From ritual to spiritual 1 – Analysis of Krishna’s pastime with the ritualistic brahmanas
Hare Krishna. Am I audible behind? So I'm grateful to be here in Melbourne once again.
I think this was the place where I spoke for the first time when I came outside India for the first time. Several years ago. So regarding programmes starting late, I had one outrageous anecdote.
I was in Delhi and I had three programmes in three different temples. So I finished the Sunday feast in the main temple in Punjabi Bagh and then Gopalakrishna Mahadev was there. So I had about an hour hour and a half meeting with him and then I finished that meeting at four and the next programme I was told the next Sunday feast is at five and they told it will take about more than one hour to go to reach there.
The traffic was so much. Then I was calling the organisers to continue the kirtans and finally we got caught in traffic so I reached at five thirty and then I was in anxiety. I was calling the organisers and the organisers seemed to be no anxiety at all.
So I was surprised by that. When I reached at five thirty, I found the whole temple hall was empty. I said what happened? He said actually our Sunday feast is at six thirty.
He said we know preachers come late so we tell five o'clock. So half an hour is fine but one and a half hour is a bit too much I thought. This topic about the Yagyik Brahmin Patnis.
So this is a topic. Somehow till now in every international tour that I had done, I had planned to speak this. And somehow it never worked out.
The organisers wanted some other topic to speak or whatever. So I have tried to speak this for nine times till now without being successful. So hopefully Krishnaveli I will be able to speak on this 10th canto past time.
And I will speak this in three broad parts. The past time most of you know. I will describe the past time and we will have some pauses to analyse and draw some lessons.
But since we have three sessions and the last session we will try to focus more on question answers depending on how many questions we have. But I will take this past time from three different perspectives. One is from the perspective of the Gopukumaras who approach the Brahmanas.
That is the perspective I will focus on today. Tomorrow I will focus on the perspective of the Brahmanas. How is it that they turned away from them, they refused Krishna.
And the last part which depending on which question answer will be the tomorrow or day after will be on the Brahmanapatnis who are actually the central characters. They emerge as the heroes or the heroines from this past time. So this past time comes as the 23rd chapter of the 10th canto.
The 10th canto has 90 chapters out of which the first 40 focus on Vrindavan Leela. And in this, immediately after this past time, immediately after this past time, the Govardhan Leela past time comes. And in the 10th canto, throughout the Bhagavatam and especially in the 10th canto, the Bhagavatam inverts traditional hierarchies.
Traditional hierarchies means, say for example, a Brahmana is considered to be higher than a Kshatriya. A Sanyasi is considered to be higher than a Kshatriya. But there is one Bhagavatam past time which shows how a Kshatriya and a Grahasta turns out to be greater than a Brahmana and a Sanyasi.
Which is that past time? Yes, Durvasamuni and Ambanish Maharaj. So the Bhagavatam depicts how Bhakti inverts all hierarchies. There are social hierarchies, but Bhakti inverts those hierarchies.
Normally, the Devatas are considered to be much much better and greater than the Asuras. But there is a past time in which the Asura turns out to be greater. Which is that past time? Ratraasura.
Yes. So, similarly, if we consider that normally the Devatas pray to Vishnu for help and Vishnu comes to the help of the Devatas. But there is a past time in which Vishnu comes, Vishnu disregards the Devatas and actually is pleased with the Asura.
In fact, Vishnu comes not to protect the Devatas but to protect an Asura. Not exactly Asura. If I tell who it is, then the answer is clear.
Which is the past time? Prahlad. Prahlad. Yes.
He comes to actually save Prahlad. He is not Asura. He is the child of Asura.
Similarly, in the tradition, these hierarchies are there. Bhagavatam will demonstrate in this past time how if the wives of the Brahmanas, because they have devotion and the husbands themselves, it's not that they don't have devotion but they are stuck much more with rituals and thus in this past time their wives turn out to be much much greater much greater devotees than their husbands. So, all traditional hierarchies in the Bhagavatam are inverted and this culmination, this culminates in the past time of the Gopis where the Gopis leave everything for Krishna and leaving one's home at night to go and meet some unknown man that is actually considered to be immoral and improper but when the Gopis go to do that, that is considered to be the supreme morality.
So, in this way, the Bhagavatam's mood is to very dramatically demonstrate how bhakti is all important and how bhakti inverts all pre-existing social hierarchies. So, when the title of this is from ritual to spiritual, this past time means, ritual means we may do punya, we may do some practises which are religious but spiritual means it's a state of consciousness. So, ritual usually refers to external actions.
Now, external actions are also important but the external actions are important to the extent they foster, they help the growth of the internal consciousness. So, from ritual to spiritual means, not that we give up ritual to become spiritual but rather we ensure that the ritual leads to the spiritualization of our consciousness and that will be the theme overall of this past time and with respect to the broad analysis, the brahmanas themselves are very expert in doing rituals, in chanting mantras, in doing yajnas, their wives are also expert in assisting them but the wives don't have anywhere that level of expertise which the brahmanas have because the brahmanas are trained for doing those yajnas. So, the brahmanas are very good in rituals but the wives understand the purpose of everything.
That yajna is meant for Yageshwar and that Yageshwar is Krishna and he has come here, therefore we should surrender to him. So, the Bhagavatam inverts the social hierarchy in this case and demonstrates the primacy of devotion. Now, this past time begins with an average day in Vrindavan.
Of course, no day is average where Krishna is there. Every day is special. Every day is filled with adventure.
