From material detachment to spiritual attachment – Ignorance Tolerance Transcendence Immanence

[Congregation program at Hartford, USA]

And I will speak primarily based on The flow of the Bhagavad Gita From the sixth chapter Especially Till the Eighth and ninth chapters The Bhagavad Gita Is Both A dramatic book And a deep book It starts With a very dramatic setting When we see A warrior About to fight The biggest war of his life And at that time Becomes overwhelmed by indecision And starts getting Confused Should I fight Or should I not fight And If The Bhagavad Gita had been simply About Whether Arjuna should fight the war Or he should not fight the war Then It would not have had Much interest For millions for millennia Arjuna Takes that situation Of whether he should fight or not fight And Asks a very universal question In 2.7 When Arjuna surrenders to Krishna He asks the question पृच्चामित्वाम् धर्मसमूरजेतः पृच्चामित्वाम् I am asking you What am I asking? Dharma I am asking you About Dharma The word Dharma Is very multivalent Multivalent means It has many meanings So Dharma can The Bhagavad Gita itself uses the word Dharma In three different senses Dharma can refer to nature So Prabhupada In the introduction of the Bhagavad Gita Talks about how Dharma refers to our innate nature Dharma of sugar Is to be sweet Dharma of salt Is to be saltish So everything has its innate nature And So all of us also have our nature So Dharma At its most fundamental level Refers to nature Dharma Also refers To duty And it also refers To religion So How are these related? There is Dharma I will talk about this as we move forwards But I will summarise here There is That which is the soul's nature At the spiritual level And that is our eternal Dharma At the same time We are presently in this world And while we are in this world We have certain duties Which we need to perform To live harmoniously And fruitfully In the world So that could be said to be In general Our duties So Varanashram Dharma Was a way in the tradition Where people had their different duties So Dharma can refer to the duties That we do In this world And Arjuna also talks about this In the first chapter When he says Kula Dharma Sanatana There is Kula Dharma There is dynastic duty Which I am to perform How can I give it up? So there is Kula Dharma There are various duties which we have Say if we live in a particular country Then there are the rules of the country Which people have to follow If they don't follow There will be disruption That is also Dharma So Dharma basically Is that which harmonises us With nature So there is a natural setting we are in If it's cold weather Then we need to Wear appropriate clothes That is what harmonises us with that So we exist presently At material consciousness So we The activities that help us To harmonise With our material situation That is also Dharma And there are activities Which take us From material consciousness To spiritual consciousness That is also Dharma So Dharma We are spiritual beings We are at material level right now So at the highest level Dharma is that which Is our soul's eternal nature At a present level Dharma has two aspects One is the duties that help us To live harmoniously in this world The second is The duties that help us To rise from material level To spiritual level And by this gradually We will attain Sanatana Dharma Now Arjuna Is caught in a dilemma At the start of the Bhagavad Gita Should he fight Or should he not fight And why is he caught in this dilemma? A few Couple of years ago On Gita Jayanti I was invited To a Hindu organisation Which was having some Programme in the Gita So they asked me To speak over there But before that Some children were reciting The Bhagavad Gita verses And while they were reciting So They came to recitation Of some selected verses And when they were reciting 18.66 They recited So What is the verse actually? Yeah So they did So I asked them Why did they do like this? So they said That actually You know Krishna has come To establish Dharma They said in 4.8 So I come to establish Dharma So if Krishna has come To establish Dharma How can he tell us To give up Dharma? So therefore Their argument was They quoted some scholar Who said Actually over the centuries When the Bhagavad Gita Was written down Again and again Some replicator Of the Bhagavad Gita He forgot to put A over there So it should have been Sarva Dharmaan But They made it Sarva Dharmaan So now we are putting back The A over there Now This might seem like A reasonable idea But actually This neglects The context of the Gita See Arjuna is a very Virtuous person And he has no interest Actually for him Adharma is not an option He is actually At the start of the Bhagavad Gita Caught between two Dharmas There is his Kula Dharma And there is his Kshatriya Dharma His Kula Dharma is that He is a member of The Kuru dynasty Kuru Kula And he is to protect The members of the dynasty And his Kshatriya Dharma Is that Those who are aggressors Those who are disruptors Of society They need to be punished So now which of these Two duties Is prominent? Which of these Should he choose? That is his question That's why he is asking I want to know What is Dharma? I want to know And in order to know What is Dharma The whole Bhagavad Gita Is spoken So Arjuna's question Is not just Should I fight Or should I not fight? So if he thinks My primary duty Is as a member Of the Kuru dynasty If I think My primary identity Is as a Kuru Nandanam Then I should protect My relatives And I should not fight against them But if I think That my primary duty Is as a Kshatriya My primary identity Is as a Kshatriya Then I have to fight Against those who are Disrupting the social order Even if they be my relatives This is the dilemma Before Arjuna At the start of the Gita And how does Krishna Resolve this dilemma? Krishna tells Arjuna Sarvat Harman Parityaja Give up all dharmas Now When Shila Prabhupada Came to America He would say About the hippies They had also done Sarvat Harman Parityaja They had given up Their duties To their families They had given up Their duties Even to their own careers Their nation But Prabhupada said I came and taught them How to do Mam Ekam Sharanam Rajam Just Sarvat Harman Parityaja Alone is not enough To give up duties Is easy But Krishna is not Just telling Arjuna To abandon duty He is saying Mam Ekam Sharanam Rajam Surrender to me alone Which means Sometimes In this world We can get too caught Should I do this Or should I do that So if we Move back To our fundamental identity I am a servant of Krishna And I am meant To serve Krishna So Arjuna is wondering Am I a Kshatriya Who is meant to fight Or am I a Kulandana Who I am to protect My Kuru members Krishna tells Arjuna You are neither You are a soul And as a soul You are My part You are my servant So act For my service And specifically In that particular Situation for Arjuna The way he could serve Was by fighting So he took up His Kshatriya Dharma At that time But Arjuna's Conclusion Reveals his Transcendental Understanding When Arjuna Consents At the end of the Bhagavad Gita Arjuna doesn't say I will fight He says In 18.73 He states that I will do Your will This means That for him He is not Identifying himself As a Kshatriya Who I have To fight He is thinking I am a soul And I am a part Of Krishna So I will Do Krishna's Will So in that sense The Bhagavad Gita Is encouraging us To develop This understanding Of Ourselves As Spiritual beings As parts of Krishna And to serve Him accordingly So There can be Various levels At which we function Now Krishna Starts speaking To Arjuna As if Arjuna Is in material Consciousness And then takes him to Higher and higher Spiritual Consciousness So initially We all may have Some material Attachments I want to Do this I want to Achieve this I want to Get this So Now all these Come from our Desires To control And enjoy The world And these Often lead To anxiety And misery Because when I want Something to Work out In a particular way And if it Doesn't work out Then I feel Irritated A few months ago There was In cricket There was this Champions Trophy India Pakistan Final was there So India lost Quite badly Over there So one Upcoming devotee Told me That after that Match I couldn't Sleep for three Nights How could India Lose that match So I just Couldn't sleep So what has Happened now That devotee Says in India The Champions Trophy Happening And the match Is already over But Because of That attachment The mind Stays Stuck over there And because Of that One experiences Anxiety What will Happen What will Happen What will Happen And then If things Don't work out The way we Want There is Misery So at the Material level Often We are Attached And when we Are attached We don't even Know The nature Of this world And because of that We Stay Very vulnerable To misery At any time Say somebody Who Is Staying in a Flood prone Area Then They need to be aware Some floods May come over here So we have to be Prepared for it So if they are Not even aware That this is a Flood prone area When the danger Comes Then They will be Caught napping They will not Know what to do I just came From Florida And A few weeks Ago Florida Was reeling Because of the Hurricane Irma And There Because the Warnings had Come earlier So People were prepared Some people Left Southern Florida Others Had adequate Reserves Kept For them So now The nature Of the world Is that Things here Are temporary And if we Are not aware Of this nature Then We become Attached And we expect That things Will stay The way I want them to be And when they Don't stay That way We get frustrated So We can Talk about Spiritual growth In four levels First is Ignorance We just don't Know What is what We don't know The nature Of this world And we think If something Happens in my Life in future If I just Get this If I just Get this job If I just Get this house If I just Get this car If I just Get this iPhone Whatever it is Then My life Will be happy Now Yes Certain situations Can make Certain things Better When I go To colleges And speak I often speak On the topic Of managing Anxiety And Sociologists Say that Nowadays People are Suffering from What is Called as The anxiety Epidemic So Modern world Is suffering From that And the Curious thing About this Anxiety epidemic Is that Often Anxiety levels Are more In the Developed countries Than the Developing countries Although In the Developing countries There are More Uncertainties But still Somehow The anxiety Levels are More in the Developed countries And not Only that For many People Who emigrate From a Developing country To a Developed country Their material Prosperity improves But still Their anxiety Levels also Go up It happens So What exactly Is happening Normally We would think That Ya If there is More security There is more Prosperity Then anxiety Would go down Yes That can happen But that Won't happen If Along with The increase In the material Security And the increase In the material Prosperity If there is an Increase in material Attachment Because The anxiety And the misery Is caused by An attachment The more I think Things should work Out like this Then When things Don't work out Like that I get worried And then I get Frustrated So Anxiety Anxiety And misery Are the results Of Attachment Any kind of Attachment That I have It results in Anxiety and misery Chintam Aparineyamcha Pralayantam Upashyataha Kamo Pabhog Barama Eta Vaditi Nishchitaha The 16.11 In the Bhagavad Gita Krishna states that Chintam Aparineyamcha Immeasurable Anxiety Pralayantam Upashyataha Till the Moment of death That results When Kamo Pabhog Barama When one Thinks that Enjoying worldly Objects Barama One thing This is Life's Supreme Goal Eta Vaditi Nishchitaha Prabhupada Translates this as Such people Have decided that Sensual enjoyment Is life's Prime Necessity So for Them There is Anxiety And there is Misery So yes If we have the Resources We can improve Our material Security We can improve Our material Prosperity There is nothing Intrinsically wrong In that But to think That this alone Will make us Happy That won't Happen If the Increase in Material Security And increase In material Prosperity Leads to Increase in Material Attachment Then No matter how Much security And prosperity We have Still we will Have anxiety And misery So that's why What we need Is Also spiritual Growth So when There is Ignorance About the Nature of Material Reality Then no matter How much Security And prosperity Comes Still there will be Anxiety And misery So this brings us To the next level So I'll be talking In terms of Four levels here Ignorance Tolerance Transcendence And Immanence So Ignorance Is When we don't Know This is a Flood prone Area And when the Flood comes It just catches Us This overwhelms Us Then .

