From Passion to Compassion 2 – From religion in passion to devotion in goodness
Hare Krishna so we will start today with the second part of compassion from compassion to compassion so can any of you speak a few points of what we discussed yesterday you have a point or two, anyone yeah ok so the characteristics of the modes with respect to action and contemplation, what is it does anyone remember in goodness what happens first yeah thank you yeah and then yeah you wonder what happened yes thank you then anything else yeah yeah thank you anyone else yeah yeah yes the pleasure is more in anticipation than the actual experience, thank you anything else oh yeah, what was the point, very good yes people in the western world they think that progress is primarily in terms of karmendriyas whereas in the vedic civilisation it was more in terms of jnanendriyas, acquiring knowledge and those two perspectives are radically different anything else yeah yes thank you yes oh very good point, addiction the perverted form of devotion and how did we conclude yesterday any members spoke about I think we covered most of the points the main point which actually we gave a question answer that even when we are not able to overcome some desires, we don't become discouraged, just keep moving onwards, bhakti is not so much about saying no to things as it is not so much saying no to lower desires as saying yes to a higher desire so thank you, so let's move on today, so I'll speak in our two main things so from passion to compassion, how do we do it it is through devotion bhakti yoga is a process which will take us forward, so I'll talk today about how bhakti yoga at one level it is transcendental but even our devotional practises may sometimes get contaminated by the moves and devotion when it is done in transcendence, it leads to compassion but when devotion is done in passion it leads not to compassion but to competition in passion the whole idea is that I am the controller, I am the enjoyer and sometimes we may practise bhakti but the purpose of practising bhakti is so that I can prove that I am the greatest devotee there is no worshipper like me there is that hindi song which is about worship, so some of you know the lyrics that they say that no yes so who is greater than you among the gods and among your worshippers who is greater than me so here the idea is that I accept God's greatness but God's greatness is simply a tool to my greatness so basically we all have an ego which we want to satisfy and sometimes we may satisfy it through the means of religion and that leads to one upsmanship my God is better than your God my religion is better than your religion my guru is better than your guru my temple is better than your temple ultimately it is I am better than you that is the essential thing so in the third chapter of the Srimad Bhagavatam Kapil Dev is instructing Devahuti and then he talks about how bhakti yoga is transcendental but it can be performed in the three modes depending on the consciousness of the person so he says the broad characteristics of the three modes they reflect in the practise of bhakti also so when we are practising bhakti devotion in the mode of ignorance that means there is lot of quarrel lot of quarrel this is wrong this is right and then the quarrelsome mentality is usually an expression of anger of course there can be transcendental quarrels also there can be differences of opinion and goodness also but in the mode of ignorance the quarrels themselves are very destructive so destructive means that one doesn't really want to know what is right, one wants to prove I am right there is a difference, big difference instead of trying to find out what is right I am going to prove that I am right and with that mood that is quarrel and the result is that people may practise religion but they forget the purpose the purpose is to go closer to Krishna and this world is a place of limited resources so things cannot always be done the way we want even when we are trying to serve Krishna we have to accept it and move on I can't do it this way, maybe I will do it in future sometime so in the mode of ignorance there is anger and there is quarrel so in the mode of passion I am going very broadly over here I am not going deep into each of these but in the mode of passion the primary purpose is to prove that I am the best when we are quarrelling the point is I will prove that you are wrong and not just in passion, not just I am right I am the best so yes, everybody is a good devotee but I am the best in motive so everybody can distribute books but I want to distribute the maximum books distributing maximum books is good but if the motive is let's take this message to more and more people it is not that I want to be the number one rather I want Krishna's message to benefit more and more people in mode of goodness the focus is on purification broadly speaking purification domination and destruction these are the three driving motives we could say the three modes, goodness, passion and ignorance in goodness purification, I am doing this in goodness also we may not have attraction to Krishna very strongly but with whatever attraction whatever devotion we have, little devotion at least understand that I want to become purified I want to develop attraction for Krishna so with that motive of purification we practise that is in the mode of goodness in the mode of passion that is domination I want to prove that I am the best in the mode of ignorance if anybody dares to challenge me, I will destroy them so it is we see that when we try to practise bhakti sometimes the mode of devotion the practise of devotion if it is not done with a devotional intention I may practise devotion externally but if it is not done with a devotional intention then actually it can increase my illusion Krishna sir talks about this in third chapter of the Bhagavad Gita in sixth verse he says this is one who externally pretends to be a saintly person but is internally dwelling on sense objects fantasising when I can enjoy them and that person is fooling oneself is a mithyacharya is a pretender so here what is happening, the externals are there but the internals are not there so of course having the externals and not having the internals that doesn't in itself make us a pretender there are various situations for all of us for example when we wake up in the morning we may not feel like waking up but still we wake up there are so many things in our life which we don't feel like doing we do it that is not being a pretender actually determination also means even if I don't feel like doing something I do it so discipline also requires that so what is it that makes this particular person a pretender and somebody else a strict practitioner that is whether they are trying to cultivate the internal feelings or not person is a pretender that person has no interest in the internal feelings they don't want the internal devotion they just want to make a show of devotion so when there is no when there is a sincere attempt to get the internal feeling but somehow at present I am not feeling devotional but still I will do the devotional activity and I know by doing this devotional activity I will get purified and then I will also start feeling devotional so if the intention for the devotional feeling for the devotional attraction is there then even if the devotional attraction is not