From anartha-nivrtti to artha-pravrtti 4 – Understanding Pravrtti
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Disclaimer: This transcript was generated using AI and may contain occasional errors or inaccuracies.
We come to our last session now on Pravrutti. So, I talked about Artha in the previous session about how Krishna is the reservoir of everything attractive that we find at the material level of reality. And by connecting with Krishna, we won't be deprived, rather our aspirations for happiness will be fulfilled.
That same point, I'll start with this. So this basically, if you have to move steadily in Bhakti, when we start practicing Bhakti, we give up some things in material life and we may feel, oh, I'm missing this, I'm missing this. How long can I keep away from this? I'm missing this so much.
This is a 7943 prayer by Prahlad Maharaj, Prabhupada would often quote it. So, the thrust of the prayer is, in the mood of compassion, that I'm not agitated about how to go about with material existence. I'm simply concerned about how the people who are carrying a huge burden of Maya, how they can be delivered.
And why am I not agitated? Because, tvadbhir gayan mahamruta bhakti. In speaking your glories, I'm getting such nectar, oh Lord, that I don't feel the need for anything else. So normally, when we are practicing Bhakti, we are doing Bhakti, but often we think about materialistic people and they have so much enjoyment and we feel, I'm missing it.
But, Prahlad Maharaj, he is practicing Bhakti and he is not feeling, I'm missing that. He is feeling, they are missing this. They are missing this.
Oh, so chasing some pleasures, which has caused so much burden of entanglement and anxiety. So, why are they doing this? Let me share this with them. So, we all, how do we know what we feel we are missing? Now, that we can know by when or where our mind goes missing.
That means, if something is very interesting for me, if I like something, if I get some taste in something, my mind stays very much there. But, by doing something, my mind goes missing somewhere else. So, then, let me see, if my mind doesn't find it's very interesting, it finds something else very interesting.
So, a child may be in school studying, my child is thinking of going to the playground and play. The child thinks that it's games that are more interesting, studies is not that interesting. That's the conception we all have of what is interesting and what is not so interesting.
So, in bhakti for the advanced devotees, they don't feel that they are missing worldly pleasures, because they feel worldly, they can see the worldly pleasures lead to misery. So, they feel that actually the process of bhakti is full of nectar. So, why should anyone not have it? So, this is what will happen when we actually become absorbed in Krishna.
So, I am starting the session by talking about the pravrtti when it happens, when our consciousness naturally flows towards Krishna. Tadbirya gayan mahamrta magna chittaha. In singing yoga lore, I am getting such immense nectar, Prahlad says that, magna chittaha.
I am absorbed in that. I don't feel attracted by anything else. This is the state of artha pravrtti.
This verse is an example of how Prahlad is absorbed in Krishna and we could say he is completely, his artha pravrtti has happened. His consciousness is attracted towards Krishna. Now, how can we be attracted similarly? So, this is a whole, I have a four part seminar on this.
So, if there is technical parts, I go a little fast. You needn't bother too much about the technical parts, even if you don't get it completely, because I will focus on the purpose of all this analysis. Now, the word rasa is, was there in the Indian tradition and it was primarily associated with drama.
It is traditionally understood as Natya Shastra. In Natya Shastra, there was a book written, revealed through Bharat Muni and it describes how the devatas, they went to Brahmaji and they said that we want some uplifting form of entertainment that is engaging for all the senses. And then at that time, Brahmaji revealed the, you could say the whole knowledge of drama.
And that is what, in that what is described is that when a drama is being performed, at that time the audience experiences certain emotions. And the emotions the audience experiences, they are what is called as rasa. So, rasa is the aesthetic emotion experienced by an audience in a dramatic setting.
This was the understanding in the Natya Shastra and that is, the Natya Shastra itself is a whole tradition. Just like in India, yoga was a tradition. Mimamsa was a tradition.
Natya Shastra was also a tradition. And this was very popular in Bengal in the 15th, 16th centuries. In Vrindavan area also.
So, what Chaitanya Mahaprabhu did and this is the unique contribution of Gaudiya Vaishnavism to Vaishnavism in general or in fact to Bhakti also. That in the Gaudiya Vaishnava Acharyas, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu instructed this to Rupa Goswami and Rupa Goswami explained it in his Bhakta Samvat Sindhu. He said that rasa is not just an emotion experienced in a dramatic setting.
It is also an emotion experienced in Bhakti. So, now what is the point of this? That it can be just as in a dramatic setting, by exposure to appropriate stimuli, an audience can be made to cry, an audience can be made to laugh, an audience can be made to feel fearful. So, just as emotions can be induced through the appropriate stimuli, Rupa Goswami applied this principle to the process of Bhakti.
Similarly, devotional emotions can be stimulated in devotees, in sadhakas, by the appropriate process. And when the emotion is thus stimulated, that's how rasa is developed. So, he took the principle of rasa and he applied it in a way by which Bhakti could be cultivated.
So, let's move forward. Now, I'll talk about the terminology as used in Nath Shastra first and then I'll talk about the terminology, how it is applied by Rupa Goswami and then I'll talk about how that applies to Artha Pravrutti for us. So, in a drama, when there is to be performed, there are three things.
There is Karana, Karya and Sahakarya. Karana is, you could say, the cause or the environment. So, for example, people are sitting and they are watching the drama and in the dramatics, there is a forest, there is maybe greenery, there are trees, there are clouds, whatever the dramatic setting on the stage.
And there are some actors on the stage. That is the dramatic setting, that is the Karya. That is the Karana, sorry.
