Gita applied – Chapter 14 – The knowledge of the modes to balance self-discipline and self-discovery [Bhagavad-gita]

[Scripture study class at ISKCON, Sydney, Australia]

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Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
There is no doubt.
We cannot have a four hour class. Hare Krishna! Hare Krishna! So, thank you for coming today. I am grateful to be here to have an opportunity to discuss the Bhagavad Gita.
So, coincidentally, the 14th chapter is one of my favourite chapters. Probably along with the 6th chapter. So, I will, as Dhanshanthu Oriyan told me about this class, I will take the sections and some application sections.
So, in context, in the 13th chapter, the 22nd verse, Krishna gives a verse which is considered the seed of the subsequent 6 chapters of the Bhagavad Gita. So, according to point 22, he states, Purushaha prakriti sthohi bhunkte prakriti jangunan karanam guna sangosya sad asadyoni janmasu So, Purushaha prakriti sthohi, the soul, becomes situated in material nature. Prakriti sthohi, bhunkte prakriti jangunan and desires to enjoy the products of material nature.
Karanam guna sangosya and because of association with the three modes, sad asadyoni janmasu, the soul experiences good and bad, not just in this life, but in various species also. So, one example which you could use to understand this is, like a child sitting in front of a TV and watching a horror movie. The child is safe with the mother nearby, but as long as the child’s consciousness is caught in that horror movie, the child will go through all kinds of emotions, horror, terror, fear, suspense, everything.
Similarly, the soul is spiritual, but Purushaha prakriti sthohi, the soul has become situated in material nature by its consciousness. And why has the soul become situated like that? Karanam guna sangosya, because of association with the modes. Now, what are the modes? That is described in this chapter.
So, in essence, 13.22 is the seed from which the subsequent 5 chapters of the Bhagavad Gita will emerge. Just like we have a tree that emerges from a seed, Krishna will talk about the upside-down tree of material existence in the next chapter, 15 chapters. So, how is that tree nourished? How does that tree grow? It grows by the three modes of material nature.
So, that’s the source of the bondage. At one level, the modes are, like if you want to continue the TV metaphor, ultimately, whatever we see on TV or a laptop is nothing except certain different colours of pixels brought together to create forms. So, depending on how you want RGB or ROM, red-green, red-yellow, whatever you want to use, these three colours are there, which combine together to create unlimited forms.
And what we see on the screen can create almost unlimited emotions within us. Similarly, the three modes combine together to create various illusions that captivate us. This is a brief introduction of the connection between the 14 chapters.
The 14 chapters begins with each chapter in the Bhagavad Gita, almost all chapters, they begin initially with some glorification of the knowledge given there. See, generally, if we tell people to do something, please take this there, please take that there. Now, we may know how important it is.
But they may think, okay, it’s not okay, if I take it, if I forget, it doesn’t matter. They may not realise its importance. So, suppose a doctor is giving some prescription.
Suppose doctor says, okay, I have to do this exercise, I have to do this, I have to take this medication. And sometimes doctor may say, even if you forget to take all the medications, you must take this medication. So, or, even if you can’t do any other exercise, at least do this one exercise.
So, if something is important, the doctor should not just give important knowledge, but the doctor also needs to tell the importance of that knowledge. Otherwise, the subject will not understand, the patient will not understand why it is so important. So, similar, okay.
Hare Krishna. Hare Krishna. Okay, fine.
So, the first two verses, Krishna talks about this in the 14th chapter. He says that, I am going to give this knowledge, param govindam pravakshami jnananam jnanam uttama me jnanvam naya sarve param siddhvi togata My understanding of this knowledge is very confidential. The great sages have attained liberation.
And the next verse, it will be the same version, similar version of the knowledge. He says, idam jnanam upashityam manasa dharmim agatah sarve vino phajayante pralayena vedanticha By this knowledge, you won’t take birth again and you won’t be distressed at the time of death. But the word which I would like to focus on here is, idam jnanam upashityam.
Krishna is saying, by taking shelter of this knowledge. Ashraya is shelter. Normally we think of taking shelter of Krishna.
But it’s interesting, Krishna is using over here, take shelter of this knowledge. Those who take shelter of this knowledge are saved from the distresses of birth and death. So what does it mean to take shelter of knowledge person? Actually, ultimately we need to take shelter of Krishna.
But the problem is that often we don’t feel the need for Krishna. Suppose somebody has a sickness that is not immediately felt. Somebody may have a terrible disease but sometimes the symptoms don’t come.
So, if the patient does not understand how serious this disease is. Guy had a very advanced TB and I had to take a one year cost treatment at that time. The doctor told me, after two months, the symptoms will subside.
But please don’t stop taking the medication. Because if you stop, the symptoms are gone, that’s why you stop. It will resurface again and it will become resistant TB.
It will be far more difficult to cure. So he said that, keep taking the medication, even if the symptoms are not there. So, in order to take the medication, we need to take the knowledge first.
Otherwise you won’t feel the need for the medication. So we will see at the end of the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna will say, take shelter of me. But before that he is saying, take shelter of the knowledge.
Because by taking shelter of the knowledge, we will feel inspired to take shelter of Krishna. And this is a principle we will repeatedly see. Even if we are sadhana, if we are japa, our seva, our puja, whatever we are doing, if we have some intellectual understanding of why we are doing it, then we can do it with greater conviction.
If we understand the glory of the holy name, we can chant more seriously. If we understand that how Krishna is analysing us, not understand in the sense that comprehend, but in the sense that remember, remind ourselves. So Krishna is saying, take shelter of this knowledge.
And by that you will be saved from distress. So knowledge, on the path of bhakti, knowledge should not be overestimated, but it should not be underestimated also. For us knowledge is also something which we can take shelter of, so that we can take shelter of Krishna.
And additionally, taking shelter of Krishna can also be seen as shelter of knowledge, can also be seen as a means of worshipping Krishna. That’s what Krishna says at the end of the Gita, in 18.17, he says that अधिश्यते चेजेवं धर्णं सम्मादमावयो ज्यानन्यद्गेन तेनाहं ईश्टस्यामिति मेंनतिये Those who study this conversation of ours, they are worshipping me with their intelligence. So studying philosophy to the capacity that we can, is important.
We shouldn’t see that as not devotional service. It is very much integral to devotional service. So take shelter of knowledge, so that we can take shelter of Krishna better.