So this is the Level of material Attachment Then Sometimes When We Become a Little more Mature Then We come to The level of Tolerance Tolerance Means Safe Hurricane Has come And The power Has gone off Floods Have come I was staying At one devotees House And they Had a Big house But When the Flood Came When the Hurricane Came The power Supply Went off And the Electricity And the Water Went off It was Luxurious House But It was helpless At that time So sometimes With the Best of Arrangements It just Works out But With that Things go Wrong So at this Stage It's the Next thing That is Required Tolerance Tolerance When we Use it In spiritual Circles Is often Different From the Way we Use it In the Social World Today Normally In social World We use The word Tolerance In the Context of Religious Tolerance That there Are different Religions Which have Different Ideas And we Need to Tolerate Each Other Now Yes That means Some religions May have Certain Beliefs Certain Practises Which Don't agree With us But We don't Try to Crush them We Don't Try to Eliminate Them We Tolerate Them So Tolerance Implies That there Is something Which is Which is Not pleasant Which is Not something That we Like But We are Ready to Live With it So In that Sense Tolerance When Krishna Talks About it Has that Connotation Krishna Says In the Bhagavad Gita In 2.14 Matras Parishas Tukam Deya Sheetoshna Sukha Dukha Daham Agama Paino Nityas Tam Sthitikshas It Has a Beginning Has a End And It is Temporary So Knowing the Temporary Nature of Things Can help Us To Tolerate Those Things So When There is No Power When There is No Water Supply It Is Irritating But It is Not Going to Be Permanent Yes The Government Is Working The Power Will Come Back After Some Time So Knowing That Things Are Temporary Helps Us To Tolerate The Unfavourable So Tolerance Is One Higher Level Where Instead Of Ignorance The Floods Have Come And I Prepare How Do I Prepare If I Could Not Go Away In Tolerating Something Becomes Difficult When We Have Assumed That We Should Be Able To Control It So If There Is The Assumption Of Controllership Then It Becomes Very Difficult To Tolerate So The Soul Is Situated In Three Circles One Is The Circle Of The Body Mind Then The Circle Of Society And Third Is The Circle Of Nature Material Nature So And From All These Three Circles The Soul Can Get Distress So In The Body Mind We Can Get Diseases From The Society We Can Get Diseases Mosquitoes Mujahideen And Mother-In-Laws So When The People Around Us Create Trouble That Is Adi-Bhauti Klesha And Then We Are Also In Nature So We Can Get Diseases The Can Get Diseases We Can We Can Diseases From The Society And We Can Get Diseases From Can Get Diseases The Society From The We Can Get Diseases And Then Can Get Diseases From The So, it is relatively speaking, if the weather becomes very hostile, if suddenly it starts snowing, suddenly there is a hurricane, it's inconvenient, it's irritating, but we understand this is beyond my control. Just that admission that it is beyond my control brings about tolerance. Similarly, if you fall sick, if I get a flu and I was supposed to travel somewhere but I am just so weak I can't even get out of bed, it's again frustrating, but I understand that I am helpless, I can't do anything.