And then there is the Karya. Karya is action. So, suddenly a person is running and a tiger is chasing that person.
This person is frantically running. That is the action. There is a suspense, there is fear.
What is going to happen? Is this tiger going to eat this person? That is the Karya. And then Sahakarya is whatever is the accompaniment. Sometimes there is appropriate music at that time.
You know, there is the music which indicates victory, music which indicates defeat, there is fear. All that comes in accompaniment, that is Sahakarya. Now, Rupa Goswami takes the same concepts and uses different terms for it.
So, he calls the Karana, the environment, is the Vibhav. And the Karya, he refers to it as Anubhav. So, in the environment, whatever is stimulated is called the Vibhav.
The actions that we do are Anubhav. And Sahakarya, the accompaniment, he calls it the Abhichari Bhav. Now, let me explain this in terms of Krishna Gita.
So, Krishna has gone out into the forest. And everybody is expecting when he is going to come back. So, when Krishna comes back from the forest, the sun is setting.
The sun setting is the, and Krishna returns. This is the environment. This is the setting, basically.
So, now, this stimulates certain emotion. Yashodamayi, she has her Thaibhav, her steady relationship with Krishna. Vibhav is the, Vibhav is the action that makes the Thaibhav sensed or manifest.
So, Thaibhav, her steady emotion is maternal affection. Yashodamayi always has maternal affection for Krishna. But when she sees Krishna coming, when she sees the sun setting, this indication that it is twilight now, that Krishna is coming forward, then what happens? Her heart swells with emotion.
She feels affection for Krishna. As she comes forward, as Krishna comes closer to her, milk starts flowing from her breast, she starts opening her arm and Krishna rushes to her embrace. So, these actions, they make the Vatsalyabhav manifest.
It's already there, but at that particular point, it becomes manifest. So, now, moving this forward, in the Karana, the Karana is the cause, there are two aspects. There is the Uddipan and there is the Prahamban.
Alamban refers to the players in Krishna Leela. Players means who are the participants, the devotees, who are there in the Leela. And the Uddipan is the setting.
So, in the Bhagavatam, for example, in the 29th chapter, it is said that when Krishna saw the autumnal moon, then he desired to perform pastimes with the devotees. So, the setting, in that sense, is the moon, the whole autumnal environment with the full moon at that time, Sharadpurna. Krishna saw that and he feels the desire, yes, now I want to perform pastimes with the gopis.
So, the Uddipan is the stimulus in terms of the objects. And the Alamban is the stimulus in terms of the people. And both of these, they combine to stimulate devotional emotions.
So, now, what is Rupa Goswami doing in Bhaktasamudra Siddhu and then in Ujjwala Leela Mani? Basically, he is doing two things. He is analyzing Krishna Leela in terms of this emotional framework. And in terms of this framework of rasa.
And then he is also telling how this analysis can be applied by sadhakas. So, for example, So, I talked about Alamban and Uddipan. So, we all are attracted to Krishna in different ways.
There are certain standard practices of bhakti. But some of us may like a particular Hare Krishna dhan. Some of us may like a particular darshan of Krishna.
A particular deity of Krishna. Some of us may like a particular chapter of the Bhagavatam. A particular pastime in the Bhagavatam.
If we ask all devotees, different devotees, what is your favorite verse from scripture? Each devotee will have some different understanding which is my favorite verse. So, there is, all of us are, there is spiritual individuality also. All of us are individuals.
And there is an individual relationship that each of us has with Krishna. And Krishna attracts us in an individual way. So, we follow the standard process of bhakti.
At the same time, if there are certain limbs of bhakti, certain activities in bhakti which particularly attract us to him. Then that is our Uddipan. That is the spiritual stimulus that we can cherish.
And that means that is the way Krishna is manifesting his mercy by which we can connect with him. So, the pravrutti means the direction of our consciousness towards Krishna. We want to become, we got inspired to become connected with him.
That is the purpose of the practice of sadhana bhakti. अथजित्तं समाधातं नशक्नो सिवाईस्थिरम् अभ्यास योगेन ततो मा इच्छाप्तुं धनं जय। Krishna says that if you practice Abhyasa Yoga, that means the sadhana bhakti, he says this in 12.9 in the Bhagavad Gita, that if you practice this, the result of this will be, मा इच्छाप्तुं धनं जय। You will get the desire for me. You will become attracted to me.
So the purpose of practicing sadhana bhakti is to become attracted to Krishna. So now there are two aspects. One is that, that which we are attracted to, we naturally think about it.
But the other aspect is, that what we think about, we will get attracted to. So if say, I am attracted to, if somebody is attracted to baseball, we naturally think about baseball. So attraction leads to contemplation on that object.
But the other principle is, contemplation also leads to attraction. So for the pure devotees, attraction will actually lead to contemplation. They naturally think of Krishna because they are attracted to him.
But for us, contemplation will lead to attraction. The more we think about Krishna, the more we will become attracted to him. The more we think about Krishna, the more we will become purified.
The more Krishna's all attractiveness will be revealed. So now how exactly can we think about Krishna? That will vary, as I said, according to person to person. So if we find a particular manifestation of Krishna as attractive for us, then we focus on that.
We dwell on that. We cherish that. And then through that we connect with Krishna.
And along with this, we also, earlier I talked about, we have a circle of interest. We have a circle of interest and there is a circle of Krishna bhakti. So we find the intersection of that.
That intersection will be driven largely by our subhava. So earlier I talked about the higher taste and there is a lower taste. The higher taste is the taste that we get in direct devotional activities.