And to take shelter of knowledge also, we have to take shelter of Krishna. And then, he talks next two verses about how the soul is transcendental. पुरुष्यः पर्कृतिष्तो यरवस्यन्थर्णिः पर्कृतिष्तो So how does the soul come in the material world? So the mechanism is through his सर्वयोनिष्यु कॉंतेय मूर्तयासंबवन्तिय तासाम् ग्रम्मः योनि अहम् वीजे प्रदः पिता So thinking of these as three discrete ropes Yes, there are three discrete ropes also But these ropes have strands which intermix Each rope pulls our consciousness in a particular way So the modes, what are they? There are multiple things, but from our perspective right now we could say that they are the subtle forces that shape the interaction between matter and consciousness There is matter out there and we are conscious beings So how matter and consciousness interact with each other that is shaped by subtle forces known as the modes That means the same object if I perceive it in goodness if I perceive it in passion if I perceive it in ignorance I will perceive differently And why is that? Because of the subtle force that is acting So a simple example could be say three people are sitting in a bus and they are driving they are travelling and they see nearby beautiful greenery A person in goodness is sitting in the bus and is trying to read a book and the bus is shaking and bumping and not able to read so well The person looks and says Oh, this forest is so peaceful I could just sit in that peaceful forest and absorb myself in the wisdom The second person is maybe just watched some movie or is watching some movie on the phone some romantic movie and the person sees the forest and sees the greenery and remembers some romantic song that he saw in the movie he or she saw and they think that Oh, if I had a partner I could enjoy so much such a beautiful forest The third person is trying to just doze off and sleep and the movement of the bus is jolting the person awake The person looks at the forest and says Such a peaceful sleep place I can sleep so nicely here So, the same So, there is matter and there is consciousness The consciousness is the people who are observing So, why the different response? It’s because the first person is in which mode? Goodness Sattva Second is in? Passion That is in Sanskrit what? Rajas Rajas And the third is? Tamas Tamas Yes So, modes are subtle forces that shape the interaction between matter and consciousness So, you could put it another way as some people make things happen some people watch things happen and some people wonder what happened So, these are the three modes People in goodness they plan, they work and they make things happen They do something they get others to do things So, they are thoughtful And people in passion they start running and doing things and they do one thing and suddenly that happens and that happens and that happens and what is going on? Some people speak to express their thoughts and some people speak to discover their thoughts and when they speak something I didn’t want to say that and the other person gets offended and they speak something and they speak something and what happened? I didn’t want to They watch things happen and some people are there in their own stupid What is going on? They wonder what happened They are just lost in their own world So, this is broadly the three modes of material nature So, Krishna says He gives the characteristics of each of these modes and he does that in two places First, he gives analytical characteristics Analytical means Just like I was going back to the earlier example of red, green RGB from red, green, blue So, this is red colour This is green colour This is blue colour Krishna says So, he says that When the colour is in goodness There are two characteristics In chapter 14.6 he says that The characteristics are that There is happiness There is clarity There is purity So, overall the sattva is positive But it can make one feel complacent and comfortable And it can also make one feel superior These people are ignorant I know And one delights in the knowledge and stays stuck I will talk about this a little bit later Then in the next verse he says That the mode of passion is characterised by karma They are bound by karma Because why? There is raga Raga is attachment And not just attachment But overpowering craving Trishna Trishna And alcohol is completely free It is completely free to choose whether to drink beer or wine Not to choose whether to drink or not So, when there is Trishna There is craving There is an amateur car salesman That car salesman will make the pitch And it says Sir, would you like to have a car? So, man, would you like to have a car? But the experienced salesman will say So, which car would you like to have? Red, green or blue? Few things take away our freedom as easily As the illusion of freedom When we are given an illusion of freedom Do you want this? Do you want this? Do I want any of this? I don’t need a car So, what the mode of passion does is It makes us think we have so many choices Hey, you want to entertain yourself? We have 100 channels We can have so many movies We can have so many to watch But in that overburden of choices We forget to think Whether I need to choose any of these at all So, if somebody tells us don’t do this We will not listen to it But somebody gives us so many choices But all of those choices are what they want us to do So, in the mode of passion We think we are free I can do this, I can do that, I can do that But we are driven to do particular things Within this area of our attachments And the mode of ignorance We are bound Krishna says that the mode of ignorance is called Abhyana, ignorance So, Krishna, now after talking about this I’ll come back to ignorance a little later Krishna then says there is a tug of war going on Between the modes within us So, the 10th verse Talks about this competition between the modes Sometimes passion and ignorance are defeated And goodness comes up Or sometimes, similarly he says that Ignorance and passion are defeated Goodness comes up Or sometimes another mode comes up So, like that there is a pull going on Between the modes So, generally We all, if we observe ourselves We see that we go through different emotions Most people today don’t know about Don’t know about the concept of modes But everybody knows about the concept of modes We all have our modes And some people have Like incredible mood swings And one moment they are so happy They seem to be like dancing in heaven And the next moment They are so down in depression As if nothing is happening Nothing is going to work So, these mood swings, why do they happen? Because the modes are influencing us in different ways So, the modes induce the moods within us And one of the things that we understand From the Bhagavad Gita As we read the 14th chapter Is that we are not the masters in our own house We are not the masters in our own house You could say the body is like our house But we are not charged in our own house Not in charge We decide to do something But sometimes people say Tomorrow I am going to wake up early in the morning Make up the reservation And maybe one day they will wake up Second day they will wake up Third day they will wake up Fourth day they will wake up So what happens? I change my mind Actually they didn’t change their mind Their mind changed them So, what happened was that We decide to act in a particular way But we just can’t act And understanding the modes Helps us to understand When we understand that we are not our masters We are not the masters in our own house That doesn’t mean that we are powerless It just means that we have to recognise That we are someone we have to contend with Contend with means Say if you are working with some other person Now if you want them to do a particular thing It’s very rare that we tell And the other person is just uncritically okay They have their own ideas And then we have to contend with them We have to persuade them And sometimes we can succeed Sometimes we can’t succeed So there is this chapter The key thing which I would like to There are many things we can talk about That we all have to For dealing with ourselves We have to have a combination of Self-discipline and self-discovery Self-discipline means This is what I am going to do However I feel about it But We can’t