So there is tolerance which comes when we recognise our helplessness, but quite often this tolerance is much more difficult when it comes with people, because often we assume that people should listen to us, that people should obey us, I told you to do like this, why didn't you do it, and that's why when we expect someone to do something and we are not able to do it and they don't do it and that causes a lot of frustration. So, almost every relationship that we develop, it gives us one realisation and that realisation is we are not the controllers, because we expect people to do something in a particular way and a parent expects the children to obey them and as the children grow up, maybe it's because the children are small, they obey, but when they come to their teenager years, parents wonder what happened to my sweet little boy, what happened to my sweet little girl, where has she gone, who is this person who has come in his place, it appears that some new person has come over there. Actually, it's just a phase in which the children are trying to discover their own identity, they will mature, but the point is, again, if there is no tolerance, then there is tremendous agitation.

So, one reason for tolerance could just be helplessness. When the storm comes, I'm helpless, so I can't do anything, so I'll tolerate it. A slightly higher level for motivation of tolerance is knowledge.

It's come, I'm helpless, but it's temporary. So, it will come, it will go. So, some people are moody, some people just suddenly get angry or suddenly get depressed.

So, when we are with them, we just tolerate it and then after sometime they come back to normal. So, that is tolerance, which is based on knowledge, but a higher level of tolerance, higher motivation or inspiration for tolerance is purification. Krishna says, in the next verse, it's 2.13, he says, In 2.14, he states that, If you can tolerate like this, don't get agitated about it, then what will happen? Latin immortality.

So, actually, by tolerating the material, we become purified of the material. And then we rise to the spiritual. That brings us to the third level, transcendence.

But before I go into transcendence, I'd like to just make one more point. Now, Krishna talks about tolerating not just dukkha, he talks about tolerating even sukha. Now, what does it mean tolerating sukha? Now, we look forward to sukha.

Yes, enjoyable things, we will tolerate. What do you tolerate? I am enjoying. So, here, tolerance is a slightly different sense.

Tolerance, Krishna talks about this in 5.23, little later. 5.22 is the well-known verse where Krishna says, Material pleasures lead to distress. So, since that sense enjoyment leads to misery, Yoni means womb.

Just like when the womb of a child is there, it is going to be delivered. So, like that Krishna says, in sensual pleasure, the sensual pleasure is the womb of misery. And misery is going to be delivered from it.

And interestingly, the Acharyas describe that the question that comes in Arjuna's mind after hearing 2.13 and after hearing 5.22 is similar. In 2.13, Krishna has told, you are not the body, you are the soul. And your loved ones, Bhishma, Drona, they are also not your body.

They are not the body, they are the soul. But Arjuna says, but still, I feel affection for them. If they are killed, I will feel distress.

Krishna says, tolerate. Tolerate. So, similarly, Arjuna, on 5.22 when Krishna says that, actually, that sense enjoyment leads to misery, Arjuna says, I know it, Krishna, but still I get sensual desires.

What do I do? And Krishna's answer is, in 5.23, Krishna says, if it is possible for you to tolerate, till you leave this body, because of desire and because of anger, some urges will come. If you tolerate them. Such a person is Yuktaha.

Yuktaha is a variant of Yoga. Yoga, Yogi and Yuktaha. These three words are related.

Krishna says, you will be situated in Yoga. You will be situated in spiritual connection. And you will be happy.

So, what Krishna is saying over here is, that tolerate even the desires when they come. So, that means, sometimes something will promise us pleasure. And when it promises us pleasure, yes, I want to do it more.

Some food tastes good. Yes, I want to eat it more. Now, Krishna is not telling us that we have to deny the human emotions.

If somebody cooks nice prasad, and then, how was the prasad? He says, I am transcendental to all tastes. You don't have to be like that. Actually, prasadam is Krishna.

So, if somebody, yes, if it is cold, yes, we can say it is cold. If it is hot, it is hot. But, it is not that in the name of spirituality, we have to deny our human perceptions or our human emotions.

It is that our actions are not determined only by our perceptions or emotions. Yes, it is hot or it is cold. But if I have a service to do, I will do it.

So, Krishna says, yes, we will feel the desires. It is not that you can suddenly wish away the desires. But if you understand that these desires are not good for me, then I will not do that.

So, this is tolerance. So, tolerance at one level is to unfavourable circumstances which come in our life. To the distresses that come in our life.

But when Krishna is saying, tolerate pleasure means that even when something is pleasurable, if it is not good for us, we don't indulge in it. And even if it is good for us, we indulge in it in regulation. So, Krishna says, if you can tolerate like this, then we will be able to transcend.

So, going back to the earlier example of cricket. Now, if somebody says that, if sometimes when India loses a cricket match, because India is cricket match, sometimes people break their TVs. People get frustrated.

India is such a stupid team. I am never going to watch cricket match again. And then next time a cricket match comes, immediately they go and log in and start watching once again.

So, what has happened over here? Actually, it is that frustration alone doesn't lead to renunciation. What leads to renunciation is realisation. Not frustration.

Frustration is fine if it points us to explore something higher. But frustration alone doesn't lead to realisation. So, what is the difference between frustration and renunciation? Frustration means, oh, I am not getting it.

I want it, but I am not getting it. Renunciation means, I don't want it. The two are very different things.

A few years ago, one young man came to me and he said, I am thinking of becoming a brahmachari. And he said that by this weekend I will be deciding. Now, he had not been coming very regularly to the temple.

He had not been a very serious devotee. I started wondering why he wanted to become a brahmachari. And I asked him, what is going to happen by this weekend? He said, I have proposed to my girlfriend.

So, if she rejects my proposal, I will become a brahmachari. So, that is not the purpose or the platform for renunciation. Frustration is, renunciation means, I don't want it.

Frustration means, I want it, but I am not getting it. So, when Krishna is talking about tolerance, the tolerance comes by actually transcendence. So, if we are too caught with worldly desires.

So, if somebody says, oh, if India wins a cricket match, I am so happy, I enjoy, I party with my friends. And if India loses a cricket match, I am detached from cricket. It won't happen like that.

To the extent I enjoy victory in cricket, to the extent I will suffer when there is defeat. So, if we have to tolerate, then we have to tolerate. We can't just tolerate the distress.

If we indulge in the pleasure, then we will have to suffer the distress also. So, tolerance, that's why Krishna says, tolerate both sukha and dukha. So, just become emotionally uninvolved in that.

And how do we do that? That is where we come to the third level. What are the first? Ignorance. Second? Tolerance.

And third now is? Transcendence. Transcendence means we understand that there is a higher reality. There is a higher pleasure.

There is a higher purpose in life. And by that understanding, we go beyond the infatuation with the material. So, with the immediate pleasure.

That means, if we understand in Arjuna's context, Krishna tells Arjuna that you are not the body, you are the soul. So, therefore, you act at the level of the soul. Don't get caught up in this conception or that conception.

Thinking that, oh, I am a Kurunandana and I have to protect my dynasty. Or I am a Kshatriya and I have to fight this war. Understand that you are a soul.

And you are different from all this. You are transcendental. So, this understanding is the direction in which the Bhagavad Gita is going.

And when we understand that I am spiritual, that I have a different level of existence, then what happens at the material level doesn't matter so much to us. So, Ishtar Prabhupada would often give the example that when we get something better, then we don't worry about something lower. So, if I have say five dollars in my pocket and I am going along a path.