there right now it doesn't matter that is not being a pretender so there may be the practise of bhakti which is done because one wants to make a show for others or one wants to become purified now when we move onwards if we consider in our own sadhana bhakti stage the inner outer conflict often is there externally we are going through the motions of bhakti but internally we may not feel devotional that does not make us superficial as long as we are trying sincerely to develop the devotional feeling so when we are trying to move from passion towards compassion so we need compassion before we can have compassion for others we need to have compassion for ourselves what does compassion for ourselves mean that means that all of us at different times need to have different attitude towards ourselves sometimes we are very discouraged oh I am not able to do this I feel so discouraged so when the discouragement is there at that time we will need to be gentle to ourselves we need to encourage ourselves so there are times when we need to be hard to ourselves there are times when we need to be gentle with ourselves so if we have been if we made some mistakes because of carelessness then I have to be careful I cannot be lax like this that time we may be hard to ourselves I have to be careful I have to be conscientious but sometimes some mistakes happen because we lack the confidence because we feel just be on me I can't do it at that time if somebody comes strict with ourselves this is not possible for me let me give it up so at that time we have to be gentle with ourselves even if we can't do it do what you can so for us to progress on the path of purification we have our mind and we have our intelligence so the intelligence has to act and make the mind harmonious but how exactly the intelligence can make the mind harmonious that will vary from situation to situation so sometimes we may expect unrealistically from ourselves it's not that just because I decide I want to live a pure life today and tomorrow I start living a pure life it will take time it is not going to work out overnight so we need patience I had a friend who was was a boxing boxer and he used to do a lot of workouts huge weights he would pick up and once he fractured his hand and then after that when he was recovering he was just lying in bed people are physically very active for them if they are forced to become active they become very miserable and then his physiotherapist came to him and told him that now you have to start exercising your hand he said what exercising I can't even lift my hand what exercise can I do so he said can you lift your little finger he said yes he said so lifting this little finger five times a day five times thrice a day morning after noon that is your exercise he said exercise exercise was lifting 30, 40, 50 kg weight for him this is very well built what is lifting a finger this is no exercise he said no this is the exercise for you right now and he started doing that and gradually other fingers also then the hand then the forearm then the forearm and gradually the recovery happened so with respect to physical recovery we understand that there are only small steps we can take and gradually through the small steps the big distance will also be covered so similarly with respect to our inner growth we have to take small steps and as we keep taking small steps gradually the big changes will also happen so if we expect too much from ourselves and we are not able to do it we get disheartened we feel oh I just can't do it so there is the principle in bhakti which is said that a devotee is asha paddha asha paddha means a devotee never loses hope he is always hopeful a devotee has hope against hope no matter how many things go wrong in fact a devotee says no I will keep practising bhakti the example is given over there that it is said that even if Krishna comes to a devotee and says no you are hopeless you are never going to get purified just stop practising bhakti a devotee will still keep practising bhakti he says Krishna is there you can't do it but a devotee has greater faith in the process of bhakti than even the direct words of Krishna because if Krishna speaks like this Krishna is simply testing him the process of bhakti is capable of elevating anyone and everyone that is the universal redeeming potency of bhakti and a devotee has that faith so there is in our spiritual life the tension between what we want to be and what we are there is our aspiration and there is our actual reality and when we are practising in the mode of passion this tension that oh I want to be like this but I am in this level what should I do this tension becomes unbearable and we try to cover it up now covering it up is different from not parading it all of us will have this tension between what we would like to be and what we are but by the process of practise of bhakti we will rise from where we are to that level but in the mode of passion the focus is not on gradual rising the focus is primarily on covering up and then as long as I appear to be a good devotee that is enough whether I look a good devotee or not that is not so much a matter so at a gross level this happens when cough cough when some people say in India there are many Hanuman temples and at one particular point there are four temples all of them were trying to get the biggest deity of Hanuman and they planned we will have something like a 75 feet deity the other temple said we will have 80 feet deity like you have auction bidding so they will do like that we will have 90 feet deity we will have 100 feet deity and then one of the temples they all got very big deities but eventually if you have such a big deity how are you going to do puja how are you going to worship the deity so that deity then it just becomes a show piece it's not a deity at all nothing wrong in having big deities but what is the purpose for having big deities that is important so when we move from in our devotion we cannot wish away the more that we are in so I talked about we will probably most of us live in the mode of passion right now that is the predominant society which we are in and from the mode of passion we are practising bhakti so bhakti will take us towards goodness and transcendence but the effect of the mores is not going to go away immediately so what do we do during that period so we need to have at least some activities which root us in goodness so for example our chanting our study of scriptures our hearing classes these will bring some level of goodness within us and then along with that because the passion is there we can't wish the passion away so then we try to channel the passion in Krishna's service Prabhupada did that through book distribution he kindled the competitive spirit of all the devotees whichever temple was distributing books he would encourage them another temple would try to distribute more books and they would encourage them, they would appreciate them so this the mode of passion at one level it can be a distraction from bhakti but the mode of passion is there within us and we can't wish it away so what we can do is we can regulate it and channel it channel means if we consider a river is flowing the river just flows randomly then it will overflow and it will cause devastation but the river water is channelled then it will move properly in a particular direction and can be constructively used