just keep ourselves under our thumb Like our own slaves So self-discipline alone will not work But there will also be self-discovery Normally we talk about self-discovery In terms of understanding that I am the soul Yes that is true I am the soul if you put the body But self-discovery also means understanding What kind of body and mind I have So how this body and mind can work the best So we make certain resolutions And it’s relatively easier to stick to those resolutions Some resolutions It’s extremely difficult to stick to them Some resolution Even when we are making it There is dissolution inside I know how to do it It’s not practical It’s not going to happen So then trying to do that Might not be the most productive use of our energy So self-discovery Means understanding What kind of nature we have What kind of influence of modes on us is there And how best to live with ourselves At one level we want to change ourselves But at another level We want to live with ourselves While we are trying to change ourselves It’s a simple example Say if you are driving a car Some cars might have a very fast pickup They can move very fast Some cars will move little bit slowly Some cars are meant for You can have a large family going there Some cars are meant for one or two people So different cars are different So if we have a car which we are driving And we want to feel the car How does the car pick up How are the brakes Where is this device Where is this machine Where is this So Then if we are driving a car Which we A new car which we have not yet driven Then first we need to familiarise ourselves with the car So similarly you could say In our body mind A machine is like a car So now Every car can be driven well by an expert driver But even the most expert driver Say cannot drive Say a Fiat The way you drive a Benz Each car has its own features So self-discovery Is about understanding the kind of car that we have And this self-discipline Is about making sure That we drive the car the best that we can Some people say just be yourself Just be yourself There are some people who say Just you know Everything about you is perfect So I am okay You are okay Everyone is okay Okay what do you mean by that What do you mean exactly by that Actually There is a part of us that is okay We are souls We are parts of Krishna At our core We all have spiritual potential In that sense There is a lot that is okay But there is a lot that is not okay So There is one extreme where there is This total self-acceptance And no attempt at self-transcendence Self-transcendence means going beyond what I am To becoming a better person But there is other Total self-transcendence And no self-acceptance I just have something which I want to become And I don’t even accept where I am at right now So there has to be self-acceptance So that there can be self-transcendence So it’s like say if you drive your car I have to accept what kind of car I have Then I can drive that car to the destination I want to go So Some people are introverts Some people are extroverts So one example of say Self-acceptance guru See extroverts are people The more people they meet with The more happier they become They come to a party Or get together with a smile And the more people they meet Their smile becomes bigger and bigger And introverts are people They come with a smile And the more people they meet Their smile becomes smaller and smaller And then gradually They just come out surviving So introverts are people People who get strength when they are alone It’s not that they are anti-people But it’s just that The word social stamina is finite So they can meet a certain amount of people After they leave my space So there are extroverts Who actually get strength If they are alone They will pick up a phone and call someone I don’t want to hear I want to talk with someone So each of us is different And every person Can serve in their own way So extroverts are very good at networking Introverts are very good at Work that requires introspection Deep thinking So depending on the kind of Body-mind machine we have We have to engage ourselves accordingly If an introvert goes Because extreme introverts I’ll not talk with people only That’s unhealthy If extroverts are I’ll keep talking with people I’ll not think only That’s also not good I have to do some introspection also So Some people When you are with them Just don’t talk You talk 10 sentences They’ll speak one word You have to push them to talk something And some people You have to push them Stop talking now Enough, enough Just be a little silent Why are you such a chatterbox So what happens People are different So there is an element of self discovery An introvert May not become an extrovert But an introvert Can understand How I can work best with people See for introverts Sometimes When they are If there is too many people For them Some amount of privacy Is like oxygen And if they don’t have it Then after sometime They just start behaving unpleasantly They start just becoming They are not obnoxious people But they start behaving In a very repulsive way So if they understand This is how I am So I need my space I need my time Then they can work better So basically If a person is in the mood of passion For them If you tell them to do very Sedentary kind of activities They will not be able to do it They need some activity They need some energy Without that they can’t function If we have a Brahmana And if we have a Kshatriya We have a Vaishya And we have a Shudra These are not just caste They are human types They are broadly So if you tell a Brahmana We have to do Fundraising of a million dollars To build a new temple The Brahmana will say After you build a temple You are only able to discuss Shastra Just discuss it here only Why do you need a temple? The Brahmana will not be interested And if you ask a Vaishya Actually in the Bhagavatam There is a verse Which says that Sometimes for a higher purpose If you speak untruth That is also okay Where is that verse? Can you find out? In the Bhagavatam There are thousands of verses Where will I find one verse In the Bhagavatam? Just give your class without the verse Who will notice? So For a Brahmana Can you find this verse? Where could it be? Can it be in this section? Can it be in that section? So people often say Don’t see problems as problems See problems as challenges That’s true in terms of attitude But For a Brahmana To see fundraising as a challenge It’s not possible It’s a problem For a Vaishya To see Shastra research As a challenge It’s a burden Why do it? So when we understand ourselves better How the modes are influencing us Then we can take The challenges that stimulate us See for a Vaishya You have to raise funds Now we are doing something What are we doing in our Bhakti? We should do something Come on let’s move So for all of us If we understand our own body mind machine Now for a Vaishya to raise funds Also requires some amount of discipline For a Brahmana also Shastra Requires some amount of discipline So self-discipline is required For everyone But If you tell a Brahmana to do self-discipline Of fundraising That is too painful And for a Vaishya To do self-discipline For exhaustive Shastra study That is also not going to work So that’s why I said For us to work with ourselves There is a combination of two things What are they? Self-discipline And self-discovery The whole framework of the modes We analyse this to understand Ourselves better So Krishna says There is a tug-of-war between the modes within us One mode comes up The other mode comes down So basically all this is to understand Ourselves better So now Krishna has given an introduction of the three modes In the first From 14.5 to 14.9 Then he gives a talk about the conflict And in the conflict Which mode is winning? The three modes are pulling us So how do we know which mode is winning? So there are times When we feel very calm and Reflective Even a person in the mode of passion There are times when they really want to take stock and think of their life If you complete the project Then let’s talk Let’s have a debriefing to see how it went What we can learn So Krishna is saying that Based on what kind of thoughts and emotions Are rising within you You can understand which mode is rising यदा सत्वं प्रवुधेतु सर्वध्वारेशु दैखेष्पिल् प्रखाष