And while I am going along a path, somebody comes and puts their hand in my pocket and steals away the money. I may be inclined, run and catch, I want to get this money back. Or if we are walking along a road and we see a five dollar note just lying on the ground.

And then as we move, let me just pick it up. As we move towards it, a wind comes and starts pushing it up, flying it up. And we go further and further.

Now, we might get attracted by a five dollar note to gain it or we might get agitated if we are losing it. But, say, if we are going to some relative's house. So, if we know, say, some relative is going to give us a big inheritance, say, five million dollars they are going to give us.

And we have to go to their house by a particular time. They are on the verge of, they are about to die and we need to reach there in time. Then we have a much higher purpose.

Five dollar loss doesn't matter. This five dollar, let it fly away, doesn't matter. So, when we know that there is something much more important to do, it's not that we don't see the five dollars, but we understand that there is something much more important.

So, then we focus on just getting to that place. So, Krishna says, similarly, when we understand that there is, that we are at our core spiritual. नप्रहरिषेः प्रियंप्राप्यः नोध्विजेत् प्राप्यचाप्रियं स्तिरभुद्धिर असं मूढ हो ब्रह्मवित् ब्रह्मनिस्तितः नप्रहरिषेः प्रियंप्राप्यः When some pleasurable things comes, Krishna says, one doesn't get elated by that.

If it comes, fine. नोध्विजेत् प्राप्यचाप्रियं Something displeasing comes, okay, don't get too agitated by it. Five dollar note is stolen away, okay, doesn't matter.

I get a five dollar, okay, it's okay. But, ब्रह्मवित् ब्रह्मनिस्तितः was situated in spiritual knowledge. Because I understand there is, that is where there is the highest happiness.

सोखेनं ब्रह्मसंस्परिषं अत्यन्तं सुखमश्णते In 6.27, in the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna says, सुखेनं ब्रह्मसंस्परिषं When we come in contact with spiritual reality, अत्यन्तं सुखमश्णते One will get the ultimate happiness. One will get the supreme happiness. So, Krishna describes the spiritual reality, and he urges Arjuna to become transcendental.

In the sixth chapter, Arjuna, however, raises the question, He says, Krishna, I can't be equipoised. Krishna is basically telling Arjuna, to material ups and downs, just be equipoised. योयं योगस्त्वया प्रोक्तः साम्येन मदः सूधन एतस्याहं नपश्यामि चन्चलत्वात्स तिमस्तेराम् Krishna says, Arjuna says, you are telling me to be equipoised, $5 loss, $5 gain, just see it all equally.

When I talk in terms of $5, it may seem like, okay, it's so easy to be equal. But Arjuna is thinking, Vishwacharya Thakur explains, is it that the virtuous Yudhisthira and the vicious Duryodhana, am I to see both of them equally? How can I do that? This doesn't seem practical to me. So, being equal to all material things, what does it mean, practically? How do we function? If I'm healthy or if I'm sick, am I supposed to be equal in all? How can I do that, practically? So, Krishna, at this point, tells Arjuna, this equanimity can be attained.

How? अभ्यासेन तु कौंतेय वैरागेन चिग्रहियते This is by steady practise and by detachment. You can attain that. But Krishna, he gives a generic process over here.

But he does not give a specific path. The generic process is just be detached and continue practising. And by that you will come to this level.

So, what does this mean? Then, Krishna concludes this 6th chapter by saying that, 6th chapter is about yoga, where people go into the forest and sit in meditation and they try to realise the Supersoul. Now, various religious forms, they don't stay static. See, traditionally in India, yoga was practised by male renunciates.

They renounce the world, go to the forest and practise yoga. Now, yoga has come to America and I have given some yoga classes here. And yoga in modern times is practised primarily by females.

And they are not interested in renunciation. They just want to have better health, better looks. So, the form of yoga is there, but the purpose of yoga is completely lost.

So, Krishna when he talks about yoga, yes, yoga can give us health, it can give us good looks, but that is a fringe benefit. Krishna talks about yoga to transcend the world. Now, Krishna tells Arjuna that among the purpose of yoga, the purpose of yoga ultimately is not just detachment.

The purpose of yoga is attachment to Him. He says, Those who become attached to me, they are the topmost yogis. This is 6.47. And from 7.1 in the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna starts a different tone, a different mood, a different emphasis.

Till here, Krishna has been talking about just tolerating. Be equipoised amidst gain and loss. Just recognise that you are spiritual and tolerate.

But 7.1 describes something more. It is spiritual attachment. Make your mind attached to me.

And how you can do that? That process I will tell you. That is Shurma Yoga. Hear from me.

By hearing the spiritual knowledge, your doubts will be dispelled, you will practise the process of yoga, take shelter of me, and your mind will become attached to me. So, for us as devotees, our goal is not simply detachment. Our goal is actually we want to become attached to Krishna.

So, the Bhagavad Gita is not simply a book about detachment. Detachment has its place in it. But Arjuna is taking an active role in his service in the world.

As a Kshatriya, he is fighting. So, here, transcendence means we understand that there is another reality beyond the material. And, that's why, by understanding the transcendental reality, by seeking the transcendental reality, we can tolerate.

Yes, there is some distress over here, there is some pleasure over here. But there is another reality where there is unending pleasure. And there is no distress.

And that is where I want to go to. So, if I see it this way, let's say there is a two-story building. And the lower level is prone to floods.

So, if I am not aware of it, that's ignorance. If I become aware of it, the flood has come, then okay, let me tolerate. It will come, it will go.

Transcendence means, I will just rise to the upper floor. If I go to the upper floor, then what is happening on the lower level, it doesn't matter to me. That's transcendence.

But, you know, we can transcend. But suppose, we want to offer relief. You know, maybe there are some of our loved ones, some of our friends, they are injured.

We want to help them over there. Then, what we do is, we know there is a security at the upper level. But we also want to function at the lower level.

So, we may go down, do some work, and if again the flood rises, flood level rises, we again go up. Then again we come down, again we do some work, again we go up. So, basically, this brings us to the fourth level, that is, immanence.

The word immanence means, transcendence and immanence are two aspects of God. Transcendence is the vision of God beyond nature. That God exists beyond nature, beyond this world.

Whereas, immanence refers to God's presence in the world. God has His abode in the spiritual world, which is different from the material world. But, God also has His presence in this world.

In fact, the whole 10th chapter of the Bhagavad Gita, which is called as Vibhuti Yoga, it talks about Krishna's presence in this world. And He gives a general principle, yaj-yaj-vibhuti-matsatvam śrīmad-urcita-nevamā tattva-devāvad-acchatvam mamate jo aṁśa-sambhava Whatever is attractive, whatever is glorious, whatever is beautiful in this world, it manifests the spark of Krishna's splendour. So, God is not just present in the spiritual world, He is present in this world also.

He is present in our own hearts as the Paramatma. He is present as the attractiveness of all attractive objects. And, now, what is this understanding meant for? Krishna says further, pauruṣaṁ hṛṣu He says, I am ability in people.