But this day starts off with Krishna along with the Gopas going to the forest and on some days the Gopas go to the forest a short distance and they come back in time for lunch. Some days they go out all day and when they go out all day at that time their mothers provide them food. But on this day the Gopas go out and as they go out the cows keep searching and they keep finding grass and the Gopas are enjoying with the cows so much and although they had planned to come back for lunch, they don't come back.
And naturally they start feeling hungry. So, at that time Krishna looks at the Gopas, he says all of them are hungry and he says right now not far from here are the Brahmanas. They are performing a huge Yajna and in the Yajna there is a lot of food made and Krishna also said in the Bhagavad Gita that any Yajna that is done without Dakshina, without charity is considered Asat.
It is not having much fruit. So, there is a lot of food available. So, just go and ask them and they will provide.
So, this Vraja is basically a pastoral place. It is in the middle of pastoral place. It is a village.
And Mathura is a city. So, Vrindavan and village. So, rural and urban, this dichotomy was there throughout history.
That there were cities even at the time when Krishna was there. Dwarka is a city and there are villages. So, in between the city and the village was the residence of this Brahman community.
So, these Brahmanas, they would also do rituals for Kamsa. And they were doing this Yajna and it was an elaborate Yajna. So, when the Gopas went there, at that time, they requested those Brahmanas.
We have come on behalf of Krishna. All of us are hungry. Please, can you give us some food? They requested very humbly and gently.
But these Brahmanas didn't even look at them. Just noticed, looked at them and acted as if they did not look at them. And these boys waited for some time and then again they tried to talk but these Brahmanas showed no interest at all.
And then they said, actually, Krishna has sent us and Krishna is hungry. So, here there was a very sweet service attitude. Krishna saw that the Gopas are hungry.
But the Gopas mean Krishna is hungry. And then, now the Gopas have come for food and they're not getting food. Then they start thinking what to do? Then they say, actually, there is a son of Vasudev who is Balram.
He's also there and he's also hungry. So, please give us some food. So, although they are young, they also understand the social hierarchies.
So, they start thinking, maybe the Brahmanas think we are Vaishyas, why should we be operating with the Vaishyas? Balram is a Kshatriya. Balram is a Kshatriya and at least they should give some food to Balram who is a Kshatriya. So, they mention that but they neglect to mention that.
So, at this point, the Vrajivasis, their understanding of Krishna comes into the picture. Now, do the Vrajivasis know that Krishna is God or do they not know that He is God? What do you think? They know? How many of you think they know that He is God? Okay. How many of you think that they don't know He is God? Okay.
This is one answer where both are right. So, they know that Krishna is God but that knowledge doesn't stay in the forefront of their consciousness. There are times when they offer prayers to Krishna also but that is not at the forefront.
The example given by Acharyas is that the stars in the sky are present even in the daytime but because the sun is so bright, the stars can't be seen. So, similarly, here they compare that the stars are like the Aishwarya Gyan of Krishna. That Krishna is God.
Krishna is Vishnu himself. All this knowledge is like the stars. They are star like tools but their love for Krishna is like the sun and because the love for Krishna is so great that the awareness of Krishna's divinity goes into the background.
It is there but it is not at the forefront and we see this dynamic very beautifully in the Gopi Gita where the Gopis are praying to Krishna to please come back. The five chapters of the 10th Canto 29 to 33 are called the Rasa Panchadhyay and they are considered the zenith, the summit, the climax, the pinnacle and this is like a five-act play. Sometimes the play is there, you come on the stage and then the curtains fall after one scene is over, again the curtains open, another scene is there like that.
So the first stage is where Krishna plays the flute and calls the Gopis. The second stage is where the Gopis rush to the forest and they talk with Krishna. And as they are talking with Krishna, the Rasa is about to begin, Krishna disappears and the Gopis in agony search everywhere for Krishna in frenzy and finally when they can't find they start calling him out, begging him to come through prayers.
That is the 31st chapter. Very sweet and beautiful prayers. And 37th chapter is where Krishna appears.
And when he appears, the Gopis are in ambivalence. Ambivalence means there are two different emotions going on. So suppose there are parents and the child has run away from home and then the parents, finally the child has come back.
At one level, the parents are furious. How can you run away like this? How can you put us in anxiety like this? At another level, the parents are afraid. If you get too angry, he may run away.
So, they don't know what to do. They want to discipline the child but they have to check their emotions. The Gopis are also in that situation.
They are angry with Krishna. We left everything and came to you and you left us. So they want to vent their anger to Krishna but at the same time they are afraid that Krishna may go away.
So, what they do is, they use a standard strategy. That is, ask questions in the third person. Krishna, what do you think about different kinds of lovers? Some lovers, if you love them, they reciprocate.
Some lovers, to the extent you love them, they reciprocate much more. And some lovers, no matter how much you offer love, they never reciprocate. So, what kind of lovers are the best? Now, indirectly, what are they doing? Krishna, why are you acting like the third category of the lover? So, it's a very indirect but clear form of criticism.
Sometimes, some people try to be politically correct while being socially incorrect. They want to criticise someone and they tell everything that the person has done but just don't mention the name. So, I never mentioned the name but everybody understands who they are talking about.
So, the Gopis, when they are talking like this, Krishna understands. So, Krishna replies and says, actually, your devotion for me is so great that I can never do anything to reciprocate with your love. I am indebted to you so much that I can never repay you.
But, he said, I went away not because I don't appreciate your love but because I wanted to raise your love to further intensity. You have demonstrated your unbreakable love for me and thus I am forever indebted to you. And in the last chapter, this is the 31st chapter, this is the 32nd chapter, the 33rd chapter is where the Gopis and Krishna perform their asadas.