उपजायते यानं यदा गदा विद्या विवृद्धा सत्वं इत्युता So he says that All the doors Of the body are illuminated With knowledge That we can understand Characteristic of the mode of goodness Bhagavad Gita Is a poetry It’s a poem, Gita Gita is poetry And poetry means it often uses It has non-literal usages Characteristic of poetry Is various kinds of ornaments So here Krishna is saying सर्वध्वारेशु दैखेष्पिल् प्रखाष When all the doors Of the body are illuminated Then there is सत्व Does that mean In a सत्व In a सत्व person When they open their eyes Light glares out of them Or you look at their ears You see a light bulb inside their ears Sometimes you have these action movies Some people have special powers They open a special eye and some light comes out of their eyes Is it like that? What Krishna is meaning over here is Say if there is a big house And there is a door to the house Now if in the area of the door There is no light Then you won’t be able to see Who is coming and who is going out But if there is light Then we can regulate If some unwanted person is coming in Immediately we will close the door Say if a child is sneaking out Don’t go out, it’s not safe, we will close the door If a friend is coming in We will open the door So when there is light We can regulate input and output So Krishna is saying सर्वध्वारेशु दैखेष्पिल् प्रखाष प्रखाष उपजाखेते In goodness, all the doors of the senses Are illumined by knowledge That means we understand What to take in through the senses And what to give out through the senses So what to speak, what not to speak What to eat, what not to eat What to see, what not to see Sometimes those three monkeys are so Do not see bad, do not hear bad, do not speak bad So that is broadly सफ्गोल But to understand To do these things we have to know What is good and what is bad So in goodness That priority comes over there So when we start Feeling reflective, that means you can understand The mood of goodness is increasing Sometimes We decide I want to do some Introspection But you start doing something and you feel I have to do this, I have to do that So if the urge to act Is increasing a lot That time Krishna says लोभः प्रवित्रारंबः कर्मणामशमस्प्रोहा Actually, in Rajoguna Activity, just you know Activity, activity, activity So I have to do this, I have to do that, I have to do that That is not bad, see none of the modes are bad You should not think the mode of ignorance Is bad or the mode of passion is bad All the modes are required What is bad is Our getting taken over By one particular mode Say when it is time to sleep One of the most frustrating Things is, if you are not able to sleep Now many people If that thing works in their life, they just pull a blanket Over their face and go to sleep, at least that works This is not working That is not working, that is not working, I just go to sleep But even sleeping doesn’t work Laughing We are not able to sleep also Extremely frustrating So, actually If the mode of ignorance Actually doesn’t take us over, we can’t sleep Sleeping Is quite a Mysterious phenomenon Of course, it is mysterious because sometimes people sleep At the wrong time But the point is that Ignorance is also required So that we can rest and sleep Mode of passion is required so that we can act Just like all the three colours are required But, using the three colours What image is being formed If I am drawing a parrot The parrot should be green But if I combine the colours In such a way that the parrot comes out in black Well, that is not proper isn’t it So, each activity Requires a particular mode Hmm So, I remember once A devotee That there was a Guest who was coming in Pune to visit And somehow that flight had come earlier And then We were rushing to receive that guest So, the devotee was a driver The flight was already coming We had to go to the airport Just walking so gently Come on, let’s go, we have to rush He says, no, I want to walk In the mode of goodness In general, we should be in the mode of goodness But more important is That we have to do what we need to do Say, sometimes we need to run We should run Now, if we constantly keep running And can’t stop running Then that is being controlled by the mode of passion So, if none of the modes Is uncritically good None of the modes is entirely bad It is what is required As a functional combination For our working at a particular time So, in general If there is a certain amount of goodness We can regulate and act effectively But each mode In its own way is required And Krishna says, the mode of ignorance Is characterised, so you could put the three modes In a simple way as If there is In goodness, there is first reflection Then there is action I think first, then I act In passion, there is first action Then reflection In ignorance, there is neither reflection Nor action There is just illusion So, Krishna uses these three words Short hand words to describe the three modes Prakasha, Pravritti and Moha So, Prakasha is for which one? Prakasha is Illumination Pravritti is action Hyperactivity or hyperactivity That is for passion And Moha is illusion That is for ignorance So, Krishna will talk about this Again in the following chapter later So, then He talks about these three modes First he is talking about analysis In thinking there are two processes of body There is analysis and there is synthesis Analysis is when We divide things into parts Just like This colour, this colour, this colour Synthesis is when we bring the colours together To create a Attractive painting So, now Krishna is the first five verses From 14.5 onwards Till 14.9, Krishna is talking about the modes in analysis Now from 14.11 To 14.18 He will talk about the modes in synthesis How they work together Which is when you start When you live in goodness Krishna says Krishna talks from the long term perspective The long term effect to the short term effect The long term effect is That if you die When you are in the mode of goodness You will get elevated You will attain a higher destination And Krishna has said I talk about 13.22 Where Krishna says Based on how the soul Gets attached to matter The soul gets good and bad In various species So that various species Krishna is talking over there So then he says in the mode of passion We will stay over here So the modes can affect Our long term destinies Where we go after death But it is not just a long term effect There is also The medium term effect The short term effect So then So he says When you act in goodness Overall The result will be purification So there is Elevation which is a long term result The medium term result will be Those who live in goodness Will lead to purification That is the result And then what is the result of passion Rajasas tu phalam Dukham This is a very good phrase To remember Rajasas tu phalam dukham Rajasas tu phalam dukham So Krishna says If you live only in the mode of passion The fruit of that will be Dukham It will lead to distress It is often We see in the material world The search for happiness Is often the cause Of the greatest unhappiness The search for happiness is often the cause Of the greatest unhappiness We can see this most graphically In terms of people who become addicted to something They thought I drink to go high But then They get trapped Now about drinking First the drinker takes a drink Then the drink takes a drink And then the drink takes the drinker So Rajasas tu phalam dukham When we act in the mode of passion We are thinking only What will be the pleasure now And eventually It leads to dukham It leads to distress Ajnanam tam sahaphalam And in the mode of ignorance The result is Ignorance The mode arises in ignorance And it leads to deeper ignorance And then Immediately Krishna says So this is a long term result The medium term result Then we shall also have the short term result Sattvam sukhe sanjayati Rajakarmani bharata Jnanam tattvam Pramane sanjayatyatam Relatively speaking when we come to goodness We feel contentment Ok Things are That may be good Things are good also But In passion I have to do this, I have to do that And in ignorance There is illusion There is more and more illusion So in today’s world Which mode are mostly people in? Passion Constantly doing I have to do this, I have to do that Now doing things is not bad It is Are we Consciously deciding to