so we need to find channels for our passion so in our profession itself in our daily lives our lives are quite fast paced many times our mind is I want to study scripture I don't get any time only what to do and it's true that we may not get time to study scripture but the fact is if tomorrow we don't now full day is free don't do anything just study scripture study for half hour, one hour, two hour what can I do now then we start thinking studying scripture is good but there are so many other things to do distribute books, we have to build a new temple get some resources for the temple I should do this, I should do that and the point I am making here is the nature of the mind in the mode of passion is that it will always keep us dissatisfied if I am doing practical service and the mind will say you are not getting time to do your sadhana you are not getting time to study scripture I should do that that is really bhakti, this is just running around but when we get time to do that and we start doing that, the mind will say come on how much will you do this, do something practical come on, go out, do that so the mind in passion always is dissatisfied what should I do you said I should study go and do that and you go and do some practical work come back and study, what are you doing so the mind whatever we do as long as it is in the mode of passion the mind will do one thing it will keep us dissatisfied even if we go to paradise and everything is wonderful there, the mind will say yes but so in the mode of passion dissatisfaction is a characteristic of the mind and that is why we can't take dissatisfaction very seriously it's interesting in the 17th chapter of the Bhagavad Gita Krishna talks about austerity in goodness, austerity of body, austerity of mind and austerity of speech and then he says manah prasada saumyatvam maunam atma vinigraha bhava samshuddhir piti etat tapo tapo manasa mucchate it is austerity of mind what is the first austerity he says is manah prasada is actually satisfaction of the mind so Krishna is saying satisfaction is an austerity that means satisfaction is, when we talk about austerity, what does it mean I am going to fast today that is austerity I am going to perform that means I feel like eating but I decide I will not eat, I will choose to fast I will not think about food even if I think about food, I will not eat it so similarly satisfaction and austerity of the mind means that in all our life in our life, in the lives of all of us there are certain things which are right certain things which are wrong if I look at the things which are wrong I will feel dissatisfied if I look at the things which are right I will feel satisfied so we have to make a conscious decision to look at what is right in our life that will make us satisfied suppose we go to a programme and after that there is a feast but there is a special feast, that is everybody in their plate has got different items everybody has got delicacy but everybody has got different items now, in my plate I have delicacies but instead of enjoying the delicacies in my plate I look at what has he got in his plate what has she got in her plate what has he got in his plate and if I keep looking at what everyone else has instead of savouring what I have in my plate, I will be dissatisfied so I have to make a decision, there is good enough in my plate let me just eat this let me be satisfied in this so satisfaction is not just an emotion that we feel satisfaction is also a decision we make the decision we make by focussing on what we have and not watching, not thinking of what we don't have so as devotees we need to learn material contentment because basically we have limited energy I can use my energy to try to improve myself materially, I can use my energy to try to improve myself spiritually of course, we can do both also, we have our job, we have careers, we can balance both but here I am talking in terms of our driving desires if my driving desire primarily is to improve myself materially then that will consume my energy and then I will be able to have very little time for practising spiritual life so at a particular time in our life a devotee has to decide this much time I am going to give for my material side and whatever growth happens in that, that's fine it's not that we have to be lazy or irresponsible but we can even in the name of pursuing our career we can become workaholics the Bhagavatam talks about people, you know the Bhagavatam talks about materially attached people who do two activities so that they work hard to earn money and enjoy life thereafter but in today's world people work so hard there is workaholism workaholism means that people don't even have time for their families, what to speak of for God it's like unidimensional growth and in this way when people become workaholics they spoil their health they break their families and they may grow in their career they may be achievers in their careers but they become failures in their life so that sort of unidimensional success is like growth that is cancerous there is normal bodily growth that is proportional growth cancer is also growth but cancerous growth is growth that destroys all other body many parts, eventually so we need to have a balance so as devotees we may say this much time for my profession, I'll give this much time and whatever works out, I'll find that I'm not going to spend my whole life just in pursuing these things so contentment to satisfaction is a decision that we have to take and when we take that decision then we can move forward in more constructive ways towards progress and success in our spiritual life so for establishing this material contentment as all of us need a sense of that I'm doing something in my life, I'm progressing in my life so if we are not doing something tangibly for our spiritual growth then we'll feel what am I doing with my life I'm simply wasting it let me get into my material life material growth so then if we just become contented in our material life but we are not seriously active in our spiritual life then that material contentment will seem like a restriction will seem like a deprivation and we just relax back into materialism but when that material contentment we use that as a platform for spiritual advancement let me focus and let me grow in my spiritual life then that higher satisfaction which comes through spiritual growth will enable us to get the sense that I'm moving forward in my life so earlier I said that we can't wish away the passion that we have passion means that I want to do something, I want to achieve something in my life so if we associate with materialistic people then our drive will be I want to achieve this materially, I want to achieve that materially I want to achieve that materially and if you associate with devotees then we will aspire to grow devotionally so association is extremely important for us, especially when we are in the mode of passion when we are in the mode of goodness we become more introspective and we become more internally driven when we are in the mode of goodness we can swim against the tide in the mode of passion because we are externally driven it is difficult to swim against the tide that's why we need to find the tide that is going spiritually say if we consider the ocean if we consider say the Indian Ocean from above it may seem just like one water body but if we look underneath there are water currents so one current may be going from say New Zealand towards Australia another current may be coming down from Philippines towards Australia another current may be going from say Australia deeper into the ocean way towards India there are different currents going in different directions and if a person is operating a boat which is manually driven then for them to situate themselves in the right current is important.
