From Fear to Surrender 3 – FEAR acronym for analyzing fear 2 – Attachment and Redirection
Om Nithyanandeshwara Samaarambhaam Nirvishesha Surya Niyavadi Ashtatya Desha Tarene Vancha Kalpataru Bhashya Kripa Sundhubhyaya Vacha Patithanaam-Paavanebhyo Vaishnavi-Bhyo-Na-Mona-Maha Jai Shri Krishna Chaitanya Prabhu Nithyananda Shri Advaita Gadadhara Vasadi Gaura Bhakta Vrinda Today we are discussing about the topic of dealing with our fears, from moving from fear to surrender.
And this is a part of a series which has been going on. How many of you have not been there for the previous sessions in the series? So I have been talking about what is the cause of our fear. It is primarily our need to control things around us and our inability to control, our limited capacity to control.
And the way to deal with fear is by recognising that what is outside our control is ultimately in Krishna's control and whatever capacity to control we have, if we exercise this in a mode of service to Krishna, then we will not be agitated. Because we will control when we can and we will let go when we can't. So I talked about the acronym FEAR, F E A R. I talked about faith and education, faith, education, attachment and redirection.
They are the four aspects of analysing fear. So our faith, what we have faith in, what we don't have faith in, that determines our fears. And our knowledge can help us to deal with our fears.
Today I am talking about attachment and redirection. Attachment is just an intrinsic nature of consciousness. As conscious beings we cannot but be attached.
Because when we are conscious we will observe things around us and when we observe, hey this is good, this is not so good, I like this, I don't like this. And based on our perceptions, on our likings, certain things which we feel give us pleasure, we will become attached to them. And as we become attached to something, attachment literally means that the second thing stays with the first.
Just like in emails we send some attachment. What does that mean? When the email is going, along with that wherever the email will go, this file will go with it. Similarly, when we are attached to something, whatever it is that we are attached to, that will go with us.
So if a person is an alcoholic, that person may go anywhere and everywhere in the world. But wherever the person goes, that attachment goes. And there, in that city that person looks for a bar, let me go and drink.
So Krishna talks about this, how we become bound by our desires, by our attachments. Asha, paash, isha, tair, baddha, kama, krodha, parayanaha. So asha, paash, isha, tair, baddha.
Our asha, our desire becomes like a paash, it becomes like a noose, a shackle, which binds us. Now, based on our attachments, we experience emotions. So, for example, if somebody is very attached, say, to a particular sports.
In India, people are very attached to cricket. If you go to America, people think of cricket as an insect. They don't even know much about the name of cricket.
There, maybe people are attached to baseball. If you go to Canada, maybe it's ice hockey. In different parts of the world, there are different games that people are attached to.
But whichever game it is that they are attached to, then they experience a lot of emotions in relationship with that. So in India, India has never been so great in football. But, with the world becoming globalised, the football league matches in Europe, in UK and Europe, Indians sometimes become passionate about that.
They have, they probably, they themselves never played football. Or not, they don't know serious football. India doesn't play football.
But it's just the attachment that has happened. And sometimes people stay awake late at night just to watch that match. He missed this goal.
He did like this. He did like that. So all the emotions are being experienced because the attachment has developed.
Now, the Bhagavad Gita in its first six chapters repeatedly talks about detachment. It says, just be detached, then you'll be peaceful. But in the seventh chapter, the first verse itself talks a different language.
The first line of the first verse of the seventh chapter is, mayi asat tamanah partha, yogam yonjanmada ashvayah asamshayam samagrammam, yatha gnyasthasit ashranam. It says, mayi asat tamanah, make your mind attached to me. It says, by this process of bhakti yoga, your mind will get attached to me.
So, as I said in the beginning, that we cannot have no attachment. We can only change what we are attached to. When we are attached to anything in the world, that attachment makes us dependent on that thing for our pleasure.
If I'm attached to sports, then my favourite team has to win. Only then I will get pleasure. If I'm attached to a particular TV show, I have to watch that TV show.
Otherwise, I get agitated. If I'm attached to tea, I must drink tea. Otherwise, I get agitated.
So, when our attachments are to worldly things, we become dependent on those things. And that attachment causes us fear, agitation and ultimately fear. Actually, wherever there is desire, fear will follow.
