise bhakti, but it is difficult. They want to think, when am I going to get my next meal? So, they were too crippled by poverty. They were too obsessed with politics.

Because India had just got independence, the hope was that political change will bring about transformation. Now, okay, this scheme, that plan, this five-year plan, this commission, that thing, there's too much hope invested in politics. And they were enamoured.

Enamoured means infatuated by the West. So, because of all these, they were uninterested in Indian spirituality. So, in one sense, this had nothing to do with Prabhupada Devati.

Now, there were still, you see, India has always been a religious country and there were always people who were interested in religion. But they were interested more in religion as a form of pious entertainment. Go to some satsang, hear some nice katha, enjoy yourself.

So, that was there in 1955-56. The first time there was a movie made about Lord Ram. And in the theatre, I think it was in South India, it was made.

So, when the first time Lord Ram appeared in the movie, all the people got up from their chairs and offered obeisances in the temple. In the, not the temple, the theatre. So, people were religious.

But you know, that religiosity was more sentiment than interest in philosophy. Prabhupada was not a kathakar. Prabhupada, if you see his lectures, he sometimes tells stories.

But Prabhupada was primarily philosophical. And that kind of philosophical presentation of spirituality was was not something which was people interested in religion. So, Prabhupada tried in India many times.

When Prabhupada tried to start the temple in Jhansi, the League of Devotees, common investment principle is don't, they say put your eggs in one basket. All your eggs in one basket. That means, don't take everything that you have and put in one place.

If it doesn't work, then you will be lost completely. But Prabhupada actually put all his eggs in that basket. Put all his endeavour over there.

And suddenly the people just, they just turned against him. They said, we want to use this place for some other work. We don't want a temple over here.

We already have many temples in India. So, Prabhupada was disappointed. But Prabhupada moved on.

So, at that time, it was just not the right place. So, it was insufficient, it was an in-hospital place. And then, 65 to 66, Prabhupada in America.

Now, it is not that when Prabhupada went to America, that people with wide-open arms were welcoming him. Prabhupada had to struggle over there also. When he came to Butler, Pennsylvania, that's where he sponsored Gopalan Sahaja Yagarwal with it.

And there, it was a small town and people treated Prabhupada more like a curiosity object than a spiritual teacher. Okay, who is this Swami coming from India? Let's go and meet him. If at that time, smart phones had been there, everybody would say, Swami, can I have a selfie with you? So, that's all.

They didn't really want to listen to his philosophy. And Prabhupada tried to give some talks in some colleges. That didn't work out very well.

Prabhupada came to New York, he stayed at the Mishra Yoga Studio, and he spoke over there. And there were more upper-class people who were interested mostly in physical yoga. They were not interested in philosophy so much.

And the teacher was also impersonalist. So, he didn't want Prabhupada to speak personalist philosophy. And while Prabhupada was there, he saw that some people, most of the clientele who would come there, was relatively upper-class, well-dressed, well-educated, and wealthy.

But there were some people who were very unkempt, unkempt means unclean, dishevelled, and seemed to be from a poor background. But they seemed to be interested in spirituality. And whoever was interested, Prabhupada would talk with them.

He would talk with them, and then they would they would ask further questions. And Prabhupada saw these people were interested. And some of those people said, Swamiji, you come to the Lower East Side.

That's where you will find a lot of interest. Now, although this Dr. Mishra did want Prabhupada to speak in his yoga studio, he still empathised. Swamiji was an elderly man, he was 70.

And he said, Swamiji, that is no place for a gentleman like you to go. You know, there are people who take drugs, people just pass out on the streets, you know, people are, what we call as public display of affection. You know, that would be like a, there it would be like a movie for general audience.

That means, you know, all kind of adult things will be happening in public over there. So, Swamiji, this is no place for you, they said. He said.

And that is also not a very well-furnished place. When Prabhupada went to America, at that time, Sulti Maharaj, the person who sponsored his visit, she said, Swamiji, America is so cold, and you are so old. He said, how can I let you go there? You will die over there.

Prabhupada still requested, insisted somehow that please let me go. And Prabhupada came there in Lower East Side. Not that, although people were interested, you know, they were not respectful.

It was difficult. At that time, there was this whole thing about, there was this drug called LSD. LSD is the name of a short form for a chemical.

But people used to take this drug, they had given a new name for it. It is the League of Spiritual Discovery. So, anybody who takes LSD joins this club, the League of Spiritual Discovery.

And then, quite often, when people take drugs, they become incoherent. They start speaking crazy things. But, after somebody would take LSD, and when they would speak after that, they would be considered as LSD saints.

That means, the God of LSD is speaking profound wisdom to this person. Just sit silently and hear what they are speaking. And Prabhupada would sometimes be giving a class, and suddenly people would start speaking.

And Prabhupada would look at some of his seniors who were stopping. He said, no, Swamiji, we cannot stop it. There will be aparad.

Then it opens. So, Prabhupada had to deal with these kind of people. It was not at all easy.

One time there was one David Allen who was staying with Prabhupada, in the same place, and he seemed to be interested in becoming a disciple. But then, he was giving up drugs, but one day he took drugs again, he got an overdose, he just went mad and came to attack Prabhupada. And Prabhupada just had to flee from there.

Then Prabhupada was just on the streets, homeless. At least the other drug users in America, there were junkies, drug junkies, they were also homeless, but they were settled. Prabhupada was on the streets, and he just didn't know where to go.

He could so easily just take a ship back and come back to India. But Prabhupada stayed on Vishnu. It took quite a while.

And then eventually, slowly, people started coming. So, Prabhupada had no money to make publicity for his programmes. So, Prabhupada used the oldest means for publicity.