If somebody wants to go towards New Zealand and the current is coming from New Zealand then rowing will become extremely difficult when they situate themselves in the current which is going towards New Zealand it will be much faster similarly for us the association that we put ourselves in that is like the current so if I put myself in materialistic association and then try to go spiritually it's like swimming against the current yes the overall society is materialistic we can't change that but when we are talking about association, association is not just physical proximity association is defined primarily by the exchange of emotions and more fundamentally association is the transfer of desires association is the transfer of desires when we associate with someone say somebody is there a sports in Australia which is not played in India some sports which one ok Australian football ok so suppose some Indian comes Indian person comes and they have no idea what is Australian football and then they are staying in a hostel and they have a friend who is always talking about that, a fan of that this player, that player, this match, that match and then six months ago this person didn't know about that game and six months later this person is like a passionate fan spending time, spending money spending energy vociferously shouting, cheering crying, so what happened? this is the association the desire got transferred, the desire which was there in this person in this neighbour, that came in this person also so the essence of association is transfer of desires so we may work with different people in our offices, in our societies where we are living, but if there is no transfer of desires there then that's not association we may for functional purposes we may interact with people, that's fine but it is when you associate with devotees the test of association is the transfer of desires if by associating with devotees we get the desire to grow spiritually the desire to move towards Krishna then that is when we are associating that's like choosing the current which we place ourselves in and when we place ourselves in the right current spiritual advancement becomes much easier when we don't have that right current it becomes much much more difficult moving onwards now if we consider that I want to practise devotion in a way that I will grow spiritually towards Krishna so that is material contentment this is I consciously exercise material satisfaction and then there is we try to associate with devotees which give us spiritual desires by which we start moving towards Krishna now while we are doing this how do we approach Krishna when we talk about faith many times people talk about faith in terms of believers and non-believers so when you use non-believers they say that this is a person who doesn't believe in God actually there are no non-believers because those who call themselves non-believers are believers in the non-existence of God so atheism is the religion of faith it is the faith in faithlessness it is the faith in the non-existence of God because there is no experiment or no reasoning by which anyone can conclusively say that God doesn't exist so atheism also requires faith atheism also requires faith so that level of faith is fine when we are practising bhakti seriously the faith we require is something different it is not the existence of God it is the character of God it is the attractiveness of God it is the attractiveness of God does anyone know how faith is defined in the Chaitanya Charita Amrit Prabhupada would often quote that Shraddha Shabde Vishwasakahe Shraddha Shabde Vishwasakahe Sudhruda Nishchay Krishna Bhakti Kahile Sarva Karma Krutah Shraddha means faith means that if I just serve Krishna Krishna Bhakti Kahile Sarva Karma Krutah if I just serve Krishna all purposes will be fulfilled so what does this mean that we for as devotees we need the faith that Krishna is sufficient now normally sufficient doesn't seem to be like a very very big glorifier sufficient is you know Krishna is abundant Krishna is all attractive yes those are all that's true but at our level the mind makes us feel yes Krishna Krishna is good but Maya is also not bad little Krishna little Maya don't be fanatical be balanced the mind makes us feel like that so as devotees we are trying to practise bhakti we have to understand that Krishna is attractive enough that if I focus on him I will get whatever satisfaction I need so there are in the mode of passion when people worship God and in devotion for the purpose of purification transcendence when we worship God there is a big difference in passion we worship God for what he can give us with devotional intent when we worship God we worship him for who he is so I can have faith in God as a provider if I pray to God, God will provide me this that is good faith but more important than that especially for spiritual advancement is the faith that there are many blessings which Krishna may give me but Krishna is Krishna's greatest blessing Krishna himself if Krishna manifests in my heart then he is he is the greatest blessing once he comes in my heart then there is nothing more that is needed because he is all attractive this faith is what will enable us to become wholehearted in the practise of bhakti otherwise our bhakti will always be conditioned in the Bhagavatam it is said that we should practise ahaituki apratihada bhakti ahaituki means unmotivated and apratihada means uninterrupted to the extent our devotion is motivated, to that extent it will be interrupted motivated means I want this particular thing now once I get it that is good if I don't get it, what is the use of worshipping God sometimes some children they tell their mother I want this toy and the mother says no not now, I want this toy no not now, I want this toy and the child starts crying and the mother says no not now and the child says then you don't love me so the mother had done a hundred things for the child just that one toy that is not provided, the child says you don't love me because the child has at that particular time reduced the love of the mother to the providing of that toy the toy is not provided the mother doesn't love similarly in the mode of passion we become infatuated by certain things and when we become infatuated then we think of everything in terms of that whether I get that thing or not even God's presence, God's benevolence we think in that term so if we don't get that then we think what is the use of worshipping God I pray to God I worship God, this thing may work out for me what is the use actually Krishna can provide us our desires but sometimes Krishna has a higher plan there are there are many different desirable objects in this world and some of them catch our desires and then we start I just want to get this and then we start pursuing it but whatever is attractive in this world it manifests a spark of Krishna's attractiveness whatever is attractive whatever is attractive