So, before this, why I am discussing this is, do the Vrajivasis know that Krishna is God? So, Jiva Goswami explains that there are, that all the verses that are there in the Gopi Gita, that each verse is composed by one Gopi. And she is expressing her heart to Krishna and she is also acting as a representative of the group. And by analysing the characters of the various Gopis, Guruji Goswami explains, this Gopi has this emotion.
So, this verse, this prayer is sung by this Gopi. So, it's quite esoteric. But, for our relevance, the Gopis exhibit both knowledge of Krishna's divinity and lack of knowledge of Krishna's divinity.
So, for example, when Krishna has gone away and they are all beseeching Krishna to come back and they are requesting him in different ways. So, they say in one prayer, So, they are glorifying the lotus feet of Krishna and they say, Krishna, your lotus feet are so great that if anybody bows down to them, all their sins will be destroyed. But still, wonder of wonders, those lotus feet which have such potency, what are they doing? They are going after the cows.
They are serving the cows. And yet, despite doing such a menial activity, still they remain, they remain the abode of the goddess of fortune. And then, each of these prayers, if you understand, it is a call for Krishna to come back.
And they say, Krishna, you offered your lotus feet to the Fani. Who is the Fani? Kaliya. So, they are in a poetic way saying, Krishna has to dance on Kaliya.
Kaliya did not think it was an offering. It was a domination for him. Like thunderbolt striking.
But the gopis in a poetic way are saying, Krishna, you offered your lotus feet even to the, Kaliya. So, please, why don't you offer those lotus feet to us? Please come back. So, here, in this verse, it is clear that the gopis know that Krishna is God.
And they know Krishna's lotus feet are so powerful that they can even crush Kaliya's enormous hooves. And yet, a few verses later, same gopis pray that, they say, your lotus feet are softer and sweeter and more attractive than lotus flowers. Tender like lotus flowers.
Oh master, those feet of yours, that in the forest of Vrindavan, when you have gone away from us, now, you are barefoot. So, the pebbles, the thorns, the branches, they will all be pricking your feet. And when we think of how your lotus feet will be scratched, that thought is ripping our heart apart.
So, please, Krishna, come back. So, each of these prayers, if we see, the mood is, please come back. Please come back.
So, one is, please offer the lotus feet, which are so glorious, which you offered to somebody, so inglorious also, but please come back and offer those lotus feet. Now, saying, Krishna, it is your lotus feet, if they get hurt, we can't bear it. So, please come back.
And they will conclude with, Krishna, your lotus feet are our only shelter. So, please come back and give us shelter. Without them, we are lost.
So, the point I'm making here is, that, the Gopis know, that Krishna is so powerful, he is God, he can destroy our sinful reactions, he can subdue Kalia. That knowledge is there, but, when they are thinking of serving Krishna, at that time, they don't think, oh, Krishna lotus feet, what is going to happen to them? He can crush Kalia. No, they think that Krishna lotus feet will be scratched by, by the thorns and pebbles of Vrindavan.
So, such is the nature of love. In love, we primarily focus on service. So, the Rajivasis, they know that Krishna is God, but, because their desire to serve Krishna is so great, that, they, that awareness that Krishna is God, goes into the background, and they just think, how best can I serve Krishna? So, now, Yashodamai is often very anxious to give Krishna food at the right time, and she thinks Krishna is God, Krishna is, everybody is Anna Dada, then how can she have that anxiety? So, she has that awareness, but that awareness goes to the background.
Similarly, for the Gopas now, when they have gone to seek food, at one level, they are anxious, Krishna is hungry, you're providing food. So, they don't think that Krishna is God. They think Krishna is God, they love Him very much, and we can't bear to see Him in any kind of pain.
Therefore, we must get food somehow or the other. And, for the service of Krishna, if the knowledge of Krishna's divinity is required, the Vrajvasis get that also. So, for us, we first know that Krishna is God, and then we think, okay, I should serve Him.
But, for the Vrajvasis, first, they want to serve Krishna, and for serving Krishna, they need to know Krishna is God, yes, Krishna is God also. So, the hierarchy is inverted. Once, I was giving a class, Janmashtami class, and I said that, you know, how the Vrajvasis, they don't consider Krishna to be God.
So, after that there was a question and answer, and one person got up and said, I also don't consider Krishna to be God. Now, there's a world of difference between the two. When the Vrajvasis don't consider Krishna to be God, they are in Yogmaya.
When general people don't consider Krishna to be God, they are in Mahamaya. It's an entirely different category of illusion. So, the Gopas, they don't think that Krishna is God, normally.
They just want to play with Krishna, want to serve Krishna, want to just have a wonderful time with Krishna. They start thinking Krishna is God, then they play together and they defeat Krishna sometimes. Krishna has to carry them on his shoulders, and their feet touch Krishna's body.
It's unconscionable for a devotee. How could they do that? So, the knowledge that Krishna is God goes into their background. Their focus is on serving Krishna.
And if for serving Krishna, the knowledge that Krishna is God is required, they will use that also. So, now the Gopas try to tell that you are performing this yajna, Krishna is Yajneshwar, and he is coming. The perfection of your yajna is that Krishna, Vishnu should come and take your offering, and he is himself coming and asking you for offering.
So, they fervently try to persuade, but nothing happens. The Brahmanas are so proud, they think they don't even pay any attention to them. They think they are just beggars, they have nothing to do, they have come here, and they just have decided they are not going to pay any attention.