So, if somebody has any special ability, somebody can cook well, somebody can sing well, somebody can speak well, somebody can manage well, all these abilities are actually coming from Krishna. In fact, they are manifestations of Krishna. So, Krishna, towards the end of the Bhagavad Gita, He focusses on this aspect.

In 18.46, 47, 48, He is talking about Arjuna, telling Arjuna how he should act. And he says, yathā pravṛttir bhūtānāṁ yena sarvam idam tatam svakarmanātma-bhyarja-siddhiṁ vindati mānavā He stresses the immanent aspect. yathā pravṛttir bhūtānāṁ All of existence has come from that Supreme Being.

yena sarvam idam tatam By Him, this whole world is permitted. svakarmanātma-bhyarja By your work, worship that Lord. siddhiṁ vindati mānavā By this, you will attain perfection.

Now, svakarmanātma-bhyarja By your work, worship Him. Now, many people try to translate this as work is worship. Now, work itself is not worship.

If work were worship, then the donkey would be the greatest worshipper. This does not mean that work is unimportant. See, work is worship can be a principle of social ethics.

Now, we should not look down at people whatever work they are doing. Somebody might be doing a simple sweeper's work. Somebody might be doing a white collar job.

All work is to be valued. So, if it is a principle for giving dignity of labour to all work, that's fine. But if we make it to a philosophical principle, then that is a misunderstanding.

Krishna is not saying work is worship. Krishna is saying, By your work, worship Me. Not work is worship, but work as worship.

Work is worship means work and worship are equal. But work as worship means we can work in a mood of worship. And that mood has to be cultivated.

So, Arjuna, when he fought as a Kshatriya, he fought diligently. He had practised for years and years his archery skills. And then he used them in Krishna's service.

So, he had certain God-given abilities and he used them for Krishna. So, similarly, all of us are in particular situations, socially, nationally, culturally. We are having particular dispositions.

These are all meant to be used in Krishna's service. So, if we are in a particular situation, say, I have a job in a particular company, I am a member of this family, I am the husband, I am the wife, whatever. So, now, these are all, we could just get attached to them and think this is what all we are going to do.

Or we could become detached and say this is all material. But bhakti gives us a deeper vision. It says these are all roles in which we can serve Krishna.

So, my family members are servants of Krishna. They are parts of Krishna. And if I have a mood of serving them, in a mood of service to Krishna, then this is also a part of my service to Krishna.

The Prabhupada would say that when devotees had children, since we should not see these children as ordinary children, they are Vaikuntha children. They are special souls sent by Krishna. So, we are meant to serve them.

So, when we are doing our profession, the transcendental vision would be that this is all mundane, I don't care for it. But, we do have to function in this world. And Rupa Goswami in the Bhakta Samhita also talks about how a devotee should be careful about doing ordinary things like brushing one's teeth.

He says, why? Because this is also, we don't see this world simply as mundane and rejected. We actually see this world also as spiritualizable. In the sense that, here also we can do service to Krishna.

So, a few months ago I was in India and I was in the youth programme. So, one student asked me, how can I preach to my other students in my class? So, I told him, by studying nicely. If you study nicely, there is no guarantee that your friends, other students will become devotees.

But, if you don't study well, there is guarantee they will not become devotees. Why? Because people cannot, I'll conclude with this point, then we can have some question answers. People cannot directly appreciate the spiritual.

Most people don't even know what is the spiritual. So, what people see is how, what you believe, what you practise, how has that affected you in this world. So, when Prabhupada was asked, how do we know you are followers? Prabhupada told, they are perfect gentlemen.

Perfect ladies, perfect gentlemen. Now, Prabhupada could have said that, they are always chanting Hare Krishna. They dance in the streets.

They distribute books. These are also things which devotees do. But, in that context, Prabhupada stressed this point, because it's an interview to new people, and people, yes, if they see us dancing on the street, okay, we are an interesting bunch of people.

You know, you add to the cultural variety of our city. But, you know, what they see is, okay, how has, how has your spirituality affected your day-to-day living? If people see that by our spirituality, we have become better human beings. You know, if as a son, if I have become a better son.

If as a husband, I have become a better husband. As a wife, I have become a better wife. A better husband or a better wife doesn't necessarily mean that we just do whatever the other person tells us to do.

But rather, it means that we become more diligent, more understanding, more sensitive, more responsible. And then, so, spiritual reality is a reality on its own. But most people cannot perceive spiritual reality.

What they see is the effect at the material level. So, in general, as devotees, we need to function in the mode of goodness. Irrespective of whether we are below it or above it.

We may be above it, but still we have to function in the mode of goodness. Because that is what people appreciate. And it's not that we want to win people's appreciation just and we'll do anything for that.

But rather, if people say, okay, what is this person doing? He looks a nice person. Then, what makes you tick? I want to know that. So, immanence means that we see that God is present in this world and by doing my duties in this world, I can move closer to Krishna.

So, I'll conclude with that. I'll just mention one story. This is about a devotee who was in the American army.

And he was in the American army, then he became introduced to Krishna Bhakti and then he felt that, no, this all war is political, mundane. Why should I? I want to resign. And the spiritual master told him, no, you shouldn't resign.

You shouldn't. It's your duty. You should do your duty.

So, when he was initiated, the spiritual master gave him the Parthasarathi Das. Krishna was the charioteer of Arjuna. So, then the US army sent him to Iraq.

And when they sent him to Iraq, at that time, there were so many… the insurgents were actually did not have good enough technology, they were not in good enough numbers. So, they would try to do ambush attacks. Many of the American soldiers were very panicky.

So, he stayed very cool. And he said that, there in the war fields of Iraq, I discovered how wonderful the name of Krishna was. So, he said, he would just chant Krishna, Krishna, Krishna.

In his mind, he would chant. That would make him calm, calm, calm. And several times, they were attacked, but by his cool-headedness, he was able to take his squadron leader, he took his squadron to safety.

And after one such close encounter, one of his team members asked, Sir, how do you stay so cool? And he was about to answer, and at that time, he struggled. Krishna sent me to Iraq just for this moment. Because when he had tried to tell the others about, you are not the body, you are the soul, that we are spiritual, people were not interested.

But now, when they are on the verge of life and death, at this point, they are really interested. Really interested. And when he spoke about it, he took it very seriously.

I told him about chanting. He was a good singer. So, he would have kirtans.

He would have musical kirtans. And then, in the American cantonment, in Iraq, he arranged a Rath Yatra over there. So, that is still now the only Rath Yatra in Iraq.

We have Rath Yatras in Dubai and Bahrain. But there, this is the only Rath Yatra. So, he did all this.

And he wrote a series of blogs. He called them as Battlefield Bhajans. So, he realised that, actually, at that particular point, because when they were at the point of death, close to death, really, at that time, they were more submissive, more eager, what is it all about? So, then, afterwards, they would have to go to fight.

They would go on an operation. So, he would give a spep talk to them. Tell them, we are souls.