Krishna says that is its attractiveness where does it come from, it comes from me so then that particular object its attractiveness comes from Krishna however everything attractive comes from Krishna but everything attractive may not take us to Krishna everything attractive comes from Krishna but if we don't see the connection of that thing with Krishna then in chasing that object we may go away from Krishna so if we are practising bhakti and we get attracted to a particular object I want this and we may try for it if we don't get it we may get frustrated and we may think all my effort, all my planning went waste but if we have a more philosophical understanding we say whatever is attractive in this object even if I don't get that object but still the source of that is Krishna so this is like a drop of water Krishna is like an ocean this is like a spark Krishna is the full flame so even if this works out this doesn't work out so Krishna is still there for me let me focus on Krishna so Krishna talks about in 7.16 how people approach him with material desires artharthi artho those who want wealth, those who are distressed they come to him chatur vidha bhajante mam jana sukhrtno harjuna artho jijnah surartharthi jnani chabhara darshama so they approach him with his various worldly desires and Krishna appreciates them Krishna says they are sukhrtno, they are pious people and then he again appreciates them udaraha sarvai vaite they are large hearted, they are charitable at least they are coming to me Ramanuja Arya in his Bhagavad Gita commentary says that why does Krishna use the word udaraha over here udaraha means charitable these people are coming to Krishna they want their own they have their own agenda in coming to Krishna why does Krishna call them charitable he says that Krishna is so eager that the souls come back to him Krishna is so eager that they offer their devotion to him that even if for their own purpose not out of love but for their own personal gain if they at least approach him and offer some devotion to him Krishna feels so happy he says oh you are so charitable that is the magnanimity of Krishna however from that point of approaching Krishna for some material desires till understanding that Krishna is the most desirable object that may take many lifetimes so this is 17.16 and 17 two verses later in 17.19 the Bhagavad Gita Krishna says bahunam janmanamante jnanavan mam prapadyate vasudeva sarvamiti samatmasu durga those who understand vasudeva sarvamiti that lord Vasudev he is everything, Krishna is everything he is the embodiment and fulfilment of everything that is attractive I don't need anything apart from him that person to understand it may take many lifetimes of course if you are associated with serious devotees you are convinced about that then it can happen much faster also but that is the stage when we come then we become whole hearted devotees we can absorb in Krishna and we become fulfilled in Krishna because we are not craving for other things otherwise in that particular thing we get too attached to it then what happens we become like that child who says this toy is not there my mother doesn't love so a particular thing which we ask for it doesn't happen God doesn't exist or God doesn't care what is the use of worshipping God that becomes that misdirects us from our path of bhakti so we have we may have different desires and it's not easy to give up desires but what is important is if we want to become devotees it's not easy to give up all desires but at least we make Krishna our strongest desire I want wealth, I want power I want this, I want that I can't wish away those desires if I have them but Krishna will be my strongest desire I'll put Krishna first after putting Krishna first if I get these things also that's fine but if those things don't work out I will not give up Krishna for that if because something is not working out so I give up Krishna and I start chasing that then that means I have put that desire first we put Krishna first and let all other desires be harmonised with our pursuit of Krishna when we pursue bhakti this way putting Krishna first then we march steadily towards it and gradually we start getting the realisation that it is Krishna who is the source of the greatest satisfaction all other things are needed if we get them that's great if we don't get them it doesn't matter that much suppose somebody has come a person has come to know that I've got a some relative has given a 5 million dollar inheritance to me I just have to go to that place and I'll get the inheritance person starts going along to that place and along the way as they are walking along some suddenly gust of wind comes and there is a 5 dollar bill in their pocket, it just flies away now they start chasing the 5 million dollar but suppose they have to reach their destination by a particular time so that they sign the deed and they get the inheritance 5 dollar I don't want to lose it but if there is a choice between the 5 dollar and the 5 million dollar, what will I choose? 5 million dollar so for a devotee who is spiritually convinced about the attractiveness of Krishna then Krishna is like that 5 million dollar and worldly pleasures and worldly pains are like 5 dollar gain or 5 dollar loss so the 5 dollar is also important but in the perspective of 5 million it is not that important so in the Bhagavad Gita it is said in 5.20 it says that is something desirable comes, one doesn't get elated by that if something unfavourable comes one doesn't become dejected by that one is firmly situated not deluded why? one is situated in spiritual knowledge with spiritual realisation and thus by seeing things in perspective Krishna is the most desirable object I keep pursuing wholeheartedly and as we keep doing this gradually the mind this is so enjoyable that is so enjoyable the mind starts realising actually it is Krishna who is the most desirable when I absorb myself in Krishna the kind of fulfilment I get, the kind of peace that I get the kind of joy that I get I don't get it anywhere else therefore I don't have to get so excited so agitated about other things जातु जाने हरी चरण स्मर्ण अमृते न तुल्यम् the great saint Kulshikar Maharaj says that, he was a king earlier and then he became a great devotee he says that हरी चरण स्मर्ण the remembrance of Lord Hari अमृत it's like nectar and तुल्यम् and if I compare with that other things सुखतरम् अपरम् न जातु जाने I don't know any other pleasure that is comparable with the supreme fulfilment with the joy of remembrance of Krishna and therefore I will pursue this whole heartedly so as we get for us that experience may seem very far away right now but it's not that far away because if we consider all of us have practised bhakti to some extent and we have experienced some transformation by the practise of bhakti so if we if we look back at where we were there are many things which we might have been attached to by the practise of bhakti, just went away just gave it up so we have covered a long distance if we compare where we were when we started bhakti to where we are now we have covered a long distance we have been able to overcome many worldly attachments so we do have a long way to go but being compassionate to ourselves means that when we feel discouraged at that time we look back, not look ahead if we look ahead, we try so much distance to go, how will I go, better give