What is that? You just go out for walks, long walks, and people would see him and he would talk with them. So, once he was going for a walk on the streets of New York, and then, on the opposite side, there was a tall, bearded, spectacled person, and he seemed to be surprised to see Prabhupada. Prabhupada stopped.

This was Howard Wheeler, who later became Hayagriva. So, he was going to his friends to have drugs. Now, he was going along, he was looking around the street.

Now, he had been a spiritual seeker, he had gone to India, and he had gone to India to find a guru. But he had been very disappointed. He said, those who seemed enlightened enough to be gurus, they lived far away in the Himalayas and they didn't know English.

And those who knew English, seemed too materialistic to be enlightened enough to be gurus. So, they came back disappointed from India. So, he was just walking along the street.

So, he knew what a sannyasi was doing. Hey, what is a sannyasi doing on the streets of America? Have I taken drugs? I am already high. So, he rubbed his eyes and then a big lorry passed by.

Then the lorry passed by and he said, Swami is still there. Then he stopped and started looking. Another lorry passed by and he said that Swami is also looking at him.

Then he crossed over, ran across. And then he met Swami. Swami, are you from India? Prabhupada said, yes.

And you? I have been to India, sir. And they started talking. That was the first serious disciple that Prabhupada, serious student that Prabhupada got.

And eventually they became disciples. He and his friends became disciples. So, the point is Prabhupada also had to put in the endeavour.

So, Prabhupada didn't just say, okay, maybe it's not my destiny, it won't work. Prabhupada kept trying. So, for all of us, when things don't work, you have to see, why are they not working? Is it that I am not, that I don't have the skills for doing this thing? Is it that I don't have, I am not at the right place? Is it that I am not endeavouring enough? Or it could be that, now when we say, it's not destiny, that means that, you know, we just don't have the skills.

Or we just can't get to a place where that particular time will be appreciated. Or we don't have the scope to increase our endeavour. Whatever it is.

So, destiny can work in many different ways. But when we are intelligent, we can evaluate in this way. And that way, we can find out, how best I can move ahead in my life.

So, now, if we consider the demoniac people, and the divine people. So, when things don't work, in one sense, philosophy, were any of you there? Most of you must have been there. Yesterday I gave a Bhagavatam class.

So, philosophy basically is an attempt to make sense of, does anyone remember? Yes. Make sense of things that don't make sense. When do people turn towards philosophy? It is not that you sit down with your family, or some friends, and suddenly stop talking philosophy.

If you are spiritually inclined, then it is possible. Most people, they talk about politics, they talk about sports. But generally, when something happens, and things don't make sense.

So, for example, in America, 9-11 happened. Then, the whole bubble of security and comfort that was built by America, just burst in one shocking moment. And suddenly, God, and philosophy, and me, all those searches on Google, shot up for some time after that.

So, basically, when something happens that just doesn't make sense, and somehow we humans, we have a need to make sense, like that Sat, Chit, Ananda. Chit, because we are the capacitors for conscious. So, when something comes in our consciousness, we need to make sense of it.

So, the divine, they become philosophical. Okay, why are things not working? What do I need to do to make things work? But, the demoniac, they don't become philosophical, they become diabolical. Now, diabolical means what? Diabolical.

Has anyone heard this word, diabolical? No, okay, diabolical means immoral, wicked, immoral, cruel, vicious. They just think that, okay, this is not working, then I'll destroy whatever is stopping me from getting this. And that way, they don't think that I need to learn and change something.

They think that, I have to just break and bend the world to my will. So, we'll see this in the 16th chapter. Krishna explains about the demoniac nature.

It's a continuation of those verses which we discussed yesterday. So, yesterday we discussed 11 and 12. So, they that was the place where we stopped.

When somebody has a lot of desires and to fulfil the desires, they use immoral means to gain wealth. So, what are those immoral means? That's described in these verses. So, first is describing how they are constantly seeking money, money, money.

Money is the honey. So, this much, this much I have attained now. This I will get.

I'll get it in the future. On the chariot of my mind, I'm wandering around. In my mind's image, I'm a great king who is going here and there and conquering and winning.

So, I make these schemes and I'll get this much, I'll get that much. This much I have got. In the future, I'll become even more wealthy.

Now, this in itself does not seem demonic. Isn't it? This is just a common ambition or greed, whichever way you want to look at it. Everybody wants money.

And everybody thinks that, okay, I have this much, I want more, I want more, I want more. Everybody wants more money. But, see, yesterday I mentioned this point that what makes a person demoniac is not just having desires.

Having desires, even those with divine qualities, they may have desires. But what makes a demoniac is having no boundaries. It is karma.

Karma can be one of the foolish fellows. But what happens is, when Krodha comes up, when they rage against boundaries, why should there be this limitation? Why should there be that limitation? That is when they become demoniac. So, let's look at this.

So, they have normal greed. But from that greed, we'll see how they move ahead. That means, Asataha is what? Kill.

This enemy of mine, I have already killed now. That enemy, I will kill in the future. And then, I am the controller.

I am the enjoyer. I am perfect. I am powerful.

I am happy. So, see, all the definitions of happiness are so external based. I have defeated this person.

I have got this. So, it's one thing to have a desire for wealth. Which everybody has.

But what happens to these demoniac people is that their desire for wealth is so great that they are ready to kill others. And this is where you can see, this is clearly Duryodhana's mentality. Whom was Duryodhana ready to kill? The Pandavas.

He wanted a kingdom. But in seeking a kingdom, he was ready to kill his own cousins. So, there is a difference between rivals and enemies.