But, when it comes to Krishna, if we become attached to Krishna, Krishna is not someone external to us. Yes, He is present externally in the spiritual world in His abode. But, He is also present internally in our own hearts.
Sarvasya chaaham prathisannivishto. It says, He is present in our own hearts. And therefore, when we become attached to Krishna, we become attached to someone who is always there for us.
And thus, attachment to Krishna doesn't cause anxiety. Rather, it frees us from anxiety. Because attachment to Krishna makes our mind and our consciousness absorbed in Him.
And when our consciousness is absorbed in Him, then the result is the fear, the anxiety, the worry. It is no longer there because the source of shelter, the source of satisfaction, the source of strength is there within us. With us.
And that way, the more the devotee becomes attached to Krishna, the more the devotee becomes free from fear. Not in the sense that free from all fear. There are healthy fears which are always there.
Srila Prabhupada, at an old age, in the age of 70, when most people are even afraid to cross the street alone, many people, especially, basically, Prabhupada crossed the oceans and went all alone. Now, you may think, crossing or going to a foreign country, now, it's quite common. Even elderly people are able to travel.
There are so many facilities available. But at that time when Prabhupada was travelling, planes were not very common. Prabhupada travelled by ship.
And when he travelled by ship also, it was not even a ship for passengers. It was a cargo ship in which there was one cable. And he went all alone.
He had heart attacks along the way. He had no contacts. He had practically no money.
Srila Prabhupada went to America. He went with 40 rupees. And that 40 rupees was maybe a few dollars at that time or maybe just a dollar, whatever.
But because there were no Indians in America, there was practically no facility for converting Indian currency into American dollars also at that time. So, Prabhupada went to America in 1965. And those 40 rupees which he took with him, those 40 rupees came back with him when he came in 1968 to India.
And he used those 40 rupees when from the Delhi airport, he went to the place, Chipiwada, where he was going to stay. That time the rickshaw driver took those 40 rupees. So, Prabhupada went to America with no money.
So, all the things that normally give us security, be money, it may be family, it may be friends, it may be some institutional support, we work for some company, that company has the health insurance or whatever. Prabhupada had none of the sources of security that we normally look for. And yet, when he came to America, after going through heart attacks, knowing that he did not know anyone over there, knowing that he had no money worth the mention, knowing that he had no contacts, no institutional support, still, what was his prayer? His prayer was not, Krishna, protect me.
His prayer was, Krishna, please, make me an instrument of your compassion. Make me dance according to your plan. If you don't want us to dance, don't want us to dance, don't want us to dance.
So, when Prabhupada climbed up the Jaladuta, the ship on which he went from India to America, it was just a simple act, going up the ramp. But that was one of the most courageous acts in human history. For a person at the old age, just to travel abroad is extraordinary.
Without money, without any contacts, without the institutional support, it's even more extraordinary. But even more so, he was going on a mission that was almost impossible. To a civilisation that was materialistic and significantly godless, he was going to give a message of pure love of God.
That was his extraordinary courage. Now, when we talk about fear, often we talk about the opposite of fear as courage. But we have to understand that courage is not necessarily the absence of fear.
Courage is the presence of a purpose bigger than fear. The presence of a purpose bigger than fear. So, that means that there are normal human fears that come for everyone.
But, if we have a bigger purpose in our life, then that purpose ensures that we don't get overwhelmed by the fear. That purpose means that I am ready to tolerate this fear because I want to go and do this. Just like soldiers, when they go on a war field, they are also human beings, they have fear that I may die.
But they have a purpose. I want to protect my country. I want to serve my country.
And that purpose is what helps them to go beyond the fear. So, now when we have the purpose of serving Krishna, we have the purpose of loving Krishna and offering our life and service to Him. Because we have developed our attachment to Him, then that frees us from fear.
Not in the sense that fear goes away, but the control of fear on us doesn't remain. Fear is something which will just be a natural human response to difficult situations. But we won't get controlled by that fear.
The more we become attached to Krishna by the practise of bhakti, the more we will find that our life will be driven by something higher than fear. And then fear won't push us around. It says, if normally if we are going in unfamiliar country or unfamiliar place, we will be a little fearful.