up now no, we look back and say, oh I have come so far I never thought I would be able to come this far oh this process works if I just keep moving forward I will move on by the grace of Krishna I will move on so the devotees faith is what may be very difficult for me what may seem impossible by Krishna's grace it becomes possible and the very fact that we have practised bhakti and come so far indicates that Krishna's mercy is active it is working so there is a south Indian poet he says that Krishna is so eager that we connect with him that if we lie down and chant Krishna's name Krishna gets up and eagerly hears, oh you are chanting my name if we get up we sit up and chant Krishna stands up and comes and hears oh you are chanting, very good if we stand up and chant Krishna starts dancing in ecstasy and if we dance in ecstasy Krishna embraces us and uplifts us and takes us to his abode Krishna says if you absorb your consciousness in me I will free you I will elevate you I will liberate you it will take a long time soon Prabhupada translates that as I am the swift deliverer so Krishna is eagerly waiting to deliver us and if we just do our part in the practise of bhakti Krishna will do the rest so for us that diligence in doing our part will attract Krishna's mercy and that which may seem very difficult for us will become possible and relishable by Krishna's grace so I will summarise what I spoke and then we can have some questions so I spoke today about second part from moving from passion to compassion and here I focused on the theme that when we have the mode of passion within us, we may practise bhakti also according to the mode that we are in so in ignorance we practise bhakti we will be quarrelsome there will be destruction in the mode of passion there is domination I want to be the best in the mode of goodness we practise for purification I want to move higher come closer to Krishna so when most of us when we are in the mode of passion how do we practise bhakti so there will be an inner outer tension that we aspire to be something and we try to act externally but internally our desires are different so if internally there is no desire at all to change, just want a facade externally of goodness or godliness then that is pretension but if we are trying to develop the inner godliness while trying to act in a devotional way externally then that is simply devotional discipline and determination and gradually by that discipline the internal will also get purified so we while practising bhakti have some amount of goodness through the diligent practise of sadhana studying the scriptures chanting the holy names, associating with devotees and then we channel the mode of passion appropriately have some services, some activities where our passion also gets utilised we can't suppress it but gradually it needs to be regulated and in the mode of passion the characteristic of the mind is dissatisfaction whatever we have if we are simply in materialistic life then you say oh you don't have a good enough car, you don't have a good enough this good enough that but in the devotional life they are all satisfied oh you are not doing enough reading you are not doing enough seva you are not doing enough that and whatever we do the mind will keep us dissatisfied so we practise satisfaction as austerity by looking at what we have instead of what we don't have like a feast I look at what is in my plate not what other people's plate and this satisfaction will make us feel passive and will make us feel I am not doing anything in my life if that is all we aim for we need a sense of motion and achievement in our life that's why we try to move upwards spiritually and for a spiritual progress we need association the essence of association is transfer of desires and just like a boat traveller needs to find the right current so that they can move fast like that the association that we place ourselves in is the current so if we place ourselves in materialistic association then spiritual advancement will become very difficult place ourselves in spiritual association that current will help us move towards Krishna and in the mode of goodness we are a little more introspective and internally driven in the mode of passion we are very externally influenced so good association is extremely important and while practising bhakti in good association with material contentment we have to recognise that the faith is not just in God's existence but in God's sufficiency that God is enough Krishna is enough for my satisfaction so whatever is attractive in this world some things I may get some things I may not get but I won't become like a child who says that mother doesn't use a toy you don't love me just because something doesn't work out in our life you think that Krishna doesn't care yeah whatever I might have got through getting that particular object I will get all that and more if I develop my relationship with Krishna because everything attractive manifests a spark of Krishna's all attractiveness and even if we can't give up all our desires we can subordinate those desires to the desire for Krishna make Krishna our strongest desire and when we pursue bhakti in this way the mind which is craving for this and that and that as it gets exposed more and more to Krishna it starts getting the realisation that there is nothing as relishable as Krishna and when that realisation comes then the mind becomes our friend becomes absorbed in Krishna and we experience life's supreme happiness sukha dharam aparam na jyotu jyone thank you very much Hare Krishna so are there any questions yesterday there were several questions which we couldn't ask so I thought I'll stop a little earlier today yes I have a question about the mind yeah generally we know that the mind is a subtle element like earth or fire dead dead elements that are stationary whereas the mind is an element but it seems to be very active it's not just sitting, it's very active so how can it be an element yet still be so active in the sense that it's active to the point that it actually acts like an element it literally pulls you down takes you in different directions and it's not acting like just something that's true, I got your question so if the mind is an element how can it be so active and how can it act as an element yes if you consider a computer there's the hardware and there's the software so the mind is like the software the body and the bodily elements like earth, water, fire, air they are like the hardware so the software is also unconscious but the software is not inactive the software has certain default settings and if I say I have visited a site for news, I will write NY Times in my browser, as soon as I type N it auto-completes, NY Times why? because that's what I have chosen in the past that becomes like an auto-complete similarly based on the kind of desires we have entertained in the past the mind auto-completes so when the mind is auto-completing like that it auto-completes based on past conceptions and because in the past mostly we indulge in material things therefore it takes our consciousness towards bodily things we have to pull it back so the mind has got default settings I use a I use a I use a speech-to-text software to read whenever I write articles I have to proofread them I read it out so once I wrote an article the soul is sat chit anand the software was reading it the soul is