Then, the Brajwasis, the Gopas feel disappointed, they feel defeated. For them, it is not a small thing. Just asking someone for food and not getting food, what is the big deal? You can go home and take food.
But, it is not like that. For them, this is a service to Krishna, and the failure in the service is very disheartening for them, and they go back disappointed. When we serve Krishna, the mood of a devotee is that this is my service to Krishna.
I should do it as well as I can. I have to put my heart and soul into it. And, it is interesting that, although it is Krishna who has told them to go and do that service, sometimes we say that with the instruction comes the empowerment.
If you are instructed to do a service, then along with that, the empowerment to do the service will come. So, did Krishna not empower the Gopas to do that service? No. Actually, it is not that Krishna didn't empower, but, even when a devotee is serving Krishna, ultimately, it is Krishna's plan that works.
And, by Krishna's plan, it may be that a particular devotee in a particular service may not be successful. And, that should not be seen as a failure of one's devotion. It is simply Krishna has some plan.
And, I was just a few months, a couple of months ago in London, and they were organising a massive Rath Yatra. The biggest Rath Yatra was the 50th anniversary of the beginning of the London Yatra. So, the first Rath Yatra that the devotees organised there, they made a huge publicity.
And, sometimes, devotees are very over enthusiastic. So, what happened, the devotees had built a huge Rath Yatra in San Francisco. And, the devotees in London thought, we will build a bigger Rath Yatra.
And, they built a bigger Rath Yatra, but they didn't build bigger wheels. So, what happened, just as the Rath Yatra started, the wheels collapsed. And, it was a big disappointment, big, almost like a disgrace for the devotees.
And, the devotees wrote to Prabhupada, Prabhupada, did our Rath collapse because of our poor devotion? Prabhupada said, no, it was because of your poor engineering. So, sometimes, even when we are serving Krishna, if there are practical limits are not taken care of, there will be practical problems. So, there is a transcendental principle, but there is also the practical execution of the principle.
So, it's not always that just because we are instructed to do a service, that means the service will be successful. Sometimes, even devotees may face failure. And, we have to accept that failure gracefully.
The service itself may be a failure. The service attitude is never a failure. Krishna sees the service attitude, and Krishna is pleased by that.
But, sometimes, the service may not work out. Sometimes, we may be told to do a service, and, we may not have the capacity to do it. I am speaking in the morning Bhagavatam on Dhru Maharaj's pastime, and tomorrow morning, I will be speaking about how Dhru Maharaj actually negotiated with the spiritual master.
The spiritual master gave one instruction, he said, it doesn't necessarily mean the service has to be successful, even if Krishna has personally instructed it. So, when the service doesn't work out the way we planned it, what do we do? So, the Vrajagopas go back disappointed, and when they go back disappointed to Krishna, at that time, they tell him, we tried our best, but they didn't even pay any attention to us. And Krishna says, actually, this is the way of begging.
He says, when we are beggars, we cannot be demanders. So, when we ask for something in alms, sometimes the charity will be given, sometimes it will not be given, and we have to accept it. When we beg, we So, to the extent, we stay equalised in success and in failure, to that extent, grow in life.
There is, there are goals and there are purposes. Goals are external. I may set this goal, no, I want to distribute this many books, I want to cook this many items for this festival, I want to do this.
We can set external goals. And goals are good to set because they inspire us with some excitement. Oh, I can do this, I can do this for Krishna.
We all have a mode of passion within us. And setting goals channels that mode of passion. However, goals are external and sometimes they will be successful.
We may achieve those goals and sometimes we may not achieve those goals. So, what is different from goals is purpose. Purpose is something internal to us.
So, our purpose is I'm going to serve Krishna. My goal is in this service I want to achieve this. So, sometimes the goal may not be fulfilled.
But if you are living according to purpose, we will grow. Prabhupada himself set so many goals. When he started the Back to Godhead magazine in India, his dream was one day he wanted this magazine to become bigger than the biggest magazine in India.
And actually after a few years, what to speak of it becoming bigger, he had to close it down. When Prabhupada started the League of Devotees, he planned that it would have branches all over the world. And within a few months what happened? The only branch got closed down.
So, Prabhupada was not attached to the goals. He was attached to the purpose. The purpose is I am going to serve Krishna.
How exactly I serve Krishna, that will vary according to the circumstances. So, as devotees, we need to be purpose driven, not goal driven. If we get too attached to goals, this applies not just to our spiritual life, but even to our material life.
If we get too attached to goals, I want to get this, I want to get that. And if it doesn't come, then we feel disheartened. We feel as if all my endeavours have gone in vain.
But if you are purpose driven, my purpose is to serve Krishna in this way. My purpose is to learn this skill. Suppose somebody wants to distribute books for Krishna.
I'll distribute this many books. But the important thing is to get the courage to speak about Krishna, to connect people with Krishna, to inspire people to come closer to Krishna. That and to ourselves most importantly go closer to Krishna by trying to share Krishna with others.
That is our purpose. And that purpose can always be fulfilled. That purpose does not depend on any externals.
The success of the goals depends on externals. And sometimes the externals work out, sometimes the externals don't work out. But if we are true to our purpose, so whatever service it is, if I am making garlands for Krishna, if I am raising my children for Krishna, my purpose is to offer the best service.
Now whether my child, whether the garlands are offered to this deity or that deity, whether the garlands are offered on this day or that day, whether the garlands, what happens with the garlands, exactly, it may not be under our control. Whether our children really become devotees or not, that's not in our control. But if we are goal driven, we become dependent on externals and then we become disheartened.
