Gita Overview Mumbai 17.11-14 Understanding svabhava svakarma and svadharma

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
Gaur Bhakta ki Jai, I go to bring on in this.
Hare Krishna. So, we continue with the 17th chapter of the Bhagavad Gita. We discussed food in the three modes.
Now, we’ll move forward and discuss the other item that Krishna has mentioned. So, then he talks about yajna, the three modes. Not desiring the foods.
Yajna. Vidhi-dishto. Vidhi-dishto means, like we have Vidhi is scriptural injection.
Dishto means to be imparted or to be given. One who performs our shifts, does yajna, I call it vidhi-dishto. Okay, scriptures have told me, therefore I should do it.
Samadhaya-sasatvikaha. Such a person, when that consciousness of the mind, that frame of the mind, he makes his mind like that. Okay, this is my ordained duty, let me do it.
Samadhaya-sasatvikaha. So, here I would like to talk about the relationship between three terms, svabhava, svakarma, and svadharma. Why should we follow scripture without expecting result? Normally, this is something which is very antithetical to the modern attitude.
We think, I do something, I expect a result. So, why should we do something without expecting results? So, actually speaking, the scriptures want us to get a far greater result than just some temporary material gains. So, let us look at these three terms, svabhava, svakarma, and svadharma.
So, svabhava is one’s inner natural disposition, that means how one thinks. Svakarma is outer natural activity, and svadharma is scriptural guidance for one’s actions or activity. So, what does this mean? Svabhava is inner inclination, svakarma is the way I act, and svadharma is the regulation given in the scripture about how I should act.
That means, let us consider a vaisya. A vaisya’s svabhava will be money-mindedness. A vaisya, normally whatever that person gets, that person will think about in terms of money.
Svabhava will be money-mindedness. Let me see how much can I earn in this, how can I get in this. Then svakarma will be say business or agriculture or whatever, basically it will be money-making.
And svadharma will be scriptural guidelines or regulations of how money should be made and not made, should and shouldn’t be earned. So, when all these three are there, so that means continuing the example, an intellectual will naturally be attracted to books, study concepts, that will be the svabhava. And svakarma will be, that person will want to become a researcher, a scholar, a writer, a teacher.
But the svadharma, the scripture will tell, okay, how should I become a writer, how should you become a teacher, what should be the beliefs, what should be the attitude that guide you when you do these activities. So, in that sense, if we simply act according to our svabhava and do svakarma, we can get degraded. If a vaisya just follows the svabhava, okay, I’m money-minded, so I’ll earn money.
Then what will happen is that svabhava and the svakarma will slowly but surely make the person thread away from morality because at that particular level, morality itself is not the svabhava. The svabhava is money-making. So, the person will be dragged away from morality by the svabhava.
But when the person understands that I have to follow the scripture, then by following scripture, the person stays regulated. And not only does he stay regulated by which he’s materially protected, but also because that person is regulated, he becomes elevated gradually because he’s following the scripture. So, when the scriptures say, don’t be expectant of the fruits, that means don’t make just the acquisition of fruits the sole motivation for doing activity.
The motivation for doing activity ultimately is purification. It is a development of knowledge. It is ultimately liberation.
So, that’s why whatever is prescribed, do that. And by that, the results will come. It is not that one doesn’t care for the result, but one doesn’t make the results one’s sole motivation for doing the activity.
Naturally, when we want to do any activity, if we don’t care for the results, we won’t be able to do it well. But the sole motivation for doing our activity is not just getting the results. It is ultimately at a karma yoga level, it is purification.
At a bhakti yoga level, it’s pleasing the Lord. So, Srila Prabhupada was preaching for all those years, 30-40 years in India and was not getting much success. If he had just been motivated by the idea of success alone, he would have become disheartened and he would have become very bitter.
But Srila Prabhupada was never bitter. He was satisfied. He was happy.