saturday chit anand laughing so the software was meant to do auto-correct of sat sat is saturday but here in this case the auto-correct made it incorrect so then I had to go back and re-correct it so like that what happens with us is that we all have a genuine need for happiness but based on our past choices certain promptings come up say for example hunger and the need for food it's a genuine need but now what I eat what I will be attracted to eating that will depend on the kind of food that I have eaten in the past so if I have eaten a lot of fatty food then as soon as I think of food I will not think of salad I will think of some potato chips some sweet, some food which is more fatty some burger or whatever so the setting because it's a default setting which is there in a particular way we need to change that so for example if I want to go to news.iscon.com and I want to read something about ISCON as soon as I type n it's going to come n by types but if I keep typing n and then instead of using the autocomplete I type newsiscon.iscon.com do it once, I do it twice, I do it thrice I do it ten times the more I do it, the computer's browser is also noting it and then eventually when I type n the autocomplete will come as news.iscon.com not n by types so the mind is basically a creature of habit so whatever we have done repeatedly in the past that it will prompt and based on those prompts we will feel a drag in that direction but if we keep consistently making the right choices then gradually those choices will become the prompts so the mind is insentient but not inactive because it is like a software which contains its own preferences or default settings based on our past choices and to avoid those autocompletes to complete whatever we are doing, we have to be very conscientious and by that conscientiousness, that will change gradually does this answer your question? thank you. any other questions? yes please in this programme the? austerity of mind austerity of mind, ok I heard Australian mind so I was thinking yeah yeah ok, yes so if I am habituated to say thinking negatively that oh I am not doing this right, I am not doing that right so I may do the austerity of mind and look at what all I have done in bhakti what all changes have happened in my life but still I also want to do more so how do we manage this too on one side look back and feel confident that things are working and at the same time move forward yes essentially we understand that our relationship with Krishna is a relationship of service so now as a service to Krishna we have to find out in different situations how best I can serve so our emotions can sometimes work for us sometimes they can work against us and sometimes the same emotion at a particular situation may work for us and another situation may work against us so if I look back I think oh I have come this far that can lead to confidence and this process does work I keep practising this process it will help me to move onwards but at the same time if I look back and think oh I have come so far I am so advanced look at all these people they are so fallen that leads to complacency that leads to condescension then that emotion is untamed so there is our emotions are extremely powerful and we want to channel the power of emotion so that it helps us in the growth of our devotion not obstructs us so if I am feeling very discouraged then the discouragement will obstruct me so I want to feel encouraged I want to feel confident but I don't want to feel complacent so we have to use our intelligence to choose the right emotions we feel different emotions at different times but it is depending on which emotion we dwell on that emotion will grow so in the Ramayana at one time Lakshman gets very angry with Kaikeyi with everybody in Ayodhya because they have exiled Ram and he is very suspicious of Bharat also but when Bharat comes and asks for Ram's paduka and he goes back then Lakshman realises that his suspicion and anger towards Bharat was unfounded so then he asks Ram that why do I get so angry Lakshman is quite if in today's language we could say Lakshman is the example of the angry young man he used to get angry very quickly so why do I get angry so quickly so Ram takes the role of elder brother and pats his shoulder in the back and says you are a sentimental person so then Lakshman asks are sentiments bad so Ram says no not at all sentiments are not bad sentiments are the ornaments of life they make life worth living but he says we need to choose those sentiments that take us towards dharma not those sentiments which take us away from dharma so we are we can't wish away emotions, emotions are required but some emotions they inspire us to do the right thing they inspire us to act dharmically some emotions will impel us to act dharmically we are not just the feelers of our emotions we are also the choosers of our emotions so when I look back I can either feel complacency or I can feel confidence so I choose the emotion of confidence not the emotion of complacency and then with that confidence I can practise bhakti enthusiastically and that will inspire yes this process has worked so let me make it work let me practise again and in that way we can keep moving forward any other questions oh yes yeah thank you for the nice answer just going to the point probably you said whatever we see a fact in the initial stages obviously that looks quite although that's fact it might be quite inconceivable to connect so how do we until it becomes conceivable how do we spend time okay yeah so yeah to conceive that the attractive objects of this world their attractiveness comes from Krishna it's not so easy to conceive that so till that time how do we move forward it's a process of gradual realisation and it's also a process of gradual purification we are not told that we have to give up all worldly objects we we do live in the world we interact with the world we may we may seek and get some worldly objects also the important thing is we don't let that pursuit take us away from Krishna we will all develop our realisations gradually and for that realisation to develop we need to keep practising bhakti see there are some truths in bhakti which you just hear you get it yes this is true I met one devotee in America, the Prabhupada disciple he was telling that I asked him how he was attracted to Krishna consciousness he said that although he was born in a very well to do family he had a lot of difficulties in his life and he saw a lot of people getting into drugs and suffer and all that so he came to a Sunday programme in a temple and he heard the devotee speaking this world is a place of misery he says at last someone is speaking the truth everyone else is saying oh you do this everything will be happy you do this everything will be happy now someone is speaking the truth so there are some truths we hear, just get them yes this is right some truths we have to deliberate a little bit so if I say I am not the body I am the soul when the body is cut I feel pain when the body is comforted I feel joy so how can I not be the body I have to think a little bit about it but when I sleep the body is feeling nothing, still I dream and I experience that means the experiencer is not the body I may experience flying somewhere, watching something, doing this, doing that and I experience those emotions so the point which I am making is some points