But if we are purpose driven, then no matter what externals come, we perceive it. I was in America, I was in America for four days, I had the same topic to speak on. So I spoke in Google, Salesforce, Intel and Stanford.
So four successive days, big places they were. And the topic was the missing self in the selfie. So the missing self in the selfie.
I spoke that yesterday also at the, which one, Electro University, yeah, Electro University. So anyway, when I spoke there, actually more or less, every time when we speak, there's a little variation on what we speak. But around 70-80% of the content was same.
And I got a very striking realisation. The first programme, there were a good number of people and we had nice question answers. The programme went off quite well.
The second programme, I spoke more the same content and the audience was as if, looking at me as if I was speaking some strange language. Sometimes I try to make a joke and then the audience doesn't laugh. Then, instead of the audience not laughing, we feel like crying.
What's going on? So, it is as if I just couldn't connect with the audience at all. And the third programme that I did, it was a little better. Some people were very interested but some people were just waiting.
It's like some speaker, some audience is looking at the door. Some audience is looking at the watch and some in the audience is looking at the speaker. So, it was like that.
And the last programme in Stanford was amazing. Throughout, the audience was laughing and cheering and it went off a wonderful programme. Now, I was, so there is this verse in the first canto, so Arjuna says, I am the same Arjuna, I have the same bow, the same chariot, I have the same arrows, but nothing is happening.
So, it was almost like that. I am more or less as the same person, speaking more about the same content, but the response of the audience was completely different on all the four days. So, going from barely tolerating to enthusiastically appreciating.
So, that was a very striking experience which helped me realise that we are not the doers. We have to do our part, but ultimately it is Krishna who is present in the hearts of the audience. Prabhupada prays that, oh Krishna, please make my words understandable to them.
In the Marginal Bhagavad Dharma, he prays that please make my words understandable. So, if we are goal driven, then if people are not connecting, people are not appreciating, what is the use of speaking? But if we are purpose driven, some days people connect, some days people don't connect, but our purpose is to try to glorify Krishna. And, when we have this attitude, then ups and downs will come, but we will stay steadily focused.
So, I'll conclude with a fun point, then we can have question answers, that determination means to keep our intention above our emotion. All of us have emotions. Sometimes I feel like doing this, sometimes I don't feel like doing it.
So, our emotions will come and go. Determination means we keep our intention above our emotion. Like, whether I feel like doing it, I don't feel like doing it, I will perceive it.
And, how do we do this? That comes when our intention comes from something bigger than our emotions. There was a novel laureate author, he was asked, do you write every day or do you write only when you are inspired? He said, I write only when I'm inspired and I ensure that I'm inspired every morning at 9 a.m. Now, what that means is, that, actually, inspiration is very fickle. So, we have to be receptive for inspiration to come.
And, some days, when the receptive inspiration comes, some days, when the receptive inspiration doesn't come. But, we can't depend on inspiration. That is where our intention comes in.
When we say inspiration, inspiration is something which almost comes without our control. Suddenly, one day, I feel inspired. We may go for a class and feel very inspired after the class.
And, some days, we go for a class and we feel, I've heard all this so many times. What is the point? So, we don't feel at all inspired. So, inspiration is something which is external to us.
External in the sense that it can come from outside us, from the devotees around us, from the speakers, from the seeing other devotees serving dedicatedly. Or, it can just suddenly come within us by its own accord. Some days we feel, yes, I have to do this.
I have to study, I have to chant. We feel inspired. Some days, that inspiration is no longer there.
So, one reason is that sometimes we get some success and then we feel inspired. And some days we just don't get that success and we feel, what is the point of doing this? But, if we are goal-driven, then we will feel, yes, now the result is coming, what is the use of doing it? But if we are purpose-driven, my purpose is to serve Krishna. I am a servant of Krishna and this is what I am meant to do.
And sometimes the external result will manifest, sometimes it may not manifest. If we become purpose-driven in this way, then no matter what situation comes in our life, we will persevere. And it may be sometimes the results don't come, but for some time they may not come, after some time they will start coming.
And thus, by being purpose-driven in our life, this is what Krishna instructed the Gopas, that this is your service. If you are going as beggars, sometimes you may get the results, sometimes you may not get the results. Now, we normally don't think of ourselves as beggars.
We think, I am working hard, I am doing this job, I have made this planning, I have got this skill, so I should get the result. Yes, we are not physically begging from anyone, but actually the exact point there is not that they are beggars. The point is that we are not the determiners of the result.
In begging, that is very graphically evident. We can't force a person giving charity to give the charity, but in life also, we can't force results to come. We may study to the best of our capacity for a competitive exam and still, maybe the question paper comes in such a way that we are not able to do it.
We prepare very well for an interview, but still we may not work out. So, in the sense that we alone are not the determiners of the result. In that sense, Krishna's instruction applies to all of us that we have to put in our endeavour and sometimes the results will come, sometimes they will not come.
But, the important thing is if we have put in the endeavour, then we will get the internal result of pleasing Krishna and growing in our devotion, of growing closer to Krishna. At one level, Krishna told Arjuna to fight so that the Kurukshetra war could be won and Krishna says do not be attached to the results. Offer the eleventh chapter shows the Vishvarupa in which he shows how the enemies are already killed.
11.33 says that by my arrangement everybody, all your opponents are killed. So, this means that actually Krishna already has the result also. When we say we are meant to offer the result to Krishna, Arjuna is supposed to offer the result but Krishna already has the result.