So, what do you think is the difference? Have you heard the word rival? And who has not heard the word enemy? Is it? So, we have all heard. So, what do you think is the difference between these two? Fair competition is rivalry. Fair competition is rivalry.

Fair competition. Where there is rules and regulations. Okay, and enemy is? In enemy, revenge is there.

Revenge is there. Okay. Rival is calm and enemy is calm and cruel.

Rival is calm. Calm? No, calm. Calm.

Oh, calm. Okay. And here there is? Okay, I am simply bringing it.

Hmm? Okay, sorry. What happened? Okay. If you have one calm, you cannot have the other calm.

If you have the Sanskrit calm, you cannot have the English calm. Okay. So, here you are saying you have calm and cruel.

Okay. I mean, true. You know, one of my relatives is very interested in cricket.

So, yesterday he sent me a message that apparently today in India asked to play a cricket match. So, he says, this is the opportunity for revenge for India. So, India was defeated by Australia in the World Cup final.

So, now we have the opportunity for that. So, are India and Australia enemies? But still, there can be a feeling of revenge. You know, you defeated us over there, we want to defeat you over there.

So, revenge as a feeling can be there. But rivals and enemies, the main difference is, and fair competition, all this is correct, but it is a part of the truth. Rivals means both seek the same goal.

Like both teams want to win the World Cup. So, then both are seeking the same goal. That is where they are rivals.

But enemies are both seek the other's destruction. In sports, normally, there should be rivalry, not enmity. Sports can also have revenge.

You defeated me, I want to defeat you over there. But it is not that, in order that I will defeat you, it is not that I am going to destroy you. It is not that, say, because India wants to win, or Australia wants to win, so they hire some murderer and have a desktop player or an opposite desktop player kill him or attack him.

That would be honourable. That is completely against the spirit of sports. So, generally speaking, when there is competition, rivalry should be there.

Then it becomes enmity. Like in a company, two people may want the same promotion. They want the same race, same proportion.

They will be rivals, both of them will compete. But if one of them… Now, there is normal office politics. You try to make a friend with this person, you try to make a friend with that person.

Now, politics is a somewhat harsh word. Networking is a more polite word, whatever they use for it. But if one person in order to get the job starts framing the other person.

You know the word framing? Framing means put false evidence and try to prove that this person is corrupt, this person is bad. Now, that would be terrible. That is going from rivalry towards enmity.

So, what was there between the Pandas and Kauravas? Rivalry or enmity? Enmity. At least from the Kauravas' side, it was enmity. So, now what happens is instead of… we were discussing the demoniac, they don't become philosophical.

They become diabolical means they become immoral, they become cruel, they become destructive. And they don't get results. So, when Duryodhana, he found that he had grown up from a child like an entitled and spoiled kid.

He was expected to become the next king. Because Pandu, he had already retired, whether he would have children or not also. Even if he had children, whether they would become kings or not, who knew? They would come back to the kingdom or not, who knew? But suddenly Duryodhana found that Pandu's sons had come back.

And Duryodhana was a little entitled, he was not very polite. In modern polite terms, he was a spoiled brat. You know that word, spoiled brat? So, he was not very respectful.

But the Pandavas had lived in the forest, they had associated with sages. Pandu, Kunti, Madhuri, they had all taught him to be respectful. So, in a family, if a new kid comes, then naturally that new kid gets attention.

And that new kid is also sweet and well-behaved, then becomes weird to everyone. So, that's what happened to Duryodhana. And he started feeling insecure, he started feeling jealous.

Why is everybody paying so much attention to this person? Why they are not paying attention to me? And then as things went on, he thought that actually, I am… Okay, this Yudhishthir, he might be better behaved than me, but I am stronger than him. But then he found that among the Pandavas, there is one person who is better than him in the one thing that he was good at. Among all the Kauravas, he was the best in physical strength.

But what happened when he found Bhima was better than him? It's like you can be good in your field, but you are better than me in my field. Then that's unbearable. So, some people say that… Actually, Duryodhana was a good person.

I was invited once in a leftist college. Generally, the colleges which are involved in arts, they are quite left-orientated. Left means politically left-orientated.

So, they said, you know, they wanted some lessons from Mahabharata. Like leadership lessons from Mahabharata. But they said, don't say the normal morality tales.

Morality tales means, you know, this is good, this is bad. There is a negative word used for that. Tell us something new.

So, I said, okay. We'll have a session on leadership lessons from Duryodhana. Now, it's not just a laughing matter.

How many of you have younger brothers? Okay. How many of you find it easy to get your younger brothers to listen to you? Easy? Okay, that's nice. You have good younger brothers.

But, you know, especially as they grow older, they have their own mind. It's not so easy to get them to listen. Imagine if somebody has 99 younger brothers.

And they all listen to him. So, he surely had some ability. No doubt about it.

When he wanted to, he could be a very sweet talker. That's how he won Karna's heart. But the point is, he had many good qualities.

But what he lacked was a sense of boundaries. So, some people say, actually, Duryodhana was a good person. Shakuni spoiled him.

Well, those who think like this have been spoiled by some other Shakuni. Why? Because the poisoning of Bhima was planned by Duryodhana without any involvement of Shakuni. It was he on his own.

And if you see, it was not just an impulsive thing. Like, you know, somebody comes to your home for food and they ask, where is the restroom? And then they go and they think, okay, let me put the poison in the food. You know, it's not that impulsive.

He actually planned it in cold blood. That, he said, all the Pandavas would like to have a feast together. And Bhima, you know, he had some hard feelings before.

I want to touch things up. So, I have made a special feast just for you. And I'll feed you.

He made a great show of touching up with him. And only in the food world, Bhima made food policy. So, it requires a really cold criminal mind.