Should I go here? Should I not go there? But what if happens? What if this happens? What if that happens? But if we have some very important work to do there, If say, a mother is found that she has gone for a fair with a child and the child is lost. The mother will search everywhere for the child. Where is my child? Where is my child? Where is my child? Normally a mother may be fearful to go in unfamiliar areas, but here she will go because she has to find the child.
So, it's not that we embrace danger unnecessarily. We are aware of the danger, but when we have the attachment to Krishna, then that purpose supersedes the fear. So, if we keep fighting, No, I will not be afraid.
I will not be afraid. It will not work. Because we cannot fight the negative, especially in the world of emotions.
Why? Because the world of emotions is different from the physical world. Now suppose I come to know that there is something wrong with the battery of this phone and that's why electric current is going through the frame. Now, I may decide, I will get a shock if I touch this.
So, I won't touch it. Now, because it's a physical object outside me, I can decide I will not touch it. But, with respect to mental things, we cannot decide not to think of something.
Psychologists, for example, talk about the pink monkey experiment. They tell people, for the next 30 seconds, please don't think of a pink monkey. Now, throughout the previous 30, 40, 50 years of their life, they may have never thought of a pink monkey.
But in those 30 seconds, they will think about it. So, what happens with respect to the mind, even when you say, I will not think of this, in not thinking of it, we are thinking of it. Or in thinking that I will not think about it, I am thinking about it.
So, thought energy touches that object, if you consider thought energy as an energy which brings contact. So, it touches, even when the decision I will not think of it, we are thinking of it. And that's why resolutions in the negative rarely work.
If I make a resolution, I will not do this, I will not do this, I will not do this, I will not do this. Yes, I may think like that, but slowly, because I am thinking about it again and again and again, the desire will keep coming. No, I will not do it, I will not do it, I will not do it, I will not do it.
We keep saying like that, and the mind will come, and with an eraser, and it will erase the not. I will not do it, I will not do it, I will do it, I will do it. So, if we try to fight against the negative, it doesn't work.
If I say, I will not be fearful, it is very difficult to make that work, because fear will come. But, if we cultivate a positive, we cultivate a positive spiritual attachment, and a positive spiritual purpose based on that attachment, then, the result of that is, the fear is maybe there, but the fear is overshadowed by a higher purpose. One of the devotees, he requested not to mention his name, he is one of the best public speakers in our whole movement, and he told me that before he started practising bhakti, he was afraid to speak in a group of more than 2-3 people.
Just couldn't speak to anyone. Just would become tongue-tied completely. And so, throughout his school, throughout his college, he never spoke in any public speaking, any elocution, even in a group bigger than 3-4 people, he would not speak.
But now, he speaks to hundreds, thousands of people. What has happened? Because now there is a purpose. There is a purpose.
I have Krishna's message, and Krishna wants me to share this message, so I will do that. So, the attachment to Krishna is what gives us a purpose. So, attachment is not abstract, you know, I want to think about Krishna's voice today.
Attachment is practical, it is purposeful. Attachment to Krishna means, we want to share about Krishna with others. So, to the extent we develop this attachment to Krishna, whether it is in terms of direct devotional activities, or whether it is in terms of our routine activities, that purpose of service will help us to deal with the fear.
That's attachment. And the last point would be redirection. So, in redirection, this is greater than the previous point itself, but it's more practical, more at a practical level, that, when I said, we cannot not think of something.
We have to have some alternative to think about. So, if we have to overcome our fear, we need to redirect our thoughts. So, if, say, this floor is inclined in this way, and if water falls on that floor, then automatically the water will flow in this direction.
If I find there is some electronic equipment over here, and then it gets damaged when the water flows over there. So, I don't want the water to flow here. But just by my intention, no, water should not flow here.
It's not going to be enough. Because the floor is inclined that way. When the floor is inclined that way, automatically the water will flow in that direction.
So, if I don't want the water to flow in that direction, what do I have to do? Three things. First is restriction. Create some small wall, some bung, some fence, by which the water will not move in that direction.
Then, there is redirection. The water is flowing this way, physically push it in the other way. But neither of these are lasting solutions.