A preacher cannot attract people if the preacher is bitter with him. Especially a preacher is talking about the art of spiritual life, the art of living, the art of becoming happy. So, Prabhupada was not bitter about it.
Prabhupada was happy. Why was he happy? Because his purpose was to please the spiritual master and he knew that by carrying out the instruction of his spiritual master, he would try to preach in the English language and to the western countries, I am successful. And later on, Krishna manifested the external success also.
Now, Srila Prabhupada really cared for success. If Srila Prabhupada had not cared for success, then he would have just continued preaching in India lifelong. It didn’t matter whether I am successful or not.
I had done my duty of preaching. So, certainly for a devotee, preaching is not a ritual. The devotee, it is not that I have been told to do it, just do it.
Whether whatever, I get the result or not, it doesn’t matter. We care for the result, but the result is not the sole motivation for doing the act. Our motivation is higher.
Is this point clear? So, this attitude is in the mode of goodness. So, abhisandhaya tuphalam, abhisandhaya means the word sandhi, it is like attachment or connection. You know, there was a sandhi vigraha, we do that.
So, abhisandhaya, when one is attached, it is a connection, very strong emotional connection between the person, the doer and a fruit that is sought. Abhisandhaya tuphalam, the bharatam api chahiye. So, a person is attached to the result and the person is also proud that I am the doer.
So, not only do I want the result, but I also want the credit that I did it and I got the result. Ijyate bharata sreshya tam yajnam pithirajasam. Such yajna when it is performed, that is rajasik.
So, in this and the next chapter of Krishnamurti, we have a lot of classification of activities based on the moments and whenever there is a specific sub-characteristics, we will look at them. Many places the patterns will be similar. So, ijyate bharata sweshta.
Krishna is telling Arjuna, you are the greatest among the bharatas, but this kind of activity that you do, then it will be rajasam. So, if you are fighting and you are considering, oh I will win, it is good. If I lose, it will be bad.
So, depending on this calculation alone, I will decide whether I will fight or not and that is rajasik. Don’t be rajasik. Then vidihinam sushtannam.
Mantrahinam adakshinam. Shraddhavirahitam yajnam. Tamasamparichakshate.
So, tamasamparichakshate is modified verse. Vidihinam. Earlier it was vidhishto.
Vidhishto means according to scripture. Vidhihinam means without any scripture. So, in general, the mode of ignorance and mode of goodness are quite radically opposed.
Asushtannam. Asushtannam means Krishna considers actually the distribution of anna at the end of a sacrifice to be so important. So, Krishna mentioned that as a distinctively one item, that if there is sacrifice performed without the distribution of food, that sacrifice is tamasik.
Mantrahinam adakshinam. So, one doesn’t chant proper mantras, one doesn’t give dakshina to the priest and most important, shraddhavirahitam. If one doesn’t have faith.
So, now when we say he doesn’t have faith, actually shraddhamayo yam purucha yaiyya shraddhasevasa. Krishna has said earlier that ultimately everybody is made of faith and as is our faith, so we become. As our belief, so we become.
So, when he’s talking about shraddhavirahitam, here he’s talking about shraddha in shastra and the person doesn’t have shraddha in shastra, that’s why it’s vidhihinam. So, vidhihinam means actually one doesn’t follow shastra. Another is shraddhavirahitam means one doesn’t have faith in shastra.
Sometimes some people may have faith in shastra, but people may feel okay, this is good, but it’s too lofty, it’s not practical for me to do it. So, I appreciate it, but I can’t do it. But when there is vidhihinam shraddhavirahitam, neither there is avoidance with scripture, nor is there a faith in the validity of scripture, such as tamasika.
So, basically there are essential elements which comprise the sacrifice and when these are not there, then that is a sacrifice of tamasika. These principles apply not just to yajna, they apply to all activities, although Krishna is primarily talking about yajna only. Now, he will talk about austerity in three modes.
But before that, Krishna does something very interesting. He talks about, remember earlier we talked about goodness, passion, ignorance, and then worship, and there is goodness in goodness, goodness, passion, goodness, ignorance. So, Krishna is talking about austerity in the three modes, goodness, passion, ignorance.