Life or death, we all remember Krishna. And all these soldiers with their guns, with their green uniforms, they would all come. And then he would sprinkle Gangajal on them.

And then, they would go and fight. They would go for their operations. So, we don't know what opportunity for service, how Krishna will present us.

So, immanence means, rather than simply rejecting the world as mundane, we try to see it as an arena of service. And with that mood, whatever situation we are put in, we don't want that situation for our own enjoyment, but just because it is inconvenient, we don't reject it also. We focus on how can I serve in this situation.

So, this was what actually differentiated Sri Prabhupada from many of his other God brothers and many other Gaudiya Vaishnavas. They all were, in their own way, very advanced devotees. Many of them were great souls.

But Prabhupada saw the West also as spiritualizable. He saw that here also, the message of Krishna can be heard. It will be heard.

Others said, no, this is such a degraded place. You are not going to become devotees over here. Prabhupada said, no, they will.

So, he did not reject the West as mundane, nor did he come to the West as a place where he could enjoy. He came because he saw a potential for service. He saw that here also, people are ultimately souls.

People are ultimately parts of Krishna. And they also knew Krishna. So, immanence means to see God's presence in the world.

Prabhupada saw the spark of spirit, the spark of spiritual interest in people's hearts, and he fanned that. And that's how, in just a few years, in just a decade, he was able to establish a worldwide movement, 108 temples, thousands upon thousands of devotees, 70 books, and just thousands of people whose lives were transformed, whose lives were spiritualised, who actually began a new chapter in the history of the spreading of bhakti in the Western world. And even after that, when Srila Prabhupada brought his Western disciples to India, Indians also were inspired.

So, as devotees, we need to follow the Bhagavad Gita, follow Srila Prabhupada, and have a combination of transcendence and immanence. If we just think, everything that I do is spiritual. Yes, it can be spiritual, but it is not automatically spiritual.

So, we need time for transcendence. That means, like we have come now for hearing about Krishna, we go to the temple, we worship the deities, we have deities at our home. We need quality time for just raising ourselves from the ground level to the first level.

Immerse ourselves in the spiritual reality. But our goal is not just to immerse ourselves there and forget everything over here. Our goal is also to engage over here.

So, we have our sadhana, that is the time when we immerse ourselves in the spiritual. We rise to the first level, realise the reality of the spiritual, and then we come down again. The rest of the day, we focus on our duties, our responsibilities.

And what makes it all spiritual is not just whether it is externally in a spiritual setting. What makes it spiritual is whether we have an intention to serve. Any situation that we are putting, Krishna, how can I serve in this situation? Sometimes our family members may be favourable, sometimes they may not be favourable.

Sometimes our children may become, may be going on the wrong track, sometimes they may be on the good track. All these things will keep happening. Throughout we think, Krishna, how can I serve in this situation? If we see ourselves only as, if I am the wife of this person, or I am the husband of this person, I am the father or the mother of this person, if we identify ourselves as that, in a particular role, and if something goes wrong in that role, then I feel frustrated.

What is the use of my life? It all went away. But if we identify ourselves, I am a servant of Krishna. As a servant of Krishna, I am the husband of someone, I am the wife of someone, I am the mother of someone, I am the father of someone.

And this is a service to Krishna. So I will do the service the best I can. And Krishna is ultimately in control.

Krishna will work things out. So if we have that mood of service, we can be engaged without being attached. So detachment can sometimes lead to indifference and irresponsibility.

Engagement or attachment can lead to anxiety and misery. But if we are attached to Krishna, and we are engaged in the world, in a mood of service to Krishna, then we can be responsible without becoming consumed, without being filled with anxiety and misery. And so we can work in this world while also having our eyes beyond this world.

This is the vision that Krishna gives to Arjuna. And this is the vision with which Prabhupada established the bhakti movement all over the world. And this is what we all can, by Srila Prabhupada's mercy and by the mercy of Srila Prabhupada's dedicated disciples, we can all try to practise and apply in our lives.

So I will quickly summarise what I spoke and then I have some comments or questions. So I spoke about from material detachment to spiritual attachment. That is the topic.

And I spoke about four levels. Ignorance, tolerance, transcendence and emanance. So the Bhagavad Gita starts with not just a simple question whether I should fight or not fight, but what is dharma? So dharma is three levels.

One is our spiritual nature as souls, servants of Krishna. Our material duty which keeps us in harmony with the world. And our sadhana, our spiritual activities that take us from material level to the spiritual level.

So all these three are dharma. So sometimes the duties that keep us in harmony at the material level then we conflict among the two. So for Arjuna the conflict was as a Kshatriya should I fight against wrongdoers or as a Kuru-Nandana, as a Kuru-Kul-Nandana should I protect my relatives? So when two roles at the material level have a conflict, Krishna tells, what should you do? First understand that you are a soul.

And don't get caught in the technicalities. See that you are a soul, you are my servant and see how best you can serve. So for Arjuna he didn't just fight a war.

He actually followed Krishna. I will do your will. So that understanding we look at approaching the material world.

Ignorance means we don't understand that this world is a place of temporariness, of entanglement and we just get attached. So attachment leads to anxiety and misery. If I am attached to cricket, if my favourite team loses then I get anxious and I get distressed.

And simply material prosperity or material security cannot remove this misery and anxiety. If the material prosperity and material security lead to greater attachment. Because no matter how much control I have there will always be something beyond my control.

The soul is caught in three circles. The body-mind circle, the social circle and the environmental circle. And through all these things can go out of our control and it can cause distress.

So the ignorance about the nature of the world means I am in a flood prone area but I don't even know the flood is going to come. So tolerance means when the flood comes I understand it's temporary. So I tolerate it.

So when distresses come we understand that okay, it will come, it will go. So let me tolerate it. So tolerance means that something is unpalatable but I accept it.

I live with it. So tolerance has to be about distresses but tolerance also has to be about pleasures. If I want to tolerate India losing a cricket match then I shouldn't get too elated about India winning a match.

Because if I get elated then I will get agitated later. So Krishna also talks about tolerating our desires. Some pleasures are wrong, we don't indulge in them.

We tolerate the desire. And sometimes some pleasures are good, we indulge in the regulated. We tolerate the desire for excessive enjoyment.

And this tolerance eventually is best achieved through transcendence. Transcendence means we understand there is a higher reality and that is where my real fulfilment will come. So I have $5 loss, $5 gain.

I will be worried if $5 is all that I have. But if $5 million is waiting for me, it doesn't matter. But the spiritual level of reality as souls, eternal happiness awaits us.

So certain material pleasure, material gain, it doesn't matter that much. And now to rise from tolerance, from ignorance to tolerance to transcendence is frustration alone is not enough. Frustration is the material.

Frustration is I want it but I am not getting it. Renunciation means I don't want it. I gave the example of this boy who said I wanted to become a brahmachari because if my girlfriend doesn't accept my proposal.

So this is simply frustration. So to rise to the level of transcendence, we need realisation. That there is a higher reality, that reality is better.