They are important. I have to make sure that I have some blockage so that the water doesn't flow in this way. Restriction.
Second is, I have to push the water in the other direction. But the lasting solution is reconstruction. It's when we reconstruct the floor so that it is not inclined this way, but it is inclined this way.
Then the water will naturally flow in that direction. So, we could say something similar applies to our mental floor. Now, our mind we can conceive of as a floor.
We also use the word inclination. Sometimes we use the word inclination for a physical ramp which is inclined in a particular way. But we also use inclination for our mind.
I have an inclination for music. I have an inclination for this. That means our thoughts naturally go in that direction.
We habitually and happily can engage in that activity. So, for many of us, if our mental floor is inclined in a particular way, our thoughts will flow in that direction automatically. So, if we have been fearful about certain things, then whenever a particular problem comes up, fear will come at that time.
So, if we have been habitually afraid about money or about loss in relationships or about loss of faith in particular interactions or whatever it is our particular fear. So, when that particular stimulation comes, the fear will naturally come. So, the mental floor is inclined in a particular way.
So, what do we do at that time? First is restriction. So, if something causes us fear, at a practical level, we have to deal with it so that the fear does not get excessive control over us. So, the water will flow in this direction but we don't let it flow too much.
So, there is a physical restriction. But more important is reconstruction. So, the whole process of Bhakti Yoga is meant to change the direction of our mental flooring so that our mental floor gets inclined towards Krishna and inclined towards service to Krishna.
So, when we are talking about fear and how to deal with fear, at one level, we can decide that if my thoughts are flowing in this direction but I want my thoughts to flow in this direction, how do I do it? Association is extremely important. When you talk about reconstruction of the floor, how does it work? It's through association. If somebody is very afraid of swimming and then they associate with somebody who enjoys swimming, this person is afraid to even go near the water but the other person just runs to the water and jumps into the water and you see that person enjoying swimming and you say, come on inside.
No, no, no, I can't come. Come! No, no, no, I can't come. That person comes out and pulls.
Hey, what are you doing? Person flaps about. Hey, it's not that difficult. The person gets some training and starts swimming.
So, for us, say, for a person who is afraid of swimming, the natural inclination of the consciousness is I don't want to go towards the water. That's the direction. But association can pull us in that direction.
So, same way, association is very powerful in helping us to overcome our default emotions. They can be fear, they can be anger, whatever it is, which we want to overcome. So, by associating with those who are free from fear, or those who have overcome that fear, that association can inspire us to also start the process of reconstruction.
Now, when we talk about association, what does it actually mean? At one level, it's physical proximity. We come together with each other. That's association.
But association is much more than that. The essence of association is the transfer of desires. At the start of the Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna was saying, I can't fight.
He was fearful. What will happen if I fight? He was seeing fear in both ways. One way was, he thought, if I fight, then, if I fight, I'll kill my loved ones, and that will cause me sinful reactions.
He said, I can't do that. One fear is there. But if I don't fight, then they will fight and kill me.
And not only me, they will kill my loved ones. That is also fearful. But if we just leave the battlefield, then we will have to live in poverty, and not just I, my loved ones will have to live in poverty, and we will all be derided as cowards.
That is also fearful. So he saw fear in all directions. And when he heard the message of the Bhagavad Gita, his vision was lifted up.
That it is not just I versus them. It is primarily between me and Krishna. It is not between me and that person, it is between me and Krishna.
And I am meant to serve Krishna. And in this particular situation, the way I should serve Krishna is by doing my duty as a Kshatriya. As a Maharshian guardian of society, I have to protect society from those who are disrupting the social and spiritual order within society.
And with that mode of service, when he fought, his determination was restored. He overcame the fear. And the end of the Bhagavad Gita was, Arjuna's resolution is, I will do your will.
That means Arjuna actually overcame his fear. And the result was that Krishna's desire became Arjuna's desire. So that's how Arjuna associated with Krishna, that the desire was transferred.
Similarly for us, association means the transfer of desires. And this especially is vital for spiritual things. Because at a material level, many of the things that we do, they look attractive.
And we may do those things because they look attractive. But when it comes to developing an attachment to Krishna, by which we will overcome our fear, we have to redirect our consciousness for that purpose, then association is important because many of the devotional activities related with Krishna may not appear to us to be very attractive. Say for example, we have Bhagavad Gita.