This time, Duryodhana was just a teenager at that time. So, the point is, that he, when things were not going his way, he could have, okay, why am I not so popular? Why are the Pandavas being more popular? Maybe I should improve my behaviour. Instead of trying to say, it was like, I need to endeavour more.

What is going on? He just started blaming the Pandavas. So, this is, I'll kill my enemies. And then what happens is, when a person tries to do something bad, it doesn't work.

Then, if they have some good sense, they think, maybe I should not do this again. But what did Duryodhana do? He tried something worse. Okay, I couldn't kill one Pandava, then I'll kill all five Pandavas together.

And not only all the five Pandavas, even their mother. See, there can always be rivalry between Kshatriyas. And Kshatriya business is bloody business.

Bloody means, not really, that is a profane word. Bloody means, they fight, they have challenges, in Swayambhuvar they would fight, somewhere they would kill each other. But the whole principle over there is, you should be protecting women.

And what to speak of a woman who is from his mother's generation? And that Duryodhana was ready to even burn her alive. That's just so brutal. See, among all forms of killing, burning is the most painful.

Cut off someone's head, hang someone. The pain is localised to one part where the wound occurs. But burning means, the entire body, all the skin burns.

So, to kill someone by burning, you really should be hating that person. So, when somebody has a demonic nature, when things don't work, instead of taking responsibility, so, if you take responsibility, then we become philosophical. Philosophical in the sense, we introspect, we value what is wrong.

But, instead of taking responsibility, when we blame, we become diabetic. Because of this person, I am not succeeding. And, the more we start blaming others.

Now, can others be responsible for our problems? Yeah, it's possible. Sometimes, some people can be obstacles. But, when we start fixating on others, because of this person, I am not succeeding.

Then, we end up, it's like, to blame is to make ourselves lame. You know, when somebody is lame, they can't walk properly. So, when we blame, what happens is, we take away our own power to improve things.

Our own power to change things for the better. But, our whole focus shifts to, why is this person here, why is this person doing like this? So, to blame others is a characteristic of a demonic nature. So, instead of blaming, we introspect, we become philosophical, we try to understand, do I need to endeavour more? Do I need to shift to somewhere else? Do I need to try something else? See, the Pandavas, they actually did all this.

See, the first time, so, I'll make two points here, then we'll stop and we'll have question-answers if there are any. The Pandavas, when for the first time, they found what Bhima had done, what had been done to Bhima by Duryodhana, Bhima was enraged. He miraculously survived the Krishna's arrangement and when he came back, he came back stronger, because Varunadeva had given him some nectar.

And they also told him what had happened. So, he was enraged and he came and told Yudhishthir. Yudhishthir stayed very calm.

See, among the Pandavas, what happens is, all the five Pandavas are Kshatriyas. But, among the Pandavas, Yudhishthir is almost like a Brahmin Kshatriya. Brahmin Kshatriya means what? He is like very peaceful.

Let's try to resolve things peacefully. Bhima is the opposite. He is like a Kshatriya Kshatriya.

Kshatriya square. So, there is an opportunity, he is jumping, ready to fight. Itching to fight.

So, Bhima was so enraged, he said, I am going to teach the Duryodhana lesson. So, Yudhishthir said, let's not do that. So, we just come here.

Let's not rip our family apart. If we are going to accuse Duryodhana, the king's son of something like this, first of all, we have to rip our family apart. Secondly, we don't know who will take our side.

We are just moving over here. But Bhishma has been kind to us, but Bhishma has also been kind to the king. So, he said, just let's become more watchful ourselves.

So, what they tried to do was improve our skill set. So, let's endeavour more. You know, we were careless.

That's why we took his food and replied, you got poison. Let's be more careful. They tried that.

And then, after that still, Duryodhana tried something, they tried to have them burnt alive. So, the point was, they survived, they didn't immediately come back and again challenge Vitharashtra. They kept a low profile.

And then, by their endeavour, all the Pandavas in the forest, they did not have any facilities to practise their weaponry, weapon skills. They still were diligent. They kept their physical fitness.

They kept practising. With whatever facility they had, it was difficult for them. Because they were living in the garb of brahmanas.

But still, in their curiosity, they would do some things. And then, Arjuna won Ropati in this war. And that's when the Pandavas decided that there is no need for us to cover our identity.

Because now, they were not just orphan princes at the mercy of their uncle, who was either wicked or weak, whatever it was. Now, they were the sons-in-law of a powerful king. So, then, Vitharashtra realised that I have to call them back.

Vishwa insisted to call them back. And then, they were given one half of the kingdom. So, Vitharashtra, it's like some people, they, Vitharashtra tried to be fair or it just wanted to appear to be fair without being fair.

Like a father has two companies and he says, I'll be equal to both sons. I'll give one company to each of the sons. But one company is bankrupt and the other is prospering.

If you give the bankrupt company to one son, you can call it fair, but only a person has to be completely blind to think of it as fair. But still, the Pandavas accepted. Pandavas thought maybe this is not our Adhishtan.

This, the Kuru kingdom is not the right place for us. Let's have our own place. Let's go to that place, that this place is not hospitable.

Let's live in that place and let's do our thing over there. And the Pandavas were hardworking. And sometimes people think that to live spiritually means to live in villages.

It's not like that. In the past, not everybody lived in villages. There were villages and there were cities.

Vrindavan was a village, Mathura was a city. And cities were developed places. Cities were powerful places.

So, when the Pandavas converted this wild, overgrown wilderness, Khandav, into Indraprastha, that is considered an amazing example of development. And it was at Krishna's mercy they did that. And to Duryodhana's rage, what happened was, many of the best citizens from his kingdom went to Indraprastha.