do things Or are we just being dragged from one thing to another To another So if you are consciously planning and doing things It is good But if this gets consumed so much by things That we The urgent things take up so much time That we don’t have time for important things Then it becomes a problem See why Rajasastu phalam tukham To see that life Certain things Come with inbuilt deadlines And certain things Don’t come with inbuilt deadlines And most people in today’s world Because we are in passion And going towards ignorance Most people can’t work Without deadlines How many of you have seen That when there is a deadline you start working And the deadline comes close and you start working very hard Isn’t it So we are all deadline group And in many ways The mode of passion Is better than the mode of ignorance In ignorance we will not do anything In passion At least we will do something So if there were no deadlines We would be dead You could say Not literally but we would become inactive So deadlines are good They at least get us out of Ignorance to passion But the problem is That When we are only deadline driven Then there are many things Which In which the deadlines are not so easily seen Say for example Our spiritual life Or even our relationships If we have a job We have a deadline on the job The work we have to do There are deadlines for it You have to cook food, catch a bus to go to office I have to complete cooking the food by this time I have to do this by this time So there are deadline driven Generally what we have to do with things Is of a deadline driven But relationships They are not deadline driven But they also need to be given Time and attention So when we are only in the modes of passion And ignorance Either we don’t do anything or we do things When we are deadline driven But when those things which do not have a deadline Then We neglect them And often our relationship with Krishna Our relationship with devotees Our relationship with the people around us People who are important for us We tend to neglect them So Sometimes we feel in the mode of passion I can get a lot done Yes we can get a lot done But we need time to go into the mode of goodness Also periodically So that we are not just consumed In getting things done We are also checking Whether we are getting important things done It’s important to get things done But it’s important To also get important things done So in passion We will definitely get things done But we get so consumed in getting things done That we will not be checking Whether we are getting important things done And that’s why In some ways Having S.S. Astrid studied This is also something which is not necessarily Deadline driven Bhagavatam is there to study Bhagavatam is so big One day I will start And What happens That one day never comes One day So That’s why Often having some kind of Structure for S.S. Astrid Having Bhakti Shastri, having Bhakti Vaidhav Or having some classes like this Where you are expected every week To read some two hours Shastric study is sattvic But we are such that Without some rajas we can’t even do sattva Without some passion we can’t do your activities goodness So It’s the activity of studying scriptures And goodness But unless we If you want to get something done Because we are so much in passion We need to infuse some rajas in it So We don’t want to be taken over by a mode of passion Entirely But just One day I will come to the mode of goodness And I will do activities in goodness It will never happen So better that I am in passion right now But I want to do activities in goodness Let me do that Let me have some amount of rajas in it So as I said We shouldn’t demonise any mode Every mode has its utility So The I said In the mode of goodness We feel peaceful We feel calm, we feel reflective We feel satisfied in our life In the mode of passion we are driven by Desiring things And again after giving this Perspective From long term to medium term to short term Then again he concludes his discussion By giving a long term perspective So this is 4th point 18 Those who are situated In goodness will get elevated Those who are in passion will have stasis And those who are in ignorance Will be degraded Degraded can refer to lower planets It can refer to lower species Whichever way it might be Overall to lower consciousness And then after talking about this Now Krishna talks about How can we functionally use All this knowledge So he says That after you understand All these modes Understand He says Actually it is the modes who are the doers We are not the doers The modes are the doers Apart from the modes there is no doer And the soul is the observer Of course the soul is not just the observer The soul is the chooser It’s like say If you are playing some video game on TV And you are driving a car Say Grand Outback or something like that Some game you are playing And then you come to a road You want to take lane A, lane B, lane C Now once you choose a lane A You can’t go on the road of lane B So basically We choose lane A And then The software and the hardware Of the software and the computer The video game That races our car along that particular road So now Everything that happens within the video game We are not exactly doing that We are choosing Once we choose Things start zooming So we could say this principle over here is When Krishna says we are not the doers We are transcendental What that means is We are forced to do As we choose to desire We are forced To do what we choose to desire Once we Accept a particular desire This is what I want to do And suppose an alcoholic is thinking I’ll not drink, I’ll drink, I’ll not drink, I’ll drink Okay, I’m going to drink After that it will be like a force takes them over And drags them towards drinking So we Once we choose After that the control is lost from our hands Of course it’s not entirely lost We can pull back But we get pulled by the modes very much Understand that you are the chooser And if you go beyond the modes You can go beyond the cycle of birth and death So that’s what Krishna said In the beginning of the chapter Those who understand this knowledge They will go beyond the cycle of birth and death That’s what Krishna concludes in 4th point 20 When he says Things have liberated So at 14.20 Krishna has completed His discussion And then Arjun asks 3 questions And what comes afterwards is the answer to those 3 questions So Are there any questions? Am I overwhelming all of you? Oh, oh, oh, okay It’s good Okay I will complete it Can I just ask one question? Obviously The question which Arjuna asks Is Are you overcoming the understanding of the Self? So that’s the what answer That Krishna answers The question is My question is How do you Do that? So what is the answer to that? How do you overcome it? Okay, I will talk about it So Arjun asks Krishna 3 questions So he says What are the characteristics of one who is transcendent in modes? The word linga can refer to gender And linga can also refer to characteristic So When a baby is newborn There is a characteristic by which The gender is determined So linga can refer to both So what is the characteristic? In terms of a behaviour One who is transcendent in modes So one is for oneself How can I know In terms of the consciousness by which the modes are transcendent Second is What is the behaviour? Is somebody else is transcendent or not? How do I know that? And the third is How to transcend? The three questions This is 4.21 And the first question is answered in 22 and 23 Linga is answered in 22 and 23 Is answered in 24 and 25 And How to transcend That’s answered in 26 Now When Krishna talks about how to transcend The modes The first thing he says is very interesting Krishna says When that influence comes Don’t get carried away by it Don’t resent it, don’t rejoice it Just observe it Krishna says Become an observer of your thoughts An observer of your emotions And Udasi na vadasi Udasi na vad means as if detached So in English there are two words There is uninterested And there is disinterested Does anyone know the difference between the two words? Or you are not interested? Yes? Disinterested And uninterested No no uninterested Actually the difference is Disinterested means Having no vested interests Like impartial And uninterested means Having no interest at all So