And that's what I want to aspire for in my life. Now the Bhagavad Gita doesn't just talk about transcendence. It also talks about immanence.

That means God exists in this world and we can serve him in this world also. So Arjuna, he fights as an archer and does a Kshatriya duty. But in a mood of service to Krishna.

So the Bhagavad Gita tells do your work in a mood of worship. Now work itself is not worship. If it were then a donkey would be the greatest worship.

So actually work can be made as worship by a devotional consciousness. People in general don't understand the spiritual directly. They see how the spiritual affects us materially.

So Prabhupada said my disciples are perfect gentlemen, perfect ladies. From people's perspective they say we are calm, we are responsible, we are sensitive, we are tolerant. We are having worthy qualities.

And these qualities have increased because of our practise of bhakti. Then they become more interested. What is this bhakti? I want to know about it.

So rather than rejecting the material simply as mundane, we see it as being capable of being used in Krishna's service. So our positions, our interests, our talents, our dispositions, our roles in society. We see all them as potentially usable in Krishna's service.

So with that mood Prabhupada did not reject America as mundane. He came and he spiritualised consciousness of thousands of people. And similarly we have various roles in our family.

One is that we just get attached and consumed by the roles or we become so called detached and become irresponsible. But if you understand that this is the way in which I can serve Krishna. So then we can be responsible without becoming attached, without becoming consumed.

Yes, this is service to Krishna. If Krishna wills, the service will work. If it doesn't work, still I am a servant of Krishna.

And my defining identity is not that I am the husband of someone or the wife of someone or the father of someone or the mother of someone. My defining identity is I am a servant of Krishna. As a servant I will do this service.

If it works out, good. If it doesn't work out, then I will continue my service and do service in some other form. So that way we can be engaged and responsible without becoming consumed or attached.

And this is the way of living the Bhagavad Gita recommends to us. Thank you very much. Hare Krishna.

So are there any questions or comments? You would like to add something? You would like to add something? You would like to speak something? I would like, as far as tolerance, as far as tolerating happiness or distress. My understanding is that you have to know what your duty is or your service is. And as devotees we see we have our spiritual duty and we should let happiness or distress interfere with our service, no matter what our service is.

Just like how to tolerate happiness because you can not do your service because you are also too happy. I am even thinking about with Krishna, tolerance is the material happiness and distress because it is temporary. It is there and it is gone.

But also even spiritual happiness when I believe it was Durga was banning Krishna and he became so ecstatic that it interfered with his banning. So he had to control that ecstasy so that he could ban properly. So even in that sense he had to do his service.

So he had to tolerate that ecstasy. That is completely spiritual. Beautiful.

Thank you. Yeah, service is our most important purpose and everything else is centred around that. Thank you.

I think it was an excellent class and I can't believe how you summarise and you remember everything. Thank you for reminding me. You mentioned in the lecture soul gets distressed.

How should we understand that? How do we understand the soul gets distressed? The soul is transcendental. The soul by nature is sat-chit-ananda. That means the soul is naturally joyful.

At the same time the soul's primary energy is its consciousness. And wherever its consciousness is the soul experiences emotions accordingly. Say a child may be situated comfortably at home in an AC room with mother nearby.

Everything is nice. But a child is watching a horror movie. And in that horror movie all kinds of horrific things are there.

And the child is trembling, screaming, sweating, crying. Now is the child distressed or is the child not distressed? It is distressed, isn't it? For all practical purposes the child is experiencing the emotion of distress. Now if the child just stops watching, the mother says, there is too much, switch off the TV.

The mother goes to the child and says, everything is okay, don't worry. Oh, yeah, it's okay, isn't it? But as long as the child is watching the TV, the child is experiencing that. So in 13.22, this is the Bija Vakya of the last 6 chapters of the Bhagavad Gita.

puruṣaḥ prakṛti-stho hi bhūṃ te prakṛti-jān-guṇān kāraṇam guṇa-saṅgośya sad-asad-yoni-janmasu This puruṣaḥ, the soul, prakṛti-stho hi becomes situated in material nature. Why? bhūṃ te prakṛti-jān-guṇān Because of the desire to enjoy the products of material nature. kāraṇam guṇa-saṅgośya Because of that attachment, sad-asad-yoni-janmasu One experiences happiness in distress.

The child is safe because of the desire to enjoy the movie. Child starts watching and experiences distress. So similarly for us as souls, the soul is joyful.

But when the soul's consciousness is caught in the body and through particular attachments, then at that time the soul does experience that emotion. So is it the experience of the body? It is the experience which comes through the body. But it is not the experience of the body.

It is the experience of the soul. Because experience requires consciousness. It is only the soul which has consciousness.

So we could say that from a philosophical perspective the soul is unaffected. But from a practical perspective the soul is affected. So the soul does get distressed.

Soul does suffer. And at our level it is good to understand that the distresses are real and we need to really rectify them. And as we advance to the spiritual level, then we understand that this is just happening to the body.

Then we don't get so affected by it. But still the distresses are there. Any other questions or comments? I have a question on tolerance.

You described about the tolerance. Tolerance, it could be my fault. But some of the problems we face in the real world are like we are killed.

They will be there at the end of the day. Like a generation who have got cancer. So from that point of view, how can tolerance be improved? So if somebody has got to, some problem is going to last for a long time.

Somebody has got cancer. Then along with tolerance, shouldn't there be also acceptance? Yes, from the spiritual perspective, even something which is lifelong is also temporary. Because our life is longer than this life.

So we are eternal beings. And by understanding our eternality, even if something goes on for a whole life, this is just one life. So the temporariness can be seen from that perspective.

But yes, along with tolerance or implicit in the tolerance, there also has to be acceptance. Acceptance means that this is happening to me. And I can't change it.

So usually, when somebody is near death, at that time they go through various phases. The first phase usually is denial. It's not happening to me.

I'll go away. After that, gradually through, they may go through various emotional turbulences, but then they come to acceptance. And then often people go through what is called an emotional closure.

Like they had some bitter feeling with someone, they try to talk with that person, try to settle things. So if there is no emotional closure, then often the person hangs on in the body. Although they are suffering terribly, still the physical closure doesn't happen if there is no emotional closure.

Not always, but many times it gets prolonged. So acceptance is very important. Now, acceptance can be done resentfully, because I can't do anything, so I'll accept it.

But acceptance can also be done gratefully if we can look at something other than the disease. Last Sunday I was in Alachu, I gave a Sunday Peace class there. It was titled, We can't be grateful for all situations, but we can be grateful in all situations.

We can't be grateful for all situations. If somebody has got a terrible disease, you can't be grateful for the disease. It's very difficult.

But still we can be grateful in all situations. That means even if something has gone terribly wrong in my life, now I can look at the other things that are right in my life, and I can be grateful for them. And I can, especially if you are connected with Krishna, if you have the opportunity to practise Krishna Bhakti, we can absorb ourselves in Krishna.

That's one thing which can help us to bear more gracefully the wrong things that are going on in our life. So acceptance can become more easy when we see that, when we are able to see something positive in our life. So often people talk about positive thinking or positive attitude or positive perception.