It's like in IPL, you have your team and the best players from your team go to some other opposite team. Infuriating. But the Pandavas were not poaching anyone.

They just created such an attractive kingdom. They had such a conducive atmosphere. So, they tried, ok, this place is not suitable, let us go over there.

But still it didn't work. Then what did Duryodhana's evil eye was such that, I want that place also. And that's how they had the gambling match and she took everything away from them.

And then what did the Pandavas do? Then, see, it's very easy to blame Yudhishthir. Why did he gamble? But actually speaking, Yudhishthir didn't gamble because he liked to gamble. Yudhishthir gambled because he was a very cultured person.

And he wanted to obey his elders. So, Dhritharashtra called him to a gambling match. And Dhritharashtra called him through Vidura.

So, it's like one elder who was like a father figure, calling him through another elder who was also like a father figure. Yudhishthir just couldn't refuse. But while the Pandavas were in the forest, the Pandavas now they had faced a terrible reversal.

Like one reversal after another, after another. They could have blamed, oh destiny is so unfair to us. But this is where the Pandavas, maybe they were not integral enough.

In the forest, Arjuna went to the heavens. Arjuna performed severe tapasya and he got various celestial weapons from the vegan devatas. What did Yudhishthir do? Yudhishthir learned gambling.

Gambling, why do you want to learn gambling again? But Vishwaparva was a sage who was good at gambling. The sages were apparently good at everything. But they were expert enough that they won't get seduced by it.

They won't get captivated by it. But Yudhishthir wanted to be prepared that if Duryodhana challenges me to another gambling match and somehow I am not able to refuse, I should not be caught unprepared. So he became good at gambling over there.

Not because he wanted to gamble, but he wanted to be prepared. So the Pandavas endeavoured. And then eventually when the war occurred, it was not easy for them.

They succeeded because they had endeavoured. And then finally they got a prosperous kingdom. So the problem with Duryodhana was, the Pandavas didn't keep blaming Duryodhana, although it was Duryodhana to be blamed for many of their problems.

The Pandavas focused on what can I do about this. So they tried to improve their skill set, they tried to change the place where they were working, they tried to endeavour more and finally they succeeded. So this is the difference between the divine and the demonic natures.

So the last point I will make here is, that in general, failure is a universal experience. That everybody, sometime or the other, will fail at something or the other in life. Because if we really try something challenging, we will fail many of the times.

If we try to learn anything new, we are going to fail. But after failure, there are two choices for a person. One is, we look inward or we look outward.

We look outward means, that basically we try to find someone outside to blame. So it's like we find a villain who is spoiling the movie of our life. So we, now what is going to happen is, just by looking for a villain, if you start looking for villains, everybody will start looking like a potential villain.

This is what happens to many people. And they start, first they dislike one person, they dislike another person, they dislike another person and people just become extremely lonely after some time. It's like somebody is, you know, maybe some kid is blaming.

You know, this person is so terrible, this person did this to me, this person did this to me. And maybe their friend, their relative, their parents tell them, okay, don't fixate so much on this person. Just forget him and move on with your life.

This person says, no, you don't understand me. You don't know how much this person has ruined my life. And because you don't understand me, I won't talk with you also.

So what happens is, it's just that, if you are looking, if you want to find a villain, what will happen is, everyone becomes a villain eventually. Everyone, there are people who have harmed us, but even people who are trying to give us good advice, they also start becoming villains. And everybody becomes a potential villain and we make ourselves completely alone.

Then what happens is, we become lonely, we become bitter. So this is what happened to Duryodhana eventually. Bhishma, Vidura, he had such great people ready to give him good advice.

But because he is so convinced that the Bhima and the Kaurav Pandavas are villains in my life, that anybody who spoke even anything in their favour, they all became villains. And that way, what happens is, we become lonely, bitter, and the end is that we become the villain. We end up ourselves doing dark things.

So this is the way the trajectory goes on. On the other hand, we look inward. Inward means what? Now God is the ultimate hero.

And he is there in our hearts. So he is like Ram and he wants us to be like Hanuman. He is Krishna and he wants us to be like Arjuna.

Now in one sense, if you consider our body is like a chariot. Chariot body metaphor we know. So on the chariot itself, there is Krishna and Arjuna.

Like that in the body, there is the Parmatma and the Atma. So, in the body as the chariot, so we look inward. We try to connect with Krishna.

We try to pray to Krishna. And then what happens is, Krishna gives us Buddhi Yoga. Buddhi Yoga means the buddhi to do yoga.

That's one meaning of it. The intelligence to connect with Krishna. The intelligence to understand, Okay, what is exactly wrong and how should I fix it? And then among these five factors of action, we will be able to figure out.

Okay, is this just my destiny and should I accept it? Or which are other factors that I need to work on? So, analyse the five factors. We analyse the five factors. Then we come up with a workable solution.

And this is how each one of us can find a path ahead for ourselves. So failure will come, but how we face failure, that we can go down a demoniac trajectory, where we are looking for a villain and end up ourselves becoming a villain. Or we are looking toward Krishna inwards.

And then by Krishna's guidance, Krishna magically solves problems. We can do that, but mostly Krishna gives us the intelligence to understand what is the problem and how we can go ahead. So I'll summarise what we discussed today.

So broadly, the theme we were discussing was facing failures and divine and demoniac natures. So how the divine and demoniac face failures. So the first thing we discussed was about the five factors.

How are the five factors? Do you remember the five factors? What are the five factors? Karta, Karanam, Adhishtan, Ksheshta, Daiva. So among these, which are in our control? The middle three. So when we don't get success, we can look at whether, if the Karanam is wrong, what does it mean? What is missing over here? So failure could be because of three factors.