So Krishna talks about Udasi na vad as if detached So Krishna says be disinterested Not uninterested Say consider a cricket match is going on And there is The umpire is right in the middle of the action And then The ball goes And hits the foot of the player And the batsman How is that? And the umpire says I was not watching the match I am not interested What are you doing here? You cannot be uninterested But The umpire has to be Disinterested And the umpire in favour of the ball is Out That will not do So the umpire has to be Interested but also disinterested Interested In the sense that he has to observe But disinterested is impartial So Krishna is saying similarly Become a disinterested Observer of your thoughts and emotions See when we say Our mind is our enemy We should not listen to the mind But we can’t always say no to everything The mind is saying That’s why I talk about certain disciplines Certain suggestions the mind comes up with Certain desires no But certain things yes So it’s like when the players Appeal the umpire doesn’t have A default response yes or no The umpire evaluates On merit Similarly when thoughts and desires come up within us We evaluate On merit If you understand your soul Different from your body and mind Then You can evaluate On merit He says Be situated As the soul And observe your emotions When you can do this Then you will not get carried away By the emotions An important point to understand In this is that Sometimes you start thinking How can I just observe When a particular desire comes It’s going to grow and grow How can I just keep observing it That’s a secret over here That our desires When they come up The urges that come up Say lust or anger or greed or envy or whatever Say an alcoholic has the urge to drink Whatever Now these urges are not like Endlessly rising lights They are Increase increase increase Increase increase increase I have to give up eventually So because I have to give up eventually Let me give up immediately No Actually they rise But they are not like endlessly rising lights They are like endlessly recurring waves The wave will rise To a particular point It will come to a crest and then it will go down Come to a top Again it will rise but again it will go down So another example we could use For this So we just have to resist it Till it rises rises rises After sometime it will subside But most of the time We don’t resist it till that time We feel sometimes strong strong This is what we do We resist it and we give up But if we resist it, the crest will go down And we come to a top Another example could be that Say we are playing an arm wrestling match Now in an arm wrestling match Suppose the other person is very powerful And he Almost got our arm to the ground And How long can I hold on And we just give up But suppose it’s a Timed arm wrestling match So you have to get the other person’s arm down In say three minutes And if you can’t get it Then this round is over, it’s a draw So like that Now our hand might be almost down But If we just rewind the current round Three minutes get over Then we won’t start here We’ll start on neutral ground We’ll start from here again So similarly for us When the modes come No mode stays forever So you could say Our dealing with each mode is like one round One round we are dealing with it And when Krishna says Just observe, stay detached That means don’t get carried away It’s not going to last forever When we feel bored, when we feel lazy We just don’t feel like doing anything Yes, that feeling will come But it’s not going to be there forever Just go through it Live through it So if we just survive the present round We’ll resume on neutral ground Neutral ground So this is how We can become an observer Like the players are appealing The player keeps appealing The umpire says this player is appealing so much If I don’t give out The player will keep appealing so let me give out No, the player can’t keep appealing The umpire says no The player has to start playing again So our emotions can appeal to us But we can resist their appeals So understanding our own spirituality Helps us recognise that We are different from our emotions And we can choose our emotions Choose to accept them or choose to reject them And Krishna says How do you know that some people Have transcended their modes It is by When we see that they stay equal poised Sukha, Dukha, Sama, Swastha Samaloshita, Shiva, Kanchana In happiness, in distress, in honour, in dishonour They stay equal poised But it’s interesting If they don’t feel happiness Distressed Then they won’t even know it is happiness It’s not that they don’t feel it Another place Krishna says In Bhagavad Gita 5.20 Do not be elated when there is happiness And do not be dejected when there is distress So Krishna is saying here That you will experience some things as Enjoy and happy And some things as unhappiness Something as pleasant Something as unpleasant We can’t wish away our experience Some people are just Enjoyed to be with And some people Are just Unhappy to be with Now we can’t deny The emotion that we feel But we don’t have to get carried away By that emotion So Krishna is saying If somebody can stay equal poised Then they have transcended their modes And then how do we get there One thing I talked about is self observation But Lord Krishna says If you become fixed in bhakti Then you can transcend the modes Now you may wonder It is because of the modes only I can’t be fixed in bhakti Because the mode of exercise is so strong I can’t wake up in the morning Because the mode of practise is so strong I don’t feel like sitting and studying Shastra or chanting or whatever else So the modes are what is coming in the way So how can I be fixed in bhakti And thereby go beyond the modes So it’s like It’s like the Old chicken and egg question What comes first, the chicken or the egg Well whatever you have Start with the chicken If you have a chicken, lay an egg If you have an egg, get a chicken So How do we work We work with whatever We have right now So if I say that Okay I cannot wake up at 4 o’clock in the morning Okay then what time can you wake up Self discovery and self discipline So we could say I cannot be fixed in bhakti at this level But I can be fixed in bhakti at this level I can be fixed in bhakti at this level So we connect with Krishna As much as we can Right now And through that Fixed connection Gradually Our Purity increases And then we can expand that connection That means somebody says Oh I find this I don’t like this, I find this too difficult Okay what do you like to do in bhakti What can you do Become What one thing can you become fixed in bhakti Okay I can come to the temple once a week Make that as a fixed commitment Other things also we want to do But if there is something Which we like to do Then doing it will not be an Austerity I’ll conclude This is partially answer to your question See there is emotion And there is reason Within us And you have a logical faculty So when Krishna is telling Become observer of your emotions Use reason This emotion is not good, this desire is not good I’ll not do it So we have emotion and we have reason And if there is a battle between emotion and reason We say we should try to be rational We try to be reasonable But sometimes the emotion Have to fall So in the battle between emotion and reason If we have only reason On the spiritual side And emotion on the material side On the mental side We will not be able to sustain our spirituality But what bhakti does is Bhakti gets emotion also On the spiritual side How does bhakti do that? Within bhakti find out Something that you like to know And Make that more and more Accessible to yourself Suppose somebody likes ping pong Then just memorise your favourite tunes Keep some of your favourite rhythms with you So when that lower mode starts hitting us When passion starts hitting us When ignorance starts hitting us So you think if the hand has almost gone down You are just not able to resist anymore At that time If We have to think reasonably Logically it will be very difficult Because we are so caught in the battle But if we could at that time Do connect our conscience With something which we like to do Anger or desire Or what is overwhelming us We may find at that time it will also be difficult to do But if we have