may require some reflection to assimilate some points may just require practise and realisation so it will come gradually more and more what we try to do is with whatever realisation we have we practise bhakti so we practise the process of bhakti and whatever objects are around us they sometimes allure us we make sure that they don't take us away from the path of dharma Krishna says dharma aviruddho bhuteshu kamosmi bharadarshu now kama can mean sensual desire or kama can generically mean any desire so you know there are four purusharthas dharma, artha, kama and moksha dharma is doing nearly all these activities artha is worldly prosperity kama is the fulfilment of desires it is not said that we have to give up all kama that will gradually happen by purification but in the ruling course of life at least we don't let the kama make us go against dharma so we fulfil our desires in a righteous way and if you are doing that by the practise of dharma we will gradually get the realisation just the indulgence will not give us the realisation if I just indulge in sense objects and enjoy them what will happen by that I will get frustration I thought this is so much enjoyment but there is no enjoyment over it but then the mind is so insidious it will make us enjoy some other object and in that way we will stay dissatisfied it's like I chase one mirage I don't get water but I see ten other mirages and I keep chasing them but if I have heard before and understood that in desert there is something called mirages I thought this was a mirage also so I am not going to chase one more mirage after this so then I will turn away from the mirages and move towards the oasis so basically some things we will realise just by hearing some things hearing plus experience will gradually give the realisation so if that's the process we have to go that's fine but while seeking the experience we don't go out of the process of dharma we follow the process of dharma and then gradually through the dharmic process where we are hearing and then we are experiencing we put the two together and realise this is not that attractive and then when we connect with Krishna, get the higher satisfaction coming from Krishna then that helps us to get more realisation of Krishna's all attractiveness and then that connection this where does this attractiveness come from now some persons some people look very good now they may do some decoration some makeup to look good but most of the looks they come in birth if you say sugar, it's sweet now where does sweetness of sugar come from it's not that when sugar is created sugar did something to make itself sweet it's just there where did it come from it actually comes, it's mystical if you go at the atomic level in science science focusses on what they call as primary qualities primary qualities is length breadth, mass, like that but they call secondary qualities as taste, smell form, beauty all those things which we experience in the senses now exactly how the fundamental particles they lead to the secondary qualities the atoms they are simply made of electrons and protons and neutrons and they are basically colourless tasteless now we know that if a particular element is added or a particular compound is added a particular taste comes but that compound is also ultimately made of the same combination of atoms and molecules only so where does this secondary qualities of science come from it's actually a mystery so the arrangement of nature is such that science sees particular things, it looks at primary qualities but there are qualities beyond that also, so we see that the taste of sugar the taste of gulab jamun the taste is actually by the arrangement of Krishna so Krishna has endowed different objects with different attractive characteristics so that realisation gradually comes as we become purified and our intelligence becomes more and more appreciative of Krishna but till then we may pursue our desirable objects but we pursue them within the limits of Dharma does that answer your question thank you any other questions yes ok ok so does the quantity of service matter or is it the quality of a consciousness that matters yes the quality of consciousness is most important and the quantity can sometimes enhance the quality it depends on person to person some people they feel one thing, that's enough for me some people unless they are doing ten things, they feel I am not doing anything only so there is room for individuality in bhakti so we have to find out how I function the best and we don't have to be in a competitive mood with anyone if I find that one service is what I can do and I do it well, that's fine but we don't have to limit ourselves to that we would like to do more and more for Krishna it is a when Radharani cooks for Krishna in the spiritual world she has 50 stoves which are all simultaneously she is cooking on all of them moving from one pot to another pot, stirring this moving, changing the gas and she is cooking everything, everything she cooks perfectly that's extraordinary ability but she tries to do her best for Krishna's sake so we have to find out how I can serve Krishna the best the important thing is absorption so in general for us because we do have the mood of passion so if we do not have adequate engagement then the lack of engagement causes distraction so it's important that we have adequate engagement and we need time for introspection so introspection should also be done purposefully so if we find ourselves constructively engaged, whether it's one service or ten services it doesn't matter as a devotee's desire is always to do more services but the important thing is we try to absorb ourselves in Krishna and generally if we do one service well and we find that we are absorbed in Krishna then gradually we find out how I can do more services also but yes the quality of consciousness is most important thank you Hare Krishna so one last question we have a couple of minutes ok yes ok so in terms of measuring our bhakti how do we know whether we are actually acting in devotion or just acting yeah actually even if we are acting at least we are acting in devotion that will also purify so the important thing is there can be acting which can be done in so many other places we are doing it in Krishna's context so some contact with Krishna is there that will also purify but broadly speaking there are two main characteristics bhakti pareesha anubhava viraktiranyantrajah bhakti is a process which gives us paraisha anubhav anubhav is experience para is the transcendental isha is the lord so that transcendental lord experience him through the practise of bhakti so when the darshan opens we may some people may come and say this is nice decorated images but if I have bhakti then I experience this is Krishna is all interactive and then if that experience comes that is the internal joy that we experience and the result of that externally is viraktiranyantrajah we don't crave for other things so we can see these two ways internally how much there is attraction to Krishna how much there is satisfaction to Krishna and externally how much there is detachment from other things if these two are coming steadily then that means we are growing in our bhakti so thank you very much Prabhupada ki Jai Gopinath Bhagwan ki Jai so we just have a few books here and a few pen drives if you want you can take them they are available here.