What are the three factors? First is incompatible work. That means we just don't, our senses are not suitable for that kind of work. So we discussed the example of Srila Prabhupada as a business man.

That just didn't work. Then the other is inhospitable place. So the example was Srila Prabhupada in India, trying to do outreach.

The third is insufficient endeavour. So if there is insufficient endeavour, the example of this is Srila Prabhupada in America. When he went there, not that he got success immediately, it took some time and effort.

So this was broadly the major part of the class. We don't just blame destiny, we evaluate. And then the second part was about how, when the failure came, how the Pandavas dealt with it and how the Kauravas dealt with it.

Pandavas and primarily Duryodhana dealt with it. So we discussed how the Pandavas, generally the divine nature what it does is, it looks for, they become philosophical. Okay, how do I make sense? But those who are demoniac, they become diabolical.

Diabolical means they become immoral, they become cruel, they become evil. So here we discussed about how the Pandavas, they tried all things. So when, after the poisoning, they became more alert.

So that was like they tried to improve their Karanam. Then after the, after winning Draupadi, or rather before that itself, actually, not just winning Draupadi, from the time of, when they attempted to be burnt alive, from that time they tried to change the Adhishtan. They, okay, Duryodhana wants the kingdom, let us have a low profile, let us keep a low profile.

And then even, they didn't ask for the kingdom. Hrithar Singh sir called them back and they started to give them the, like a barren part of the kingdom, still they accepted that. And when they were defrauded and dishonoured, then what did they do? They improved their cheshta.

So Hrithishtha learned gambling, Arjuna got celestial weapons and they prepared. On the other hand, Duryodhana was diabolical. So when he found that the Pandavas were being favoured, Pandavas, they were getting more affection than him.

Then what did he do? He immediately started becoming destructive. He wanted to destroy them. And then his destructiveness only became worse.

First it was only Bhima, then it was all the Pandavas, along with their mother. So like that, it just went on. And lastly, so what this means for us, is that when we face failure, we can go, our failure is, we can look for a villain.

But then what happens is, if you look for a villain, everyone starts looking like a villain. And then eventually, finally, we become a villain. We end up, so we end up ourselves doing our thing.

So to blame is to make ourselves lame. We take away our capacity for agency. But instead, we look for the hero within.

That is, hero within is Krishna is there as the ultimate hero, and Arjuna is in the chariot of the body. We are like Arjuna. We try to see what can we do.

And by this, gradually we get the buddhi yoga. We get the buddhi by which we can learn and grow. Thank you very much.

Hare Krishna. So, it's been a long class. Are there one or two questions anyone has? So reflected on means what do you mean exactly? Yeah, so sometimes, sometimes despite our best endeavours, we don't get results.

So Abhimanyu was very sincere. He went inside Chakraji and was killed. So Abhimanyu was devoted to Arjuna.

Arjuna was devoted to Krishna. And yet he failed. So Daiva can come in the sense of, for him, the Karanam.

He didn't have the skill set. He could go inside the Chakravyuh. But he could not come out of it.

He didn't have that skill. Jatayu failed. For him, it was not that Chishtay did not.

He fought the greatest battle of his life. But he was just too old. And he fought on.

Especially because Ravan had that blessing that even if his limbs were ripped off, the limbs would grow back. So it was as if the match was ringed against him. Ravan couldn't actually wound that much.

And then on the other hand, through all that fighting, he was becoming dire. And after some time, Ravan started playing dirty. Playing dirty means Ravan would just basically focus on dodging Jatayu.

Jatayu would swoop in and Ravan would just dodge. And each time Jatayu would swoop in, then again he had to fly away. Take energy.

And again he would swoop in. Again Ravan started trying to fight. He would just keep dodging him.

And through all that, Jatayu started getting tired. And then Ravan saw that Jatayu is becoming slow. He locked off his tricks.

So basically, sometimes, destiny can work through one of these also. So sometimes we have to decide that this is not worth it. Maybe just leave it.

Prabhupada tried many things. It is not that everything that Prabhupada did was successful. Prabhupada decided something is not working, just leave it at that.

For example, in America, he started a political party. Or he had established a political party. He called it the In God We Trust Party.

And Balwant Prabhu was one of the devotees who was supposed to lead that endeavour. Prabhupada even said, you can become the President of America. But then, afterwards, Prabhupada found out how much money is required to fund a political campaign.

And Prabhupada decided, whatever little Lakshmi we have, is better used for building books and building centres and that Krishna Conscious Outreach. So Balwant Prabhu came to Prabhupada. Prabhupada, are you no longer enthusiastic about political outreach? Prabhupada said, I am enthusiastic.

Just don't ask me for any money. Prabhupada said, it's your project. You can do it and you have my blessings.

But don't ask me for resources. It didn't work out. So Prabhupada accepted that that's not going to work out.

Now we could put that in words. Maybe our movement was not… We were not big enough. We were not in the right place.

It was just a new movement. We could call it Adhishtana, whatever. But the point is, destiny means sometimes we just have to accept that things are not going to work out.

We can still figure out. Sometimes something can work out. But the amount of endeavour it will require may just not be worth it.

Sir, then why… Oh, that is the question. Sorry. See, destiny is fixed.

But how destiny unfolds is not fixed. The total quantum of how much happiness and how much distress we are going to get is fixed. But exactly what will come when, that is not fixed.

So you can still talk what basis… No, see, the way things unfold in our life. Say, if we can say this is my life journey. This is birth.

And this is death. Now before I come, say there is a quantum of 500 units. Let's assume this is 500 negative units.