Yes, I know Bhagavad Gita. It's a pious, it's a good book. You know, I used to recite some verses in my childhood.
And many people take Bhagavad Gita as it is, and then they keep it as it is. They just don't read it. But suppose when we come in the association of devotees, and some devotees relishing the Bhagavad Gita, quoting the verses, explaining the verses, we can see the devotees enlivened by the Gita's message.
Hey, all this is there in the Gita? I didn't know this. I also want to read it. So what has happened? The association stimulated the desire.
So our desires are not just linear. They are also triangular. Triangular means that it is not just that we observe the object and we get the desire.
That may happen in some situations. Say, if we see a new phone. Hey, this phone looks so attractive.
I want this phone. We want to buy the phone. We see somebody eating a gulab jamun.
I also want a gulab jamun. We get a desire. But quite often, the desire is not just linear, it is triangular.
Triangular means we see somebody else doing a particular activity, and seeing them do that activity gives us the desire to do that activity. Suppose, we go to some foreign country, and there they are serving some food item. We have never heard about it.
It looks also a little strange. We think, should I take it or should I not take it? And then a friend goes there and says, give it to me. The friend takes it.
The friend is in ecstasy. Is he so good? I want so much. Give it to me.
We also take it at that time. So, what has happened? Seeing that object did not create the desire. But seeing someone else enjoying that object created the desire.
The desire was not just linear, it was triangular. So, similarly with respect to devotional activities, the desires are often triangular. So, when we see somebody doing kirtan, when we see somebody worshipping the deities, then we get the desire, I also want to do this.
So, for us the redirection primarily happens through association. When we see devotees whose hearts are redirected towards Krishna, and by that redirection they have been able to go beyond fear, then we are also able to overcome fear by their association. So, the practical way to overcome fear and to strengthen our faith in Krishna, our attachment to Krishna by which we can overcome fear is by having the association of those who have overcome that fear.
To the extent we work at a practical level for raising our consciousness upwards towards Krishna through the association of devotees, to that extent our fear will decrease. In the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, we often see great warriors who are ready to risk their lives and who are able to just act completely fearlessly. But is it that they have no fear at all? When Abhimanyu is killed on the 13th day, at that time on the 14th morning, on the 13th night only Arjuna decides, tomorrow I will kill Jayadrath or I will enter into fire.
So, at that time, when Arjuna takes this vow, all the Pandavas get enlivened. And they all decide, they make a plan, how we will deal with this tomorrow, how we will execute this tomorrow. But afterwards, as Krishna and Arjuna are departing, Krishna tells Arjuna, Arjuna, you took a very hasty vow.
You didn't consult me and it's going to be extremely difficult tomorrow to overcome the whole Kaurava army because the Kauravas arranged for their whole army to defend Jayadrath. So then Arjuna is fearless. He says, Krishna, I cannot understand your anxiety.
He says, Krishna, you know my power and I know your power. So what is there to fear? So, this is the basis of a devotee's faith. That is, Krishna says, Arjuna, Krishna, you know my power.
That means, if Krishna puts us in a particular situation, Krishna arranges for us to have a particular service, Krishna knows our capacity, Krishna knows our power and Krishna will not put us in situations which will be impossible for us to deal with. Krishna will not make us face fears that we can't deal with. Krishna knows our power and we know Krishna's power.
Krishna is omnipotent. So, yes, we may have difficult situations in our life. But when these difficult situations come, at that time, if we focus on Krishna and we try to connect with Krishna, that connection will give us security.
That connection will give us strength. That doesn't mean the fear will go away. But the connection with Krishna will give us a sense of strength and purpose that will make the fear smaller than what it would otherwise be.
So the devotees, people talk about, you should be fearless, you should have self-confidence, you should have courage. Yes, all that is good. But the best way to get all these is by developing a solid connection with Krishna.
To the extent we have a connection with Krishna, to that extent, the fears will not overpower us. Rather, the power of Krishna will help us to go beyond the fear. So I'll summarise and then we can have question-answers.