The lower taste is what we get in sensual activities. Now, the whole process of varnashram, where people engage according to their varna. A brahmana does brahminical activities.
Now for a brahmana to do brahminical activities gives some pleasure. For a kshatriya to do kshatriya activities gives some pleasure. Somebody who is a good manager and they manage, they get a sense of accomplishment.
I was able to manage a big festival, a big program, a big event. So somebody is an author who writes a book, that may have no connection with Krishna, but just acting according to one's nature and achieving something, just acting according to that nature gives one some pleasure. Now when we do that for Krishna, that is according to our subhava if we act, then we do get some pleasure, but that is material pleasure.
When we act according to our subhava for Krishna's sake, then what happens is that pleasure becomes spiritualized. So the direct devotional pleasure is very important for us to strive towards. At the same time, that may not be possible for us to access constantly because we cannot at our level of sadhana practice direct devotional activities constantly.
So Krishna also talks about various levels in 12.8 to 12.12 about how we can work. First, always fix your mind on me. If you can't do that, then practice sadhana bhakti and try to fix your mind on me.
If you can't do that, then you work for me. If you can't work for me, then you do your work and offer the fruits to me. If you can't do that, then offer the fruits for some good cause.
And that way you just come out of yourself, become selfless. So the point is that here if you could find out something called as subhava, some activity which is according to our nature, and then we start using that in Krishna's service. In that, we get a material satisfaction which becomes spiritual because it's connected with Krishna.
Like earlier I said, somebody likes to sing and they will sing anything because they like to sing. But over a period of time, by singing for Krishna, they will realize that singing for Krishna is something special over there. And thus they will get connected more and more to Krishna.
Similarly for us, the acting according to subhava is the way we can become pravrutta, we can become connected or inspired towards Krishna. So now this raises the question, how do I know what is my subhava? What is my nature? Now the important thing is not that we have to place ourselves in a particular category. The point of subhava is that subhava leads to svakarma.
Whatever is according to our nature, we will naturally be inclined towards certain activities according to that subhava. So in the course of our life, while pursuing our devotional service, we observe ourselves, which are the activities that we feel inspired to do, which we are good at doing, and which we feel inspired to do. So that we can understand, is some understanding of our subhava.
We don't have to wait to precisely understand our subhava and then organize ourselves. Just move forward pragmatically, doing what we can. Now, how does Krishna's mercy play a role in this? Now let's talk that whole process of bhakti is not just about, it's about our endeavor, but ultimately about Krishna's mercy.
Yes, Krishna's mercy is definitely important and Krishna's mercy can be seen at multiple levels. So, if we get taste in the practice of Krishna bhakti, it's Krishna's mercy. So for example, if you go to some holy place and then, there in Vrindavan, in Mayapur, in Jagannath Puri, we feel very deeply attracted towards Krishna, deeply absorbed in Krishna.
That taste that we are getting, that is Krishna's mercy. If we study scripture and suddenly get some insight which inspires us, yeah, this is also Krishna's mercy. So we could say at one level, the taste that we get in devotional activities is Krishna's mercy.
But at another level, and we may say, but this mercy I don't get. No. I sometimes get taste, I sometimes don't get taste.
But Krishna's mercy comes at multiple levels. And even the opportunity to practice Krishna bhakti, that is also Krishna's mercy. Brahmanda brahmite kona bhagyamana jiv Guru krishna prasade paye bhaktilata bij.
So bhaktilata bij is the seed of the creeper of devotional service and that seed comes in the form of the opportunity to practice bhakti. So if we are getting that, that is also Krishna's mercy. So rather than, so rather than saying, oh, I have not got Krishna's mercy, so I cannot become absorbed in bhakti.
No, when we cherish the mercy we have, we are given the mercy we need. So we all have been given some mercy in our life. It's not that there is no, I don't have any mercy.
Yes, without mercy we would not be practicing bhakti at all. We are not just practicing bhakti. We have some services in our bhakti and we are doing those services.
So when Krishna sees that we are valuing what he has given us, then he will give us more. And the way we value is that we value Krishna's devotees. We value those whom we are serving, those with whom we are serving, those for whom we are serving.
That means those who are our seniors, those who have given us the service, are equals with whom we are serving and the other younger devotees, new people, to whom we are trying to get towards Krishna. So through all these, Krishna's mercy comes through the spiritual master. The spiritual master is the representative of Krishna and Prabhupada would say the shiksha guru, niksha guru, they are, they are in one sense not different.
And Prabhupada would say that, he would tell his disciples that you are, I see that you are representatives of a spiritual master. My spiritual master gave me the instruction to serve, to preach in the western world and my spiritual master has sent you to assist me in this, assist me in this mission. So you would see even those also, that means he saw even his disciples as his spiritual master's mercy.
And they have come by his mercy. So mercy sometimes can seem to be like a very illusive concept and sometimes we feel that I don't have mercy and that's why I can't advance. But the advancement, yes it depends on Krishna's mercy but the opportunity to advance is itself Krishna's mercy.
And as long as we are taking that opportunity, we are moving closer towards Krishna. And as we keep moving closer towards Krishna, we get more and more taste in that process and through that our attraction to Krishna increases more and more. So the pravrutti towards Krishna, the attraction towards Krishna, we can say that it happens through multiple factors.
One is through our own endeavor. That we endeavor to whatever opportunity to practice bhakti we have, to practice bhakti that we have, whatever channels that we can be attracted towards Krishna right now through, whatever the activity that we can do in Krishna's service, we do all those. When we do those, then by that we show Krishna that we want to be connected with him.