That means, some five bad things are going to happen in my life. Say one unit of negative hundred. And like that, five things are going to happen in my life.

Yes. Now, these things are going to happen. But when exactly they are going to happen, that may not be fixed.

We can't really say that we have free will and our free will accounts nothing. Say, if somebody drives recklessly and they meet with an accident. Now is that because of the past karma? Well, unlikely.

Like if I eat a dozen ice creams on a cold night and the next morning my throat is… In the night I said ice cream and now I say ice cream. So now is that because of my past karma? Then yes, it is not past life karma. It is past night karma.

So the thing is that sometimes an accident occurs. I know devotee friends, both of them. There is one devotee.

He was just driving to pick up some devotee. And he had his phone next to him. And suddenly the phone beeped.

He just looked at the phone for a moment. And he was driving through a school area. And a child just ran across the road.

He slammed the brakes and he just grazed the child. Fortunately no injury. But this happens in America.

In America, the rules against child injury are very very severe. We can sometimes make fun of American western culture. But with respect to bodily protection they are very serious about it.

So he got into a huge amount of legal complication, financial loss he had to face. Of course there is no loss of life. That was fortunate.

But still like a one moment of inattention. So many times while talking, while on phone we might be looking at someone else. How many of us when we are driving are constantly looking straight ahead? There is one moment of inattention can have a terrible consequence.

On the other hand, one devotee told me that Krishna is so merciful. I said, what do you mean? He said, Krishna is so merciful. I wanted to come for Mangalarthi.

He said, but you know I was very tired. I slept yesterday morning. So I got into my car and then I fell asleep.

And then I woke up and I found I was right in front of the temple. So I said that yes Krishna is merciful but don't expect his mercy next time also. So basically what happened was it was early morning.

America is not like India. Roads are not very crowded. In India, sleepiness is the least of problems while you are driving most of the time.

Unless it's like you are driving on a straight road and something like that. There is so much happening on the roads but America roads are quite less so he was able to go through. So it's a big mistake sleeping on the road.

A sleepy driver is actually more dangerous than a drunk driver. I mean statistically speaking. But who was that? Some cricketer who got terribly injured because of Rishabh Pandya.

So it was tragic. He just fell asleep on the road. He lost almost 1.5-2 years of his life.

So the point I am making is that sometimes we may make a small mistake and that might be a big result. So that's destiny coming. Sometimes we might make a big mistake but that means small result.

That's also destiny. Working out favourably. So the point I am making is destiny may be fixed but how it unfolds can vary from person to person.

I don't mean sensibility but let's take an example. There is a cricket match between India and Australia. Australia is winning and India is losing.

So it's not like India is losing all the time. It is fixed that India will win. I don't know whether destiny is fixed like that.

Like if it is fixed if it is fixed then why India lost? I am trying to understand the question. Is the basis for destiny fixed? It's like for purification or what? What is the purpose of fixing the destiny? No, it's not what is the purpose of fixing destiny. It is that we all have some karmic balance from the past which has to be managed in this life.

There is a negative and positive. So now when we say destiny is fixed we have a very simplistic understanding of these things. For example, we say everybody's lifespan is fixed.

The number of breaths we take is fixed. That's what the tradition tells us. But that same tradition has given an entire branch of medicine called Ayurveda.

And the very definition, Ayurveda the Veda that is supposed to increase Ayurveda. So if our lifespan is fixed, how can our lifespan be increased? And how can you have an entire branch of knowledge dedicated to that? Krishna says, gahana karmanvati. So generally speaking, the concept of destiny is to be used primarily to gain acceptance of what has happened.

It is not so much a… This is a good question. Destiny is a big subject. But if you consider the Mahabharata war before that there is a meeting between Vyasa, Dev and Dhritarashtra.

And those two same people meet after the war. So before the war Vyasa, Dev is imploring, urging, requesting Dhritarashtra please stop your son Duryodhana from antagonising the Pandavas. Insist that you give the Pandavas kingdom back to them.

Otherwise there will be a war that will destroy your entire dynasty. And Dhritarashtra says, O sage, if it is destined, if it is the will of destiny that our dynasty will be destroyed then who am I, a tiny mortal, to stop the will of almighty destiny? So at that time Vyasa, Dev becomes grave and Vyasa, Dev says O king, the workings of destiny are very difficult to know. What we can know is our duty.

And we should do our duty. O king, contemplate right now what is your duty. And whether you are doing your duty.

And Vidura is even more cutting. When Dhritarashtra gives the same argument to Vidura, Vidura says that, O king, he says, destiny determines the consequences of our actions. Not our actions themselves.

So, if a child is going to exam and the child is not studying the mother says, why are you not studying? Mummy, whatever is destiny, it will come to me. No, that is not believing in destiny, that is simply being irresponsible. After doing our work, when we don't, after doing our duty what result we get, that is we are going to be pedestrian.

Krishna says, we have Adhikar to do Karma. We have a right, but it is not just a right, we also have a responsibility. But that same verse, the last line Krishna says, Don't be attached to not doing your work.

That means we have to do our part. So, here Vyasadev says, destiny is unknowable. Focus on duty.

But then after the war gets over, Dhritarashtra is in utter lamentation. All of his hundred sons have been killed. And at that time Vyasadev comes and tells Dhritarashtra that the war was actually destined.

So, he is not lamenting. He accepts that it has happened and now focus on what is your duty. So, now was the war destined or not? See, the point is that in general, wherever we are, it is good to consider the past to be the domain of destiny.

Whatever has happened in the past, we accept that as destiny. We look at the future as the domain of freedom. Does that mean that there is no destiny war in the future? No, destiny is in war.