I talked today about overcoming our fears. How do we go about doing it? I talked about two main things, about attachment and redirection. So in attachment, I talked about how whatever we are attached to, that shapes our emotions, including our fears.
Most of the things we are attached to are external to us. And that's why the possibility of their loss causes us great fear, agitation and fear. So normally attachment leads to fear, that's why we are told to become detached.
But we cannot be entirely detached. To be conscious means to be desirous. So the Bhagavad Gita talks about becoming attached to Krishna.
Because Krishna is inside us, is always with us, so attachment to Krishna means that it causes not fear, but it gives us shelter. Because he is always with us. So Prabhupada is an example of fearlessness coming from being attached to Krishna.
Although he had nothing, none of the things which normally give security to us, but still he was secure in his relationship with Krishna. So attachment to Krishna is not just something abstract, it's a sentimental remembrance. Attachment means purposeful service.
So fear is overcome not just by fighting fear, but by invoking a purpose greater than fear. In the mental world we cannot think of something, because in not thinking of something we are thinking of it. But in the mental world we can think of something positive.
So when we have the purpose of serving Krishna, then that purpose will help us to overcome the fears. And with respect to redirection, fears will naturally come because our mental floor is inclined in a particular way. So we need to reconstruct that mental floor.
And even if fear comes, we redirect our thoughts and the primary redirection happens through association. Our desires are not just linear, they are triangular. So by associating with those who are attached to Krishna and those who have overcome the fear, then we also can overcome our fears.
And for us as devotees, the way to become fearless is by becoming absorbed in Krishna. That absorption in Krishna is what will be the source of the greatest security. And even when fear comes, that fear will not overpower us because we will have the power of Krishna with us.
So Krishna knows our power. With that understanding we don't get overwhelmed when big problems come because we know Krishna will not put us in a situation we can't deal with. And then we know Krishna's power.
Even if the situation is beyond us, Krishna will give us the power to deal with it. And thus, we can, by the connection with Krishna, learn to face our fears and gradually overcome them. So this last part about redirection, reconstruction, I will talk in tomorrow's session, and the day after tomorrow's session, the last part will be primarily question and answer on Sunday.
I will be talking about four steps which we can practically do. F-E-A-R is another acronym. Focus, Engage, Arise and Realise.
By which we can connect with Krishna in a practical way and thereby become beyond our fears. Thank you very much. Are there any questions or comments? Should I take these questions first? Yes, first we will address these questions.
We will see them after the programme. Okay, fine. So, in the Bhagavad Gita it is said that yajna comes from prescribed duties and then that leads to rains.
So in western countries, where there are non-Vedic cultures, there is ample rainfall. What karma have they done? What yajna have they done? In Muslim countries, they have been doing prescribed duties in their own way. But still there is not much rainfall.
So why is that? When the Bhagavad Gita gives us some principles, we have to understand the overall world view within which these principles are talked about. It is not that yajna is, it's not just, you light a fire over there, rains come over there. It's not like that.
There is a principle being talked about over here. The principle is, there is a system of cosmic cooperation in the world. The Bhagavad Gita explains that there are multiple levels of reality.
The world we live in is one level of reality. This is terrestrial. Above this is celestial.
That is where devatas live. And then above that is transcendental, where Krishna, Vishnu lives. So between the celestial and the terrestrial, there is cooperation.
And that cooperation means that just as there is a government in every state, there is a universal government. And just as when we stay in a particular government, we have certain duties towards that government. We pay some taxes, we pay some bills.
And by those, the government provides us some facilities. Just as we have water supply, we have electricity supply. We pay the bills and then we get those supplies.
So like that in the universal government, the concept is that we have to offer some remittances to the universal government. And those remittances are in the form of Duryodhana. So yagya is not just a fire sacrifice.
It is not just a particular form of prescribed duty. It is essentially the mood of living in harmony with the universal government. So that is the broad principle.
Now having understood this principle, we also recognise that on the earth, there are different places which are associated with different karmas. That means a particular place is very earthquake prone. Say Japan is earthquake prone.
Now what does that mean? That means that by the arrangement of the overall karma, by the overall arrangement of the cosmic government, actually those souls who are meant to live in that particular situation, in an earthquake prone situation, they are born over there. So similarly, there are countries where the weather is very comfortable. Some places the weather is very uncomfortable.