So, what is Arjuna to offer? Arjuna is to offer his endeavour. So, the word rite, rite pitam abhishanti sarva, Acharya explained that the word rite can mean two things. Except for you, everyone is going to be killed.
The other is that even without you, everyone will be killed. That means one is that you will be victorious and everybody else is going to perish. The other is even if you don't fight, still, you could say, in today's parlance, the match is fixed.
So, Krishna has arranged for the results. So, all that we can do is endeavour. Actually, this understanding is very empowering because the world judges us based on the results.
We study very hard, but somehow, say, if you study for a graduate degree three years and then in the fourth year, there is a crisis in our family and we are not able to complete our degree, then, the world will say, you just don't have a degree. The world is not going to care for that. The world judges us by the results, but our Lord judges us by our endeavours.
And in that sense, the world judges us by things which are not in our control. And we can say that's unfair. But Krishna sees our heart, sees our endeavour, and in that sense, understanding that we can be purpose-driven and that we can please Krishna simply by our endeavour is very empowering.
It helps us to see that actually whatever situation life sends my way, I can still keep growing in my bhakti. I can still keep growing towards Krishna. And, ultimately, Krishna will bring good out.
And, what will be that good, we'll see in a future class how actually the Brahmana Patnis come and they give lavish amounts of food to all the Gopas. So, they get also what they're looking for. But Krishna has his own plan, which will be revealed in due course.
So, I'll summarise. I spoke about the Yajnik Brahmana pastime. I started by how the Bhagavatam inverts traditional hierarchies.
Durvasa Muni is shown to be lower than Parikshit, sorry, than Ambarish. Or, Vritrasura is shown to be higher than Indra. Prahalada is shown to be greater than all the Devatas.
Similarly, the Yajnik Brahmana Patnis are shown to be greater than the Yajnik Brahmanas. And, how does all this inversion happen? Spiritual is a level of consciousness that we want to develop. And, to the extent, we do the external with the understanding that the internal is to be achieved, that attraction to Krishna is to be achieved.
The Yajnik Brahmanas, they do the external, but, they miss Krishna. Whereas, their wives, they give up the externals to come to Krishna. And thus, they achieve supreme success.
And then, I talked about how when Krishna sent the Gopas to ask for food, that day, the Gopas tried various strategies. First, they asked food simply as Vaishyas, asking the Brahmanas for charity. Then, they said, actually, Balram is here.
And then, they said, Krishna, Yageshwar, he is here. They tried by various means, but, they did not get the charity. So, I discussed elaborately with the Brajwasis, know that Krishna is God or not.
I talked from the point of view of the Gopis. In one prayer, they know that Krishna's lotus feet can destroy all things. They have defeated Kaliya.
But, in another prayer, they feel, Krishna, your lotus feet will be scratched, will be hurt by the thorns of Vrindavan. So, for the Brajwasis, service to Krishna is what is important. And for serving Krishna, if the knowledge that Krishna is God is useful, they will bring it.
The Gopis want to serve Krishna and that's why they say, Krishna, your lotus feet, please offer it to so many people, please offer it to us. Similarly, for the Gopas, the knowledge that Krishna is God is like the stars in daytime. The love for Krishna and the service to Krishna is like the shining sun.
So, when required, they remember Krishna is God. But, otherwise, their focus is simply on serving Krishna. And, for us, we need to know that Krishna is God, so that we will have the inspiration to serve him.
And then, when they're defeated and they come back, at that time, Krishna encourages them and he says, essentially, that be equalised. I talked about determination means to keep our intention above our emotion. And, to do that, our emotions are often goal centred.
If we achieve something, we feel very happy. If we don't achieve anything, we feel disheartened. But, our intention can be purpose centred.
That, my purpose in life is to serve Krishna. So, Prabhupada was purpose driven. And, so many setbacks came in his life, but he still kept moving forward.
And, the way to be purpose driven is by understanding that Krishna already has the results. That, what he wants from us is our endeavour. The world looks outside in at the results and judges us by things that are not in our control.
Krishna looks inside out and focusses on our endeavours. And, this understanding by which we can become purpose driven is actually empowering. Because, no matter what life sends our way or no matter what emotions come inside our mind also, we can still strive to serve Krishna and we will grow spiritually.
Thank you very much. Hare Krishna. Are there any questions? Yes, please.
Yeah. Okay. So, I said we should be purpose driven.
But, then, sometimes we feel more inspired to do some service different from what we are instructed to do. So, what should we do at such a time? Is that the question? Yeah. Yes.
In general, there has to be a cooperative attitude between the community leaders and the community members. The community members will be ready to do whatever service they are told to do. And, the community leaders, their vision should be that let every devotee be happy in the service that they are doing.
And, we try, the community leaders should be trying that let every devotee engage in a service that is according to their nature and they are inspired to do. So, for longevity in our service, it is good that we have some service that we feel inspired to do. And, the, there are at times certain urgent projects come up, some festivals come up, some major events come up, that time we all have to do whatever we are told to do.
But, in the long run as we are practising bhakti, it is good in consultation with our seniors to gravitate towards the service that we feel inspired to do. The advantage of having a service that we feel inspired to do is that even if tomorrow there is nobody to instruct us, still we will do the service. Tomorrow, say, nowadays all of us are so mobile, tomorrow we may go to some other place, there are not so many devotee communities there.
But, if we are driven to do a service, then we will continue that. We are inspired to do it. So, in general, it is good to engage in services that we feel inspired to do.