But there is definitely a domain for freedom. So, this is healthy way of looking at things. But the unhealthy way is, we think of this as the domain of freedom.

And we just start lamenting. You know, people started, something has happened, replaying it. Only if I had spoken like this in that interview.

If only they had asked that question. If only this person had not done this. If only, if only, if only.

So many questions. Like that, we consider this to be the domain of freedom. And this future, we consider the domain of destiny.

Oh, my destiny is broken, nothing is going to happen. My destiny is not. No, this is actually a very unhealthy way of looking at things.

So, in general, when something has happened, to come to peace with that, we should look at destiny. But when we are looking ahead, our focus should not be on destiny. Our focus should be on free will, which will be directed towards our duty.

So, just going back to the previous point, what I was saying here, that, see, suppose somebody has to get 500 units of negative destiny. That's going to come in their life. And that means maybe five bad things are going to happen.

Maybe they are going to lose a loved one. Maybe they are going to get a terrible disease. Maybe they are going to face up a financial bankruptcy.

Maybe they are going to get an accident. Maybe somebody close to them is going to betray them. Each of these is a terrible thing to happen.

But if this, if a person lives 70-80 years, and each one of these happens over 10 years gap, it's relatively manageable. But imagine if all five things happen at the same time. At the same time, maybe you have a parent who is very close to you, that parent passes away.

Same time, you get an accident. You have a spouse who betrays you and abandons you. At the same time, your business goes bankrupt.

And if these four, five things happen at the same time, it will be much, much more difficult to be here. And now, the destiny may be that those five things are going to happen. But suppose somebody doesn't run their business properly, they are irresponsible.

Somebody doesn't take care of their health. Somebody is disrespectful or abusive towards their spouse. Then they may cause those things to happen simultaneously.

And then they will make their life far more miserable and hellish than they need to. So, destiny should not make us… Just because destiny is fixed, does not mean the unfolding of destiny is fixed. And that does not mean that our endeavours in this life will not matter.

Just there are some problems in our life which are… See, broadly speaking, when we get problems, the problems that are coming now, they could be because of past karma or they could be because of present karma. Isn't it? Of course, both of them can combine and couple. But the point is, the problems coming from past karma are due to destiny.

The problems coming from present karma are generally because of lack of doing our duty. So, if somebody eats unhealthy food, somebody eats constantly meat and they get a heart attack. Now, was that heart attack because of the past karma? But it's difficult to say that.

Certainly, can you say that this life's choice didn't contribute at all? Certainly, it has contributed, isn't it? So, we should consider that if I do my duty properly in this life, then, say, maybe I'm going to be betrayed by someone. Someone very close to me is going to betray me in this life. That's destiny.

But if during the course of my life, I'm polite, I'm kind, I'm helpful, then that one person may still betray me. But by my being polite, kind, helpful, I will create a circle of friends around me. And those friends will support me even when this person betrays me.

But if I'm rude, if I'm bitter, if I'm manipulative, and then this person will betray me and nobody will come to help me also. Because of the way I have behaved in this life. So, we can say our past karma will bring some problems.

But our present karma may determine whether those problems become worse, or they are worsened, or they are lessened. Any last question? We'll stop with this. There are three things you are coming from.

Incompatible, inhospitable, and insufficient. So, how to understand the inhospitable and insufficient? Means, how to understand so we are something lower in level? Yeah, it's not so easy. Generally, what happens, there is concept and there is reality.

So, the reality is always more complex. So, concept means, say for example, if we have maps, and the reality is the territory. So, on a map, like here we have Mayapur on the map, and this is Bengal, this is Bangladesh.

It's a neat simple line. But if you go actually, there will not be a simple line. Isn't it? In fact, India-Bangladesh, before about 15-20 years, the India-Bangladesh boundary was the most complicated boundary in the entire world.

Because what happened was, inside Bangladesh, there were some areas which belonged to India. And inside those areas in Bangladesh, which belonged to India, were pockets that belonged to Bangladesh. And vice versa.

And finally, India-Bangladesh had to swap the territory. And now it's relatively rationalised, the boundary. But the point is, in terms of concept, the boundaries are very clear.

In actuality, it's complicated. And that's how concepts are basically, all concepts simplify the complicated reality. But that does not mean the concepts are useless.

It just means that we cannot, when we are translating concepts into reality, we have to have a little more caution. So, exactly in a particular situation, why is something not happening? We have to figure that out. We have to pray, we have to consult others who are wiser than us.

And then gradually we will get some understanding. So, to specifically answer your question, if we have put in a decent amount of endeavour, and not only are we not getting closer to the result, but no one is even appreciating, no one is even recognising, then we have to conclude that this is not the right place for it. Say, imagine, say, 50 years ago, or maybe 70 years ago, 80 years ago, suppose somebody in America wanted to learn Sanskrit.

Now, Americans are interested in Chinese culture, they are interested in German culture, but not so much in Indian culture. They slowly become interested. But, I said, now, even if somebody learns Sanskrit, who are they going to speak Sanskrit with? Hardly anyone.

Even in India, you won't find many people to speak Sanskrit. So, if somebody wants to learn Sanskrit as a matter of pursuant, that is okay. But, if they think, I will learn Sanskrit, and I will become popular and respected because of my knowledge of Sanskrit.

Well, that is not going to happen in America. But, if an American comes to India and speaks in fluent Sanskrit, Indians will be impressed. Wow! Isn't it? So, sometimes, it is just that, when we have put in a reasonable amount of effort, and if not only there is no result, there is no progress towards the result also, then we have to conclude that this is not the right place for it.

So, if it is insufficient endeavour, then as the endeavour increases, at least the result comes closer. Is the difference clear now, to some extent?