It is important. But you know, it's not just positive attitude. Because unless I have positive knowledge, how can I have positive attitude? I have got some terrible disease.

And if I have positive, I am not going to die. I am not going to die. I am not going to die.

Yamraj will come, you are dead. Isn't it? So, just positive attitude is not enough. It's important.

Negative attitude is quite problematic because we multiply our problems unnecessarily. But along with positive attitude, there has to be positive knowledge. That means, that if I understand that I am a soul, I am indestructible at my core.

So death does not mean the termination of my existence. Death simply means transition to another level of reality. And if I devote myself to Krishna, that transition will be to a better level of reality.

So that is what is the basis of positivity. So the Bhagavad Gita, by introducing us the spiritual level of reality, gives us a solid intellectual foundation for positivity. Otherwise it is simply sentimental.

Positivity has to be not just sentimental, thinking that things are all right, when actually they are wrong. But positivity has to be spiritual, philosophical, intellectual, when we understand even when things are wrong, there is a whole dimension of reality where things are still right. Krishna is still in control.

Krishna is still my well-wisher. And Krishna will bring good even out of the bad. That way, the acceptance can be done, not resentfully, but gracefully.

Thank you. Any other questions? So how can we maintain a devotional disposition even at work, where there is so much competition in politics and there is a lot of entanglement in that? Yeah, it is challenging. If you look at, say, Arjuna's life, there was not just politics, there was life-threatening politics.

Isn't it? Isn't it? They were not even teenagers. And at that time, Duryodhana tried to poison Bhima. Just in their youth, and they tried to burn the life.

they still maintained their devotional disposition. So basically, if we see that devotional devotion, we shouldn't have a particular stereotype of what devotion means. Devotion means basically mood of service.

And for the service, whatever is required, I'll do that. So if I see that my job is my service to Krishna, then firstly for that, we do need some time, quality time, for some solid spiritual association, which reminds us that actually I'm a soul and I'm a servant of Krishna, and whatever I'm doing should be in the mood of service to Krishna. Without that quality spiritual association, quality spiritual vibrations, it will be very difficult.

But once we have that, we make some arrangement by which we can get that regularly, then every service will require certain things to be done. So if I'm working in a competitive environment, where I may need to promote myself, that is not necessarily against the principles of Bhakti. Because we are doing that, because that's what is required for the service.

So Arjuna had to fight. Fighting means killing. But that was what was required for his service.

So Bhakti is not stereotypical. Yes, coming to the temple, chanting, worshipping the deities, these are important limbs of Bhakti. They are foundational to Bhakti.

But along with that, Bhakti is very inclusive. The Bhagavad Gita setting demonstrates that war would be thought of by most people as anti-spiritual. Not just non-spiritual, but anti-spiritual.

However, even that can be spiritualised. So it's not so easy to remember that I'm serving Krishna while we are doing the activity. It is not that when Arjuna was fighting the war, at each moment he was shooting an arrow, Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna.

Not necessarily. At that time he was planning, this person is shooting this arrow, I have to shoot like this, I have to shoot like this. He was completely absorbed in that.

So Vishwanath Chakravarthak gives the example that what does remembering Krishna all the time or having an attitude to serve Krishna, what does it mean? Does remembering Krishna all the time mean we become like schizophrenics? We are doing an activity but we are also remembering Krishna. Aware of two realities at the same time? No, it's not like that. Remembrance of Krishna means that Krishna is the purpose of our life.

Vishwanath Chakravarthak gives the example that there is a householder who has a job which takes them away from their family. So they may be at a distant place, they may be working in the business, having their dealings, negotiating, bargaining. They are doing all the things, but the person's mind is thinking that I have my family at my home, I have my children and I am doing this for them.

All this is to take care of them. So there, externally, they are far away physically, but the intention is what connects with Krishna, with the family. Similarly for a devotee, the external activities through which we may serve Krishna may vary quite a bit.

But it's our intention to serve Krishna. And if we have that intention, now how does that intention come? It's not just a sentiment. Oh, I am doing everything for Krishna.

No, that intention has to be sustained by the practise of bhakti regularly. It also has to be actualised through practical actions. So when we are working, Krishna says that that one way that we have to offer the fruits of the work to him.

That means for us when we are working in the world, before we do the work, we try to remember Krishna. While we are doing the work, even if we are completely involved in the work, our intention is to serve Krishna. After we do the work, we offer the results to Krishna.

Offering the results to Krishna means that especially for those who are engaged in the world, charity is a very important principle. And charity is not just an activity. It's a mentality.

Sometimes you may feel that right now my financial situation is not very good. In future when I am more stable, I will give a huge charity. Well, in future it's good to give a huge charity.

But the point is, it is not just the amount. It is the disposition. The understanding that actually whatever the fruits I have got, they are gifts of Krishna and I am meant to give this to Krishna.

So, if it becomes a habit, it becomes a mentality. This is a part. This is what I am getting.

This is what I am getting. Even a small amount doesn't matter. More than a specific amount is the understanding, the disposition.

So before the action, by our direct connection with Krishna, during the action, by our intention, and after the action, by our contribution. If we are doing these three things, then we may do the specific service in many different forms. As I said this, devotee as a fighter who went to Iraq to fight.

It's a political war. But, and then we have to do whatever is required. So, bhakti doesn't necessarily mean we have to stick to a particular stereotype.

If a particular service requires, we don't want to become unprincipled. But if we have to promote ourselves, we do that. We can also do that in the mood of service.

This is what the job requires. So I do it. If there is some politics in the office, we don't have to ourselves get involved in aggravating the politics.

But we have to be aware of that. Then we just do whatever is required. A devotee's mood is that this is my service to Krishna and whatever is required for protecting the service, I'll do that.

So, sometimes we think of bhakti more in terms of dependence. Just Krishna, you take care of everything. Indraupadi's mood of surrender is she raises her hands, Krishna, I surrender to you.

That's dependence. But at the end of the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna tells Arjuna, surrender to Sarva-dharma-anpatya-ji-mama-ekam-sharanam vraja. And Arjuna says, I'll surrender.

Karishya-vachanam tava. But how does Arjuna surrender? Arjuna's surrender is not his raising his hands. Arjuna's surrender is raising his bow in the readiness to fight.

So, surrender, one aspect of it is dependence on Krishna. Another aspect of surrender is diligence for Krishna. Whatever I am doing, Arjuna was a warrior, he had to fight for Krishna's sake and he fought diligently.

So, if we just free our conception of bhakti from stereotypes and understand that whatever is required, I'll do that. But, as I said, there's immanence and there's transcendence. So, when we come down to the immanence level, we may have to do various things.

But if you are to not get consumed by that, you need to regularly rise to the transcendence. Regularly have strong spiritual association. Then we can maintain the spiritual consciousness.

Thank you. Thank you very much. Shreemad Bhagavad Gita ki… Jai! Srila Prabhupada ki… Jai! Gaura Bhakta Vendaki… Jai! Jai Gaur Premanand! Jai! Oh, it's on.