But, we don't do it in a whimsical or a rebellious way. We submissively inform our seniors that this is what I feel inspired to do, can I do it? And, usually, they will be understanding and say, okay, you do this right now for this time being and in the future, you can do this service. So, exactly when we can do the service that we feel inspired to do, that will vary.
So, we can keep the inspiration in our heart and we can try to do that service. But, sometimes, the externals may mean that it takes some time for us to do that service. I was just in California, in Carpentaria with Giriraj Maharaj.
So, Giriraj Maharaj was instructed by Shri Prabhupada to write books. But, then, he was involved in the Mumbai project and the Mumbai project was like a war zone. So, initially, he said, I want to write books.
And, then, his godbrothers, senior godbrothers told him at that time, you know, you can write articles, you can write books anytime. But, right now, we have to build this temple. And, Prabhupada wants this temple to be built.
So, he did that at that time. And, then, now, the way it has worked out is that when finally the temple was, the land was procured and the temple manifestation came to its conclusion, so, Prabhupada said, no, if you know the story of how Prabhupada got the Juhu land, it was quite an adventure to the battle. So, at the end, Prabhupada said, it was a good fight.
Someone should write a book about it. So, then, Giriraj Maharaj realised that I could have written about so many ideas according to my ideas, but by doing this service, Krishna made me an insider for a book that Prabhupada wants me to write. So, now, he has written a beautiful, several hundred, almost 800-900 page book.
It's a complete history of how the, how the Prabhupada arranged for the Juhu temple to manifest. Currently, the name is A Good Fight and A Promise Fulfilled. So, good fight means that Prabhupada said it was a good fight and a promise fulfilled.
Prabhupada personally promised Radha, Radha, Radha Raj Bihari, sorry, Radha Raj Bihari that you please stay in this tent and I will build a beautiful temple for you. So, sometimes, Maharaj is telling me that for many years I couldn't do this service, but now I am fully absorbed in that service. So, sometimes the service that we are inspired to do, situations may not allow us to do that.
So, we accept that, we keep the inspiration in our hearts and we keep doing whatever service we can at that time and slowly we gravitate towards that. Prabhupada's spiritual master told him to preach, but for him it took a lot of time because he had other responsibilities. So, we don't have to give up our inspiration, but we don't have to give up everything else just for our inspiration.
We can have balance and gradually as we keep practising bhakti, we will learn how to find space for ourselves by which we can do the service that we feel inspired to do. Answer your question? Any other questions? Yes. Question being asked.
Question being asked. So, at one level if you set a goal and you are not able to achieve it, we can be internally satisfied that we have served Krishna, but then we can also get the thought that maybe I didn't try well enough, maybe I should try some other approach. So, how should we see this? Yes, certainly, we want to learn from what we have done.
And we can't simply say that, oh, why did this result not come? Because it was Krishna's You know, Krishna did not want that result to come. Well, that may be so, but that may not be so also. So, I was telling you about that in the programme which I did in Intel where people did not seem to be at all interested.
So, what had happened was they had scheduled the programme at a time after which there was a big meeting in which a lot of people were going to be fired. So, everybody was nervous because of that. So, they didn't know that this meeting was going to happen at that time.
So, I couldn't do anything about that. But then the devotees also planned, we will have to look into the internal dynamics and see when we organise the programme. So, there is the transcendental and the practical.
Both aspects have to be considered. So, at a transcendental level, we can be okay, I tried my best and whatever Krishna has planned, I accepted. But at a practical level, we have to see, could I do this right? Could I do that right? Once, Brahmana Prabhu asked the Prabhupada, after we give a class, how should we feel? And Prabhupada said, you should feel.
No, I forgot to do this example. I didn't tell this point. If only I told this, it would have been so much more persuasive.
So, Prabhupada was in the mood of improving Don't take, I gave such a class and people appreciated so much. So, at a practical level, we always have to be in the learning mood. And we have to be careful to differentiate between the learning mood and the learning mood.
So, we are in a learning mood where we are in control and we take our thoughts to the past. And we analyse the past. But when we are lamenting, we are passive, our thoughts are going to the past.
Hey, this didn't work out. That person is a fool. This didn't work out.
Life is rotten. So, what happens, at that time, so, when we are in a learning mood, basically, we are in the mood of goodness. When we are lamenting, we are in the mood of ignorance.
So, in the mood of goodness, we are in control of our mind. In the mood of passion, we are battling with our mind. In the mood of ignorance, the mind is in control of us.
So, when the mind is in control of us, the mind takes us to the past. This wrong, this wrong, that wrong, that wrong, just feel disheartened. So, if something has not worked out, at that time, it is accepted at the transcendental level as Krishna's mercy.
And then, there is some distress, some disappointment, that's natural human. When we have recovered from that adequately, then we will be calmer. And then we can, with a more objective way, look at the past.
So, usually when we are trying to do things, we are in the mood of passion. And the results don't come out, we sink into the mood of ignorance. That's why if we do something and the result doesn't come, if we try to first bring ourselves to goodness, pray to Krishna, read some Shastra, calm ourselves down, then look at the past, then we can learn, this I could have done, this I could have done.
So, we can't be simply transcendental because we have to work at the practical level also. So, we bring the transcendental consciousness in the practical action, but we don't neglect the practical. At the same time, we want to look at the practical in a way that takes our consciousness towards transcendence.
If I simply look at this didn't work out, that didn't work out, I may think I'm serving Krishna and my service didn't work out, I'm being hard on myself. But by being hard on myself, actually I may be disheartening myself in my future service. So, the result of a learning mood is we feel enlivened to do better service in future.