And the more we try to connect with him, the more Krishna sees that and then if we face some temptation, some situation where it's very difficult for us to do it alone, we do it by our own intelligence, by our own effort and Krishna will provide what we don't, what we lack. In the Mahabharata, there is a story of Arjuna and Jayadratha. So on the 14th day, Arjuna took a vow that I will slay Jayadratha by the end of the day.
Now the previous day, what happened was that Abhimanyu was killed brutally by six Kaurava warriors and Arjuna was infuriated and he took a vow that either I will kill Jayadratha by the end of the next day or I will enter into fire. Krishna told Arjuna, why did you make a vow like this? He said, knowing this, the Kauravas are in the full army to stop you. It's very difficult for you to reach.
It's a rash vow that you have taken. So Arjuna was quite confident. He said, Krishna, why are you so worried? He is telling God, why are you so worried? He said, you know my strength and I know your strength.
So now, the next morning, when Arjuna started, he saw that actually the whole military had been arranged just to stop Krishna from getting there. And in this day, Arjuna fought at his total best. He was exerting his full capacity.
He was breaking through the Kaurava formations. And as he was moving forward at various strategic points, Krishna, he was a non-combatant, but he was a decisive factor. When Drona challenged him, Arjuna was fighting with Drona, fighting with Drona.
Krishna told Arjuna, the fight with Drona can go on the whole day. You don't have time to fight with him. So Arjuna just shot a series of arrows.
His temple struck Drona and Krishna just took his chariot out. So Drona said, oh Arjuna, what happened? Have you become a coward? Krishna told Arjuna, don't pay attention to Drona. Just move on.
So Krishna kept Arjuna focused throughout. And then, as he won after after another many many combatants came, Arjuna overcame all of them. And then, eventually, Arjuna came right into the, Arjuna got deep into the army and Yudhishthira started feeling a little fearful.
What, what? Arjuna alone will he be able to cope up? So he sent Satyaki inside. Then after Satyaki went in, Satyaki is also young, so Yudhishthira started thinking, what if Satyaki gets trapped? So he says, let me send Bhima inside. Now Bhima was actually itching to go.
He was also fighting, but it was almost like fight of the side lights. The real fight was, everybody knew, that Arjuna's fight is at the center. So when Bhima entered into the Kaurava formation, soon Arjuna had created a trail of devastation which Bhima followed.
And Bhima and Arjuna, when they came together, the Kaurava army became horrified. And Bhima was so infuriated at that time, that in one day, he slew 30 of Duryodhana's brothers. And Duryodhana was horrified, what happened? He started thinking, how is it that I have such warriors in my army and I am a whole army, how was I not able to stop this Arjuna and Krishna? He started thinking, maybe Krishna is God.
But for one who is obstinate. Now it is said in this world, Krishna has given enough reasons for believers to believe, and Krishna has given enough reasons for disbelievers to disbelieve. So Duryodhana started thinking, he was seeing the sun, he was putting his head down, and the sun was sinking.
It was reflecting his sinking spirits. But then he thought, if Krishna is God, if Krishna were God, then how could we have been able to kill Abhimanyu yesterday? Now Krishna loves Arjuna, Arjuna loves Abhimanyu, and yet we are able to kill Abhimanyu. Because we are able to kill Abhimanyu, therefore Krishna is not God.
And he immediately, he said, make a last wish at that point. So he said that, yesterday we had six warriors, today we will have eight warriors. And he had Karna and Karna and Shalya coming from one side, he had Kripa, and Drona coming from the other side, he had himself Duryodhana and Dushasana, they came from the other side, and they had Ashwathama, along with another warrior coming from the other side.
And they all attacked Arjuna. And Arjuna was just covered by like a cloud of arrows. He just couldn't see anything.
He was trying to shoot, shoot, but he could barely defend himself, leave alone make any progress. And he could see the sun sinking towards the horizon. So, so close, he could see Jaidrath standing in the distance.
He just couldn't get there at all. So as Arjuna started despairing, then Krishna saw his friend's predicament. Krishna raised his hand, his Sudarshan Chakra came in his hand.
He just hurled it. It went and covered the sun. Covered the sun, the Kauravas started celebrating, Oh, Arjuna is dead now.
Arjuna was exasperated. He started putting down his bow. Krishna spoke urgently to Arjuna, Arjuna, there is still time.
Just put a Brahmastra on your bow. At this point, Arjuna had no questions asked. Sarva Dharmaan Parittancha, Mame Krishna, just obey Krishna.
So he put the bow on the arrow, hurled the bow, and he said, pointed towards Jaidrath. Hit it in such a way, that Jaidrath's head will fall in the distance, Samant Panchak mountain, Samant Panchak area. There his father Rudrakshatra is performing austerities.
So ensure that this arrow takes off his head and it falls on the lap of Rudrakshatra. So Arjuna took the bow, and as he was placing the arrow, Krishna removed the Chakra. And the Sun was, last rays of the Sun were still there.
And Jaidrath, who had been covering behind, he had come forward, Arjuna, I will light your funeral pyre. So as he removed the, removed his Chakra, Krishna told Arjuna, there is the Sun, there is Jaidrath. Shoot.
And right in front of all the Kauravas eyes, they saw Arjuna's arrow whizzing past. It was locked off the head of Jaidrath. Now it went right through the sky, far away.