So people who are born there, that means those souls have done a particular kind of karma by which they are born there. So that's why certain places may have certain atmospheres. Now it's not that those atmospheres are determined only by the past.
The present also shapes things. So for example, certain places there may be shortage of one resource but there may be abundance of another resource. So rather than thinking of rains only as water, we have to see the system of cosmic cooperation and see that the supplies of natural resources are provided for.
So here water may be less but here fuel is there. That's an abundance supply. Somebody else, somewhere else, something else may be less but something else may be more.
So the karma overall balances itself. By our past karma we are put in certain situations, certain places where certain resources are less and certain resources are more. And our part is that we understand the principle of cosmic cooperation and we harmonise with that.
Now in the western world, yes we could say naturally there has been prosperity over there but the world goes through phases. So if people do not live harmoniously, if you see America, we may consider America as a materialistic country but America is a very religious country. In fact America is considered to be one of the most religious countries in the western world.
And Europe is relatively much more godless. America that way is much more religious as compared to other countries. Now the exact form of religion that they practise will be vain but the principle is that there is some level of god consciousness there.
So rather than getting into specifics, we understand the principle that wherever we are we need to harmonise with the cosmic government and that's how our needs will be provided for. So what is actually one's dharma? How does dharma lead to artha? There are four purusharthas, dharma, artha, kama, moksha. And these four purusharthas, that means four goals of human life, of human beings.
So now it's not that dharma, artha, kama, moksha are necessarily linear. They are linear in one way but they are also parallel. That means that when a person lives virtuously, it's not just dharma in terms of doing religious activities.
Religious activity is one thing. But if we understand dharma in an inclusive way, we understand that we have our prescribed duties in life, that is also dharma. So when we engage in our occupational duty, whatever it may be, responsibly, that leads to artha.
But when we talk about dharma leading to artha, it is doing our prescribed duty in a responsible and honourable way. There are some people who may do their duties in a cheating, manipulative and exploitative way and they may also get artha by that. But that dharma, they are not doing dharma, they are getting artha, but they are doing adharma.
And that is going to cause severe karmic bondage in future. So dharma will lead to artha in a way that will lead to fulfilment if one does dharma properly. Otherwise if one gets artha in some other way, then that artha will become the cause of ananda.
The artha will become the cause of more and more vice coming in people's life and more and more distress coming in people's life. So we focus primarily on learning what is the purpose of life and dharma helps us to understand and live according to that purpose and artha, kama, we also harmonise accordingly. So how can I know whether my attachment to Krishna is a genuine attachment or it is a mental concoction? The key test is in terms of what is the result of that attachment.
Is it increasing my service to Krishna or is it increasing my sense that I am a special person, everybody should respect me. Once a person came to Prabhupada and said, he told Prabhupada, Prabhupada, Krishna came in my dream yesterday. Prabhupada said, alright, then serve him today.
Yes, Krishna came in your dream. It is good if he has come in the dream. But what after that? Our eternal relationship with Krishna is in the mood of service to him.
So that is what is defining. So if we have attachment to Krishna, we have to see what is the result of that attachment. Is it inspiring me to serve Krishna more and more? Is it inspiring me to practically mould my life centred on Krishna? Then that means my attachment is spiritually conducive.
Otherwise I am thinking, oh, I like to hear about this pastime, I like to think about this, I imagine I am with Krishna in Vrindavan. And all that may be at a sentimental level, it is not at a transformational level. So the test is, what is the result of that attachment? If it is increasing our service and our service attitude, then it is bona fide.
It is auspicious. So we all have different karma phala, which dictate us in different modes. And under the circumstances, how can we develop firm faith in Krishna? Wherever we are, Krishna is there with us.
We may be in the deep mode of ignorance, but Krishna is still with us, wherever we are. So we have to find out, based on my past upbringing, my past impressions, my modes, if this is my circle of interest right now, and this is the circle of Krishna bhakti, where is the intersection between the two? And we situate ourselves in that intersection. Sometimes finding that intersection is easy.
I like music, and in bhakti there is music. So I situate myself over there. And from that one place, the connection develops.