But the result of a lamenting mood is this feels so disheartened that why do anything at all. Does that your question? Any other questions? Yes, please. So, how do we practically keep our intention of our emotion? You say you want to wake up in the morning, but at that time the emotion overwhelms us.
Best intention doesn't say strong. So, yes, that is the battle of a sadhaka. And broadly speaking, there are three aspects to this.
One is that some of our emotions rise, they come from physical reality. Some of our emotions come from our imagination and some of our emotions come from a combination of both. That means, let me give you an example, that suppose I have fallen down and I fractured my hand and I am feeling pain.
If I say I will keep my intention above my emotion and I will lift up this big bag, I will be injuring myself. That is stupidity. So, when the emotion is arising from a physical reality, we have to acknowledge that reality.
And then we may have to do some adjustment of our plan. So, say, if I have planned I am going to wake up early in the morning and if I have slept very late, then physically waking up early may not be possible. So, when I said we keep the intention above our emotion, I was not talking about the emotion that arises from the situation.
If some emotion arises from the physical reality, then we have to acknowledge that. If I have a body that is very sensitive to cold and then I want to go for Mangala Aarti and somehow I don't have any warm clothes, I may go for Mangala Aarti one day and then for next one month there will be amangal in my life. I will be sick with cold.
It is not that Mangala Aarti is responsible for that. It is my foolishness that is responsible for that. So, when some emotion is arising from a physical situation that is difficult, that is actually there, then that emotion cannot be simply neglected.
So, when I talked about it, I was primarily talking about the other extreme, where the emotion is arising simply from the mind. There is no reality to it. We have slept adequately enough, but still we feel lazy and I want to sleep more.
At that time, we just have to move on. Sometimes, one day we wake up and we feel like chanting very nicely. We feel like japa should never end.
And the next day we are chanting and japa never ends. Now, in this case, there is no physical stimulus to this, no physical cause to this. This emotion is just arising from the mind.
So, when the emotion has no basis in physical reality, that means it is just a mood swing. And that is the emotion that needs to be resisted. Most often, our emotions are neither of these two extremes.
They don't arise only from the mind and they don't arise only from the body. So, arising from the mind, sometimes a child wants attention and the child falls down and starts crying. Actually, nothing has happened.
The child just wants attention. Some people are hypochondriacs. They pretend to be sick so that they will get some attention.
So, that is the kind of emotion which is unhealthy. And that emotion is something to be avoided. By that emotion, if we give into that emotion, then we cheat ourselves of our potential to do positive things.
Now, most often, our emotion arises from a combination of the physical and the mental. Say, if I am very sensitive about punctuality and somebody doesn't come on time. Now, the fact is they have not come on time.
And that will annoy anyone. But, because I am very sensitive about punctuality, I become wild. So, in this case, my emotion has come both from the situation as well as from my particular disposition.
And, because of that, I may overreact to it. So, some reaction may be required or some response may be required. The person is coming late.
But, I might be overreacting. So, then I will have to moderate. So, basically, when we say keep our mind get angry with anyone.
I am not going to yell at anyone. And then somebody does something which upsets me. Now, at that time, I cannot wish away the fact that they have upset me.
And that annoyance, that irritation will be there. But, I can, based on my understanding, I tend to overreact about this. For me, this is very important, but other people not consider this very important.
So, then, let me not respond immediately. Let me calm myself down. Let me respond.
Sometimes, the emotion may determine that we respond. But, the emotion shouldn't determine how we respond. The emotion may determine that, because I feel strongly about this, I will take a stand, I will speak, I will respond to this.
But, if I let the emotion alone determine the response, my response will be disproportionate. So, I try to balance. So, the more we come to the mode of goodness, the more we can perceive the reality and the emotion as two separate things.
And, we can't wish away the emotion. I am feeling angry, and anger is there. I can't deny it.
But, I understand that this is a situation and from this, anger is excessive right now. So, in the mode of goodness, we can perceive things to a large extent as they are. We can perceive the situation, perceive the emotion, and we acknowledge the situation, we acknowledge the emotion, but we don't let the emotion alone determine our reaction.
We respond appropriately. So, for us to have determination, it's important that we make a realistic plan. If, in the name of being determined, we start having unrealistic expectations from ourselves, then it's not going to work.
Not only will it not work physically, but it will also weaken our morale internally. So, when we make a determination, it has to be based on assessment of the reality and acknowledgement that when these things change, maybe I'll have to do some adjustment. So, if I decide that, okay, I want to read Bhagavatam every day, I want to read at least half an hour every day.
Now, that is a good determination, but sometimes life just becomes so busy, I want to speak of half an hour every we don't even have a few minutes, then we plan, okay, if I can't read half an hour every day, I will read three and a half hours of real life. And then we adjust, okay, how best can I execute this determination? So, we don't have to consider determination in terms of, like, I have to follow this path, like when the Ganga wants to go to the ocean, there is a path, but if somehow there is a blockage in the path, the purpose of the Ganga is not to take the path, the purpose of the Ganga is to get to the destination. So, if this path is blocked, Ganga will find some other way and get to the destination.
So, our determination should not be just, you know, I'll do this, this, this, this. My determination should be, these are the purposes I want to achieve. And if this doesn't work, I can take this course.
So, determination should be the purpose of flowing to the ocean, not necessarily to take a particular path to get to the ocean. Does that answer your question? Thank you. Shall we stop? So, thank you very much.