And it fell on the lap of Rudrakshatra. Now Rudrakshatra had performed austerities to Shiva, and he had got a benediction that he wanted to protect his son. So he got a benediction that whoever causes the head of his son to fall on the ground, that person will die.
So Krishna arranged that, he told Arjuna, so Arjuna sent the head of Jaidrath, and it fell on Rudrakshatra's lap. Rudrakshatra was in meditation. Hey, what is this skull, bloody skull? He just pushed it down.
And from his lap, it fell on the ground. And as soon as it fell on the ground, by his own boon he had sought, his own head cracked apart. So Krishna, he expertly arranged for Arjuna not only to be protected from Rudrakshatra's arrangement, he also arranged to fulfill Arjuna's vow.
So the point of the story is, Arjuna exerted to his fullest capacity. And then also he fell short. And Krishna did all what was required.
So sometimes, when we focus too much on the element of mercy, mercy is very important in bhakti, but we shouldn't think Krishna is some kind of possessive god who keeps his mercy with him and doesn't give us any mercy. It's not like that. The very fact that we are practicing bhakti means that Krishna has already given us some mercy.
And when we use the mercy that we have to do the service that we can do with our present capacity, then if that falls short, Krishna will provide more. And Krishna will keep providing more and more. So, I'll conclude about this thing, but we talk about surrender to Krishna.
So surrender is not just passive. One of the examples of surrender is say, the gopis raising their hands, sorry, Draupadi raising her hands. She was helpless.
And she surrendered to Krishna. But that is not the only mode of surrender. In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna tells Arjuna, Arjuna, surrender to me.
How does Arjuna surrender? He doesn't raise his hands. Arjuna raises his bow. So, for Arjuna as a warrior, surrender is to fight.
So, surrender has two aspects to it. One is that in our life, some things are in our control and some things are not in our control. And in some situations, the things that are in our control are very little and the things out of our control are a lot.
That's what happened in Draupadi's case. She had practically no control over anything. So, what did she do? We say she just surrendered to Krishna.
Still, she controlled her thoughts, her consciousness and she offered it to Krishna. But for Arjuna, he's a Kshatriya warrior, he's a master, he's a world-class archer. And for him, he had control over his own resources, his own ability so that he could fight.
So, for him, surrender was to use the control that he had in Krishna's service. So, in surrender, for the control that we don't, for the things on which we have no control, we just offer them to Krishna. Krishna, you take care of these things.
I surrender to you. But for the things on which we do have control, we use that control to serve Krishna. So, in the context of mercy, the point is, yes, we may not have the taste right now by which we can forget all the pleasures of this world and just become absorbed in Krishna.
We may not have the taste right now by which we can turn away from worldly temptations, curling our lips in distaste. We do not have that. But we do have some taste.
We do have some conviction. We do have some inspiration. So, our surrender to Krishna is that the taste that I don't have, that Krishna will take care of that.
Krishna will give it to me whenever I want, whenever he thinks appropriate. But the taste that I have right now, I will use that fully. This combination of dependence on Krishna and diligence for Krishna, dependence on Krishna for the things that are not in our control and diligence for Krishna for the things that are in our control.
This combination is demonstrated in Prabhupada's song, Markine Bhakta Dharma. Now, there he is saying, My dear lord, if you have brought me here to dance, then make me dance, make me dance. Just like a puppeteer makes a puppet dance, oh lord, make me dance.
So now, when he is saying, make me dance, what does it mean? Dancing is definitely an activity and it requires skill. Somebody has to dance and it requires skill to dance. But the puppeteer is pulling the strings.
It does not mean that Prabhupada has no free will of his own. He is using his free will to serve Krishna. So, Prabhupada used all the intelligence, all the money, all the contacts which he had which at that time were very little actually.
His intelligence was great, his devotion was great but the contacts did not have any at that time. He had money practically, he had nothing. But he used whatever he had and he had come to America to carry on Krishna's mission.
And he was completely diligent in doing all that he could do. And yet, when he came to America there was so much that he did not know. Who is he going to meet? Are people going to be interested or not? Prabhupada didn't even know whether he would have any vegetarian food or not to eat.
So, Prabhupada just came to America. So, there was dependence on Krishna but there was also diligence for Krishna. So, same way that Prabhupada manifested that he was completely dependent on Krishna but dependence does not mean that he was not taking responsibility.
He was taking full responsibility for doing whatever he could do. So, the mercy factor is very important in our moving from un-earthly to Artha Pravarti. But, the opportunity for practicing Bhakti is also mercy.
So, we have certain control right. Say for example, there are certain desires, certain temptations, certain un-earthly we can resist. Certain ways in which we can become attracted towards Krishna.
Now, we may not be able to study say, if somebody tells you to study 6 hours scripture every day. We may not be able to do that. But, if I decide at least half an hour, one hour, 15 minutes, we can decide according to our capacity.
Just because we cannot do the perfect thing or just the highest doesn't mean that we can't do anything. So, we have some area of control, something which we can do and when we do that for Krishna, then Krishna will take care of other things. If we use the mercy, if we engage in Krishna's service, the mercy that we have, Krishna will give us the mercy that we need.
So, whatever we need in future for Krishna, for our service to Krishna, for our growth in Krishna Bhakti, all that he will provide in due course. And with this understanding of the dependence on Krishna for the taste that we don't have. Yes, whenever Krishna wants, he will give that taste.
But for the taste that we, with the taste that we have, with the insights that we have, we become absorbed in Krishna. And that way we can move forward. We become diligent in his devotional service.