And as the connection starts developing, it moves on and on and on. And then it grows. So that finding, that intersection zone, requires some creativity.
Requires some openness to exploration. So I was in America, in Columbus, Ohio, and there one devotee couple, they came and said, our son, he is brilliant in his academics, he is brilliant at robotics, but he has no interest in bhakti. He has no interest in spirituality.
So what can we do? And I talk with him, he is a small boy, maybe 8-10 years old, but he has won national level competitions in robotics. So then, I suggested to him that, next robotics competition, what are you planning to make? So he had made some robo, various kinds of robos he had made. So I told him, if you want to make something special, which most other students will not make, that is, you can make a robo of Krishna speaking the Bhagavad Gita.
And you can make a robo of Arjuna asking questions, Krishna giving answers. You can make two robos. Initially he was not interested, but he thought about it.
And nobody else will do anything like this. And then he picked up that idea. And then, to have Krishna and Arjuna making the robo, to have the conversation, he started reading the Bhagavad Gita, to know what is this all about.
So, what we have to do is, we have to find out that circle of intersection. And that is where our bhakti will become steady. And gradually from that one intersection point, we'll see there is some taste over here, some strength over here, some nice experience I get over here.
From there it will expand. So we can't overnight develop faith in Krishna. We can't overnight develop attachment to Krishna.
But we can start from where we are. We have the faith that wherever we are, Krishna is also there. We just have to discover that.
And from there, we raise ourselves upward towards Krishna. Any other questions? Can faith in Krishna and material life co-exist? In fact, it is in material life especially that we need faith in Krishna. In spiritual life, we already have Krishna with us.
If we are with Krishna in the spiritual world, Krishna is not a matter of faith. Krishna is a matter of immediate experience reality. Of course, faith is there.
But there is no challenge in having faith at that time. Because we are seeing Krishna, we are seeing Krishna's marvellous activities, then faith in Krishna is very natural. So when we talk about faith in Krishna and material life co-existing, quite often it may seem that if I have faith in Krishna, then do I need to at all do my material life? Do I need to be responsible in my material life? Or should I just depend on everything on Krishna? Yes, that question comes from a fragmented understanding of Krishna.
We think Krishna is there, Krishna Bhakti is here and this is the rest of my life. So how can this exist? Now in 18.46 in the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna says, yatha pravrtir bhutanaam yena sarvam idam tatam svakarmanatam abhyarcha siddhim vindatim anava He says, yatha pravrtir bhutanaam, from whom the whole world has come, yena sarvam idam tatam, by whom the whole world is pervaded, svakarmanatam abhyarcha, by your work, worshipping, siddhim vindatim anava, by doing this you will attain perfection. This means that actually Krishna is showing us his connection with the world.
The world has come from him and the world is pervaded by him. And thus when we work in this world, we can work in a mood of worship to him. So when we are doing what we normally call as a material life, if we see, okay, I have certain talents, certain abilities, where do those abilities come from? Paurusham Nrishu.
Krishna says, I am ability in people. So our ability with which we do service is coming from Krishna. Then whatever situation we are in, this whole world is pervaded by Krishna's presence.
So if we have this inclusive understanding of Krishna Bhakti, then our faith in Krishna will not be seen as something separate from or contradictory to our material life. Our faith in Krishna will include our material life in it. Because we will see even our material life as a means for serving Krishna, as a means of connecting with Krishna and we will do even our material responsibilities diligently.
Not disproportionately excessively, not getting obsessed about it. But whatever we do, we will do it diligently. So our faith in Krishna will be that, okay, this is my work and this is my time for working.
During this time, I will work wholeheartedly. But I will not be compulsively worried about this. There are people who today become workaholics.
They are just constantly working, working, working, working. Now that workaholism is not good. But just irresponsibility and going to other extremes is also not good.
As devotees, we understand my work is one way I am going to serve Krishna. So I will do that service responsibly. And then are there other ways in which I serve Krishna? At other times, I will do those.
So in this way, if we have an inclusive understanding of Krishna, then material life, then faith in Krishna will be something which will be operating reality even in our material life. Any other? Okay. Now we will conclude this class, but you are going to speak about the team, you know? Yeah.
I have to stand out a bit. Hare Krishna. We have some other things we have to do actually.