our favourite picture of Krishna, Darshan Just look at that Logically we feel some emotion We feel some connection Or if we like some shlokas Then just keep the shlokas Maybe a recording of the shlokas Print of the shlokas and just recite that Just recite that By that what will happen We will hit Some emotion will move spiritually also So once the Spiritual connection is established Then the material emotion that is Pulling us by the modes We can decrease it So Rupa Goswami In his Ujjwal Neelamani Which is the next book after Bhakti Saamsindhu He calls this as Uddhipan Uddhipan means Spiritual stimulus See all of us have certain sensual stimuli That agitate us Somebody Say in a country like America For them Cricket usually refers to the insect You see cricket match is going on What? Two crickets are fighting with each other See cricket match is going on They may not agitate them at all But for them baseball Or basketball that’s very big They may get agitated by that Just like in the world we have certain Sensual stimuli that agitate us And those stimuli may not Agitate the other person Just like there are sensual stimuli For each person Similarly there can be particular Spiritual stimuli for each person So we find those Spiritual stimuli that can connect Us with Krishna And we try to become fixed In that So unflinchingly connect with that Or some people Some people actually like philosophy They like to hear classes of our In general classes Classes on a particular subject Particular pastime What we like we keep that accessible to us So there is self-discipline But there is also self-discovery This is what I like Then I use this to gain strength And resist doing what I don’t like So if you become fixed in one activity of bhakti Gradually that will lead to purification And that purification Will enable us to become fixed in other activities In bhakti also And that’s how we transcend the modes And ultimately Krishna says that By practising bhakti You become the brahman platform The brahman platform is the Lasting happiness So The ultimate happiness is the brahman platform Now that can be just by understanding us as the soul Understanding us as the parts of Krishna All eternal happiness Is at the spiritual level So this way Krishna concludes this chapter By telling us How both through self-observation And through devotion Through self-observation And through devotion We can transcend the modes Thank you very much So let’s quickly take some questions How do you differentiate between the mind and the intelligence Ultimately Taxonomy Is always very There are no watertight categories Say like If you see the world map, this is America, this is Canada But if you go There, it’s not like there is a clean dividing line At the top of it This is America, this is Canada So in general, we could say So what is mind, what is intelligence There is no, we don’t have inner eye Which you can see, and there are no inner boxes This is mind speaking, this is intelligence speaking So broadly what we can see is To functionally Differentiate between the two Is see Not where something is coming from But where something is taking us So If something is taking us in a Direction which we know from past experience Is unhealthy Then we can presume it is coming from the mind If something is taking us towards a positive direction We can say it is coming from the intelligence That’s a functional way to differentiate Now Should we become Should we master the mind or become a master of mind Actually this is I think the words are very different over here The word mind We use it in a very different sense from What is used in the world Einstein was one of the Latest minds of the last century Now where we use the word mind It refers to basically intellectual capacity Intellectual person Or sometimes we use the word Have you lost your mind There what we mean It’s not that your mind is falling away and you don’t know where it is The mind is not physical Have you lost your mind There it means We are referring to mind as In good sense Give this your full mind Then we are using the word mind to refer to Attention The word mind has different meanings So when we say master the mind That simply means that The The Impulsive force which comes up within us Which goes for short sighted pleasure Short sighted drives vindictiveness That which is short term within us Learn to restrain That is master the mind Master mind refers to somebody Who is very expert in a particular field Somebody might be a Mastermind in Management Mastermind in leadership Mastermind in painting So mastermind usually refers to Some extraordinary talented capacity With which somebody is able to do some things in life So if We are If If a special master in your service Is not aligned to our nature Like preaching for an introvert No it’s not That simple Why Because generally understanding our nature Also takes some time If we ask Our mind What is my nature? What is the service according to my nature? The mind will say whatever service You are doing now that is not According to your nature So you are presuming That my service is not according to my nature That could also Get rid of the mind Thinking that This is not according to my nature That could also be a trick of the mind Understanding our nature also takes some time So broadly speaking When we are trying to practise Bhakti we learn the principle of submission and discipline Try to do Whatever service we are told to do As much as we can But while doing services We observe ourselves This service I am good at doing This service I am comfortable doing So when Krishna says Guna Karma Nibhag Shaha Guna and Karma I put in contemporary terms as Competence and Comfort So if I am comfortable doing something And I am competent to do something That is broadly according to our nature And So gradually we can gravitate Towards that service So initially we are told to do what we are told to do But if we see Longer time the spiritual master Wants us to learn the principle of vigilance But the spiritual master also wants us To be happily stewarded in bhakti And to be sustainably stewarded in bhakti So if you are doing a service Which is according to nature You can do it for a long time So there can be discussion, negotiation I can do this service I feel inspired to do this Can I do this? You can talk to the authorities And usually it is not that the spiritual master Will deliberately tell us to do something Which is against our nature So if you talk And understand and explore You can gradually gravitate Towards the service according to our nature And it is not that introverts can’t preach Actually There are different kinds of preaching There is some kind of preaching which requires One to be like a charismatic crowd puller So generally introverts May find that difficult But there is also a preaching which is Where people are more educated You are more of an educator Say something like Bhakti Shastri course You don’t need to be an extrovert For that Because that time you can study and discuss Deeply subjects So we don’t have to think that preaching is not for extroverts There are The same service can be done in different ways Even an introvert may distribute books But the way an introvert Distributes books will be different From the way an extrovert distributes So we shouldn’t equate a service With a particular nature That will happen when we Equate a service With a particular way of doing service There is a difference Some devotees when they give a class It is like they are so animated It is a performance Some devotees when they give a class Nothing except their mouth is moving Now Classes can be given in different ways The important thing is That you be effective So we don’t have to necessarily equate The way an extrovert may preach May not be the way an introvert preaches But we can communicate the message We can connect with people Then we can do that service in our own way Yes please Is it so Do you need someone to help you Understand yourself And how do you know even that is wrong Ok So Is it hard to understand ourselves If we say Sometimes we should do service And listen to our mind And when that is right and when that is wrong The first thing is Life never comes with a guarantee Of right decisions If we wait For the right decision We wait for the rest of