So, we often talk about moving from Vaidhi Bhakti to Raga Nuga Bhakti or Raga Atmika Bhakti depending on terms. So, it's an advanced stage. But the essence of it is what? Vaidhi Bhakti means the instruction of the spiritual master is the inspiration for practicing Bhakti.
And as we advance, we are ourselves inspired to practice Bhakti. So, for us, our devotional intention, we need to internalize that. Yes, we have Sri Prabhupada's instruction, we have his books, but along with that, we have to find out, why am I practicing Bhakti? What is my conviction? What is my inspiration? So, my conviction means, Krishna repeated it often, Bhagavad Gita, So, I offer my buddhi to Krishna, that means what is my conviction for practicing Bhakti? Our conviction is the function of buddhi.
And the mind is connected with emotions. So, our inspiration, what is my inspiration? So, when we take ownership of our spiritual life, when we take responsibility for our spiritual advancement, means, this is something which I want to practice. This is, like Prabhupada Maharaj has said, Kaamam chid asena tu kaama kaamyaya.
Rather than fulfilling his own desires, he made his desires the servants of Krishna. So, we make our desire form to serve Krishna. It is my desire to practice Krishna Bhakti.
Then we will find, that this is determination to serve Krishna is the Artha Pravratti that will take us to Him. It may happen in a few years, it may happen in one lifetime, it may happen over many lifetimes. But if we are determined to serve Krishna, we will experience the relief through absorption in Krishna, we will experience taste in absorption in Krishna, even in this lifetime.
And that will help us to gain reality about Krishna's existence, Krishna's benevolence, we will get reality of Krishna's love for us and we will move steadily towards Him. So that way, when we take ownership, it is my life and I am practicing Bhakti by my choice. But why did I make that choice? Sometimes when we keep practicing Bhakti for many years, the driving conviction, the driving inspiration that we had initially, but that may not drive us so much.
But that doesn't mean there is nothing to drive us. We have our present realizations, we have our present inspirations, so if we keep reminding ourselves of those and based on that we connect with Krishna, then that will become our Artha Pravratti. That will become our driving force which will keep moving us towards Krishna, through whatever life sends our way.
In life there are many ups and downs, but if we keep persevering in Krishna Bhakti, that Artha Pravratti will grow more and more and it will take us towards Krishna. So I will summarize in this session on Pravratti, I spoke about how when we are trying to move towards Krishna, at that time, Krishna Krishna is Rasaraj. So he is the reservoir of all Rasas.
So the concept of Rasa was used in the Natya Shastra as an emotion experienced in a dramatic setting. Rupa Goswami took that and applied it in a devotional framework, just as emotions can be induced in a dramatic setting, similarly, emotions can be induced in a devotional setting. So I talked about Karya, Karana, Sahakari.
The Karana is the stimulus, the people and their actions. The Karya is the people and their environment. The Karya is their action, the Sahakari is the accompaniment.
So, within the Karana, there is the Uddhipananda Alam, that is Krishna and the objects associated with Krishna. So for us, Krishna is not directly accessible. But there are many stimulus associated with Krishna.
There are the deities, there is the holy name, there are devotees, there are scriptures. So we can find out how am I attracted to Krishna right now. And we cherish that.
Now that may, our specific attraction to Krishna may often be according to our Svabhava. So when we act according to Svabhava, we get some material satisfaction. But when we act according to Svabhava for Krishna, the material satisfaction gets spiritualized.
And more and more, the spiritual component becomes highlighted for us, as we see that in connecting with Krishna there is something special. And in the process of bhakti, we need mercy, but mercy is not just some extraordinary taste that we occasionally get. Even the opportunity to practice bhakti is mercy.
And when we use the mercy that we have, then Krishna gives us the mercy that we need. While falling in Jaidrath, Arjuna endeavored to the fullest capacity, and when that was not enough, Krishna intervened. Krishna miraculously intervened and ensured that he succeeded.
So in bhakti, the element of surrender is dependence on Krishna for things not in our control, but it is also diligence for Krishna with regard to things in our control. So Draupadi is raising her hands, it is surrender. Arjuna is picking up his bow, it is also surrender.
And Prabhupada said, make me dance. That means I am going to do my parangul dance, but you guide me how to dance. So I am going to do my service, but the facilities for the service, all that, you provide me, and as you provide, I will do accordingly.
So, we do have certain realizations, certain tastes, certain facilities for practicing bhakti. When we use them wholeheartedly, then Krishna will give us more. And this way, with whatever realization we have, with whatever inspiration we have, whatever spiritual experience we have, we take ownership of our spiritual life.
This bhakti is my life, it is my life, it is my choice. And why do I want to practice bhakti? So if we keep our conviction and our inspiration at the forefront of our consciousness, then we will be able to move onward determinately. And thus, even if we sometimes go through dry phases when we don't have taste, but those dry phases will pass soon.
And we will move onward straight towards Krishna. And thus, our own conviction and inspiration to practice bhakti is the artha pravartti that we presently have. And as we use it fully, Krishna gives us more and more mercy, and when He reveals His attractiveness, then we get completely absorbed in Him.
And then even if the worldly temptations come, we won't get attracted by them. We just be completely absorbed in Krishna. Thank you very much.
Hare Krishna. Hare Krishna. In about past times, prior to coming to the United States, he tried many different things to implement the instruction to get him back to practice the emphasis of the Thakura.
And when he came to America, it seemed almost like an impossible situation. In fact, he went to this India steamship, accompanied several times to see when the next boat would go back. But yet he persevered.
You were making the point how if we just keep going, to have confidence that Krishna will provide facility. But I forgot that it was about 40 years in coming. Now, right? I mean, it was, we know from the Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita who was struggling alone in the wilderness, I think was the name of the chapter, and it was a four-year period when he comes to America.
Didn't know anybody, didn't have money. Very, very difficult. Now, that we can follow for all time, we can imitate, but how do you ascertain when something's too difficult? Like, was it dancing, and everything was against him, believe it was, and he pulls out.
That's true. Yeah, I understand. Yeah.
When we are, on one level, we should keep persevering on our path. But then Prabhupada in Jhansi, when he found everything was opposed to him, he just left there and he did some other way of service. So, how do we know whether we should just persevere in one thing and keep doing like Prabhupada kept doing for 40 years, and eventually Krishna will reciprocate? There are two different aspects to this.
One is the consistency of purpose. And the second is the flexibility of process. Prabhupada was consistently purposeful that I want to serve my spiritual master.
But specifically how I do it? He was trying various things. He tried running back to Godhead. He tried opening his own organization.
He tried to work with his Godbrothers. He tried to write Bhagavatam. He tried to give classes in people's houses to inspire them.
Eventually he came to America. In America also he tried various things. First in Battler, then he was in Yoga Studio.
Then he came to Lower East Side. So, with respect to the practical aspects of how bhakti is to be executed, there is no guarantee that just because we have been given an instruction that the specific form of service will be successful. That means we have to use our God-given intelligence.
And if you find that a particular situation is very difficult and it's incompatible with our nature or the opposition is too much, then we don't give up the principle of service to Krishna. But the form of service we may change. At one level we say that Bhakti Sahaja Yoga Thakur said that if nobody comes on programs, you preach to the walls.
Now, that is in spirit. If Prabhupada had taken that literally, then he could have just stayed in India and preached to the walls. No, he came to America because he wanted eager people to hear.
So, the spirit is that we are not disheartened by the lack of reciprocation. But that doesn't mean that we just keep doing something where there is no reciprocation. So, if we go to a place for a program and nobody is interested over there, then we can say that, okay, I am getting purified but nobody is paying attention to me.
But you know, I am coming here to share Krishna's message. So, I may well go somewhere else where people are interested. So, there we have to use our intelligence and especially if it is a major change of decision that we are making, then we can pray to Krishna, try to consult some other senior devotees, some other devotee friends also and then use our intelligence.
Maybe write down our reasons and let the decision gestate for a few months and then see if our thoughts remain the same. Basically, for most of us as we evolve in our spiritual life, we have to make the decisions ourselves. Our movement is also so big that even the spiritual master may not be always accessible for guidance.
May not know the ground level situation for us in the specifics. We give broad principle guidance but we have to take our, we have to make decisions using our intelligence. In the Uddhav Veda, it is said that that you know, we have to become our own spiritual masters.
That in the Acharyas explained over there. That does not mean that we don't need a spiritual master but rather by taking instruction of a spiritual master, we have to learn to guide ourselves and take decisions. So, basically if we are doing a particular service and we find that there are too many obstacles in that service at that place or in that setting, then we write down everything.
What are my concerns? I just write it out and then this is just one way of doing it. I am just saying that we have to take our decisions using our God given or Guru given intelligence. So, one way is that we just write down everything and then after that I decide that okay when we just write down everything, that inner agitation, the congestion of the mind that happens because thoughts are should I do this? Should I not do this? Should I do this? Should I not do this? That congestion goes down to some extent.
And as soon as thoughts come out of our head and onto paper or on the computer screen, whatever then this certain distance brings some objectivity to it. You can evaluate it. And we may decide, okay, this is an important decision so every week, maybe half an hour, one hour, I will spend on thinking about it.
Are there any other aspects I have not thought about? If what happens is, if we don't, if we are just constantly thinking about it, it just drains our energy. So, during the course of the week if some thought comes up, just note it down, but don't think about it at that time because in the mode of passion, it's very difficult to think. And we are normally in the mode of passion when we are running around doing our regular services.
So, basically we get a snapshot of our mind like this. And then, if after one week, two weeks, one month, two months, whatever period we have decided, three months, six months, if we see the overall thoughts that we have had are more or less the same. I don't feel this is what I want to do.
There is just too much opposition. If that's the way we feel, then that's not just a passing frustration that we have. It's an enduring inclination.
That this is not the way I am. I should do something else. That's perfectly fine.
This is a practical decision and we use our practical intelligence and we move on. And sometimes some decisions may be right, some decisions may be wrong. It's not that if I am going to go here and if I go here, it doesn't mean I have to go back here again.
As soon as I realize I have gone off track, I can choose which course and again come back on track. So, if we are going through, see, the Bhagavad Gita is not just about giving Arjuna a decision. If the point was simply to tell Arjuna whether to fight or not.
Krishna could have just told Arjuna, fight! And there was no Bhagavad Gita. Krishna's purpose was not just to give Arjuna a decision. Krishna's purpose was to give Arjuna a philosophical worldview based on which a decision was made.
So, if we also understand the philosophical worldview, then, you know, we can also make our decisions. So, sometimes when we have access to a spiritual master or a trustworthy spiritual guide, then they may give us, do this or don't do this. But quite often as we become senior, you know, nobody may give us clear-cut decisions like that.
So, then we use our God-given intelligence and then we arrive at decisions. So, we persevere in the principle of practicing bhakti, of serving. But in the specifics of how we serve, there can be flexibility.