eternity Because we are finite We can never have absolute certainty About anything So we just use Whatever intelligence, whatever knowledge we have And we just do the best That we can So if we find after sometime that Ok I did this but that didn’t work out so well So We change that We choose a particular service Because I feel like doing that So what we could do to prevent Being carried away by the mind is That not just change services Based on emotions Say if I decide to do a particular service Then commit for some Finite time Maybe 3 months, 6 months 1 month at least, 1 year Whatever my mind says Now I will do this service And maybe after 3 months Or 6 months I feel very good I also feel very happy And I am also able to do service Then I continue that Or if I feel it is quite lost I still do that For 3 months Then we change over to something else So that way we use Our intelligence as much as we can To plan This is what I am going to do And then do it the best we can That’s why you could say there is self discovery Initially when you are doing a particular thing Just think and then Decide what I am going to do But when you are doing it, have self discipline Just have self discipline We don’t make such an extreme Resolution that we can’t keep it But in a moderate way what is possible We do it And then after the finite period is complete Then again have self observation So that way we could have this alternative Otherwise if you are constantly Trying to do both things You will end up doing nothing So when you are doing self discipline Just focus on self discipline When you are doing self discovery Focus on self discovery That way by separating the two You will be able to move forward And self guidance helps If we can have somebody To whom we can talk And they can tell us from their perspective It could be a friend It could be a family member It could be a spiritual guide If we have somebody with whom we can talk And understand ourselves better It’s good because We don’t just Think by thinking We also think by talking So thinking by writing Is also generally good So instead of thinking Inside the head It’s getting quite confusing You start thinking inside the head You might get lost inside the head sometimes So either write it down Talk with someone That also helps And don’t worry so much if it’s a wrong decision or right decision Because that conclusion We can never have We just do the best that we can So will we eventually come to a time Where we start getting internal guidance About how best to use our time In Krishna’s service Yes We will broadly Get an understanding of Ourselves good enough To know what we should do And what we should not do It may not be a black and white kind of understanding But at least broadly We will understand This is a service which I don’t want to get into This I want to do Maybe I can consider it So as we understand ourselves more and more It’s not that everything Will just come by spontaneous clear guidance But there are some things Which you might say this is not for me And I don’t want to get involved in this I really want to do this And We can also observe ourselves by What interests us the most I have a whole seminar on Discovering our purpose in life So I talk about three main I talk about three broad areas There is a problem There is a potential and there is a process That means In the world out there There is something wrong which I feel I need to fix Which I feel needs to be fixed The world is a very big place I can’t fix the world Even in our own movement Our own community But there is some problem Which we feel strongly about This needs to be fixed We look at the world And we look at things What do we strongly feel? This should be done better Then secondly, potential Do I have the ability to do it? Otherwise I just keep complaining This is bad, this is bad So look at the problem, look at the issue That we feel strongly about Look at yourself to see whether We have the resources, we have the ability To deal with that And third is the process I should also have I might feel I want to I want to meet people Our people can be done much better I have singing ability also But then I don’t have a process, who should I approach? I can’t just I can’t pick the kids My kids are singing all the time So maybe I have to approach the authorities So process So we look at these three things broadly A problem that we feel strongly about A potential that we have and we can develop And a process for using that potential To solve that problem So by that gradually we can discover Our purpose in life And it’s not necessary that we have to always have The best purpose Some optimal purpose is better than no purpose And we work on some optimal purpose Gradually we’ll work on a more optimal purpose also Thank you Any other questions? Okay I like this example Self discipline and self discovery Some devotees Try to do management And after they do management Others have to manage them They get so stressed and worked up That more than a service The person becomes a source of stress for others So maybe Don’t do management So we all need to take Some amount of Stress in our service Some amount of change But you know there is this concept of Comfort zone, stress zone and panic zone So the idea is If I lift 10 kg weight And I will go and lift 1 kg weight There is no hugging exercise, there is comfort zone If I lift 11-12 kg weight That’s some exercise But if I lift 50 kg weight I get crushed So we all want to take challenges But we have to see Whether the challenge stimulates us Or challenge just Burdens us, agitates us Irritates us So if something is Just too agitating for us And too agitating for others Then we can say that We discover that this is what I am also good at doing Sometimes we do something And it goes away, I didn’t know I was good at this So basically By seeing how much How well we are able to do it By that we can separate The self discovery And self discipline Does it make sense? So Okay What if What if other priorities consume us Even if we don’t want to be consumed We want to be in goodness But then we find ourselves Pushed into passion We can’t begin In our life Unless we begin with our life We can’t begin in our life I want to do this, I want to do that We have to begin with our life So if our current priorities Our current situation requires A certain amount of passion We just try to wish I want to be in goodness And that’s not going to help Begin where you are So then all of us can create Say if I find that Out of 12 hours of work that I do 12 hours of whatever I do Out of that amount Most of the time I need to be in passion Okay then try to create maybe some half an hour One hour, 15 minutes Of time where you try to be in goodness And gradually That may increase So we don’t have to We can’t reject the situation That we are in right now We have to work with that situation But we don’t have to let that situation Control us completely In life Sometimes we are in Say life is like a tennis match In a tennis match Sometimes you are serving And sometimes you are returning When we are returning At that time We have very little control The player might have very good forehand But the ball comes On the backhand And the player says my forehand is so good I hit on the forehand Well you will only hit there At that time the player has to Play on the backhand And somehow get the ball back in the play Once you get the ball back in the play Then eventually they will play on the forehand also So when a player Is returning They have far greater constraints But they don’t have to keep returning all the time Eventually they will be serving also So sometimes we are in a situation In life when we are returning So when we are returning Our situations are constrained And there are players There are players who have become Grand Slam champions simply by their expertise On returning Very good returners So even working with constrained situations Can also help us grow And that’s how We can also move forward in our life So yes my situation requires me Mostly to be passionate except that But within that create some pocket of goodness For myself Maybe in future situation will change and there can be more goodness afterwards So she is talking So very Intelligently you are signalling by turning on that So thank you very much