And we do wherever, whichever area of service we feel is most rewarding for us. One just short follow-up. Okay.
It seems that there's a practical level but then there's also an internal level that's going on, you know, as one's trying to execute a service. So, there's a certain amount of reciprocation that Krishna gives. If there's a lack, you know, they get very difficult externally.
Then we can say, well, just keep going then. Yes, definitely. So, sometimes some devotees may persevere in a service even if nobody gets, no reciprocation comes along.
Like some devotees may be a pujari for for 20, 30, 40 years. And it's just getting some reciprocation, that's why they're doing it. Some devotees may be, say, running a magazine or editing.
And they've done service for 30, 40 years, not many people know them also. They're satisfied doing that service. So, I see that satisfaction that we experience in service is also Krishna's reciprocation.
So, if they're getting that satisfaction and even if there's no external result, if we persevere on, that is wonderful. Thank you for coming. Thank you.
I'm simply obeying your instruction. You were talking about the whole idea about genitals. Now, in Damodara Yuga, in Yajurda, it's two things are solved.
So, is that first is persevering and then the… Yes, correct. She endeavored to her fullest capacity and then Krishna gave his mercy. Thank you.
Thank you very much for coming. I very much appreciate your deep understanding of the scriptures and the clear explanation that you gave. In the first session, you were speaking about how sometimes we can be doing something and I'm thinking that this is good and actually it's an anartha.
So, I wondered if you could expand on that a little, maybe give us an example and show how to know the difference. Sometimes we may do something and we feel this is good, but actually we may be giving it to an anartha. Yeah, say, for example, if we're doing some service, now, every service we're trying to do to please Krishna, but then there's also the component we want some name, fame, glory from that service.
So, now if I say that I will not do this service till I'm purely motivated only to please Krishna, we'll probably not do the service for the rest of eternity. Because it is through service we'll get purified. So, we have to do the service.
But then, when the glorification comes, do we just bask in it? And do we want more? More, more, more! Is it that way? Yes, we see this as Krishna encouraging us, we offer it to Krishna and our spiritual masters, social guides. So, when we get some results of our Krishna bhakti, which are apart from our increased attraction towards Krishna. By our service to Krishna, ultimately, what do we want? We want that our attraction to Krishna should increase and our desire to serve Him should increase.
So, apart from that we may get some other results also. Now, if we start craving for those results alone, and I may say that I'm doing this service because I'm getting these results. Now, I'm doing this service for Krishna, but actually we are craving only for those results.
Then what is happening is Krishna is getting more and more into the background. So, for a devotee, external success should be a result of internal success. Internal success means that we feel happy in Krishna consciousness or at least we feel happier than what we were before.
Because happiness is a relative term. So, we feel happier than before in our Krishna consciousness. And that's why we want others also to be happy.
And that's why we share Krishna consciousness, share Krishna bhakti. But otherwise, what may happen is that we are getting internally no happiness because we are giving into anarthas, we are not really properly doing our sadhana. And then we just do the externals, and through the externals, whatever glory we get, whatever elevation we get, that's what is keeping driving us.
That may be one factor driving us, but if that is the only thing driving us, then we will become very competitive. If I think how many people appreciate me, then if somebody else, more people appreciate. They start thinking, why this? So, we will become very competitive.
And if our assessment of bhakti is only in external terms, that what are the external results, then some devotees may be doing a lot of, may have a lot of devotional attitude inside, and they may be doing some service which is not so visible or tangible, those results. We may start minimizing those, what are you doing for Krishna? I am doing so much. But you are not doing for Krishna, actually.
You are doing it for our ego. So, in that sense, if while doing our service to Krishna, if we are getting more and more caught by the fringed results, in the Madhura Kadamba, it's called Tarangarangiri, that there is the ocean of devotion, and there are waves that come on top. So, if you just light in the wave, which are on the top, and don't go deep into the ocean, then that may distract us from Krishna bhakti.
So, it's not that we have stopped doing the service to Krishna, but while doing the service to Krishna, there is attraction to Krishna that is the result which comes, and there are other results also come. So, we don't have to reject the other results. If the other results come, then we see them as an encouragement for serving Krishna.
Bhagavatpada says in Dukhe Svanudhin Namara, Sukheshu Marama, Vigata Spruha Parpot, in the 2.56 parpot, Bhagavatpada says that if a devotee gets materially favourable things, the devotee feels that Krishna, you are so kind, you are giving more facility to serve you. So, let me serve you better. So, if that increases our service to Krishna, and inspires us to connect more with Krishna, then that's wonderful.
So, the other results that come, they don't divert us from Krishna. That is the way we move onwards towards Krishna study. Does that answer your question? Thank you.
So, shall we… Yeah. So, now we have two options. We can continue this question and answer session for some time, or if some of you want to leave, we can conclude the session, and then I'll be available for talking one-to-one privately.
How would you prefer? Because it's already 4.30, we don't want to overstep the time. Should we vote? Sure, yeah. Okay, first one is continue, and second one is that we finish and we have one-to-one questions.
How would you prefer? I think what we could do is we can just finish at 4.30, we talk one-to-one. Or we can do this both ways. Just a quick question.
Prabhuji said there are two options. Vote for the first option, which is we'll continue for some more time with question and answers. Option number one, continue for some more time.
Now, option two, we'll stop now, and Prabhu will have a word or two. Continue. That's it.
Continue. So those of you who want to I think we can just do the conclusion, then we can do some more time. Yeah, I think we can do that.