But before that, he says that when we perform austerity, austerity essentially means some kind of forced regulation. Actually, when there is a differentiation between, austerity appears like deprivation. But the difference between austerity and deprivation is deprivation is forced, whereas austerity is voluntary.
So, austerity is, some people may be starved in some torture chamber or some prison, and some people may choose fasting. So, one is deprivation, the other is austerity because it is either voluntary or it is forced. So, now this kind of regulation, disciplining, we can do to our three primary faculties.
These are the body, sorry, the other body, the mind and speech. So, Krishna will describe first the characteristics of austerity for these three, and then he will describe the austerities in the three modes. So, Krishna first describes that the poojanam, poojanam means, sometimes we use the word respect to worship, but poojanam basically means respectable, so to respect.
So, Krishna says these four categories of people, deva, they are referred to as devatas, dvija, this is Brahma as guru, and pragya, pragya means wise people of any kind. So, even if a person is not elderly, but that person is wise, that person should be respected. What is the example of this in the Bhagavatam? Shuddha Goswami himself, he was so pragya that even Vyasadeva came and heard from Madhya Dada Sages, poojanam, and then after that saucham, cleanliness is austerity, and arjavam, arjavam means simplicity.
So, arjavam can, sometimes the word arjuna also is related to arjavam. So, arjuna also refers to truthfulness. Truthfulness is basically, you could say straightforwardness or simplicity in speech.
But here when he is talking about bodily austerity, arjavam refers to simplicity. And then brahmacharyam ahimsa cha, one should practise brahmacharya, and one should be non-violent, shariram tapa ucyate. So, this is the third reference to brahmacharya in the Bhagavad Gita.
Let us look at the earlier references. Try to understand what context Krishna speaks this. Actually, the fourth reference, if I am not mistaken, let us see.
Brahmacharya. So, Krishna refers to it first time in four, let us take the ones that are next. So, there is no direct reference to brahmacharya, but Krishna also talks about brahmacharya is controlling, or rather brahmacharya is the sacrifice of the performance.
They offer the senses to the mind. Normal sense enjoyment, you offer the sense objects to the senses. But the brahmacharyas do not offer the sense objects to the senses, they offer the senses to the mind.
They offer it to sanyama, that means the restrained mind. So, rather than letting the senses go to the sense objects, we take the senses and offer them in the mind, turn them inwards, turn them towards Krishna. So, this is the first reference to brahmacharya.
Although the word brahmacharya is not there, but in general from Vedic culture we understand that this refers to brahmacharya, because the next part talks about the grahasthas. So, Prabhupada says the unadulterated brahmacharyas and the regulated householders. Now, after this, Krishna talks about brahmacharya in the sixth chapter when he is talking about those who go out in the forest to practise.
So, when he is talking over here in 6.40, he is telling that the yogi should practise brahmacharya. So, we will just first list this out and then we will look at what are the implications of this. Then once more he talks about in the 8th chapter, not 8.8, it is little later, 8.11. So, here he is talking about the brahmacharya transcendentalist attain liberation.
Now, after this, next time he talks about it in the verse that we are discussing. Now, it is 17.14, isn’t it? So, when he is talking about brahmacharya here, what is he talking about? It is the austerity of the body. So, let us look at these four now.
The first is in the context of 4th chapter references to various kinds of sacrifices that are performed. So, he says some do jnana yajna, some do tapo yajna, some do this kind of different kind of sacrifices and dravya yajna, tapo yajna, jnana yajna, all those kind of sacrifices. One of them is brahmacharya is itself a sacrifice.
Then he talks about a specific sadhana, ashtanga yoga. In ashtanga yoga, one of the, among the yama and niyamas, one of them is brahmacharya, that Krishna refers to over there. And then he says, actually, it is not just tantric practises at the start.
If one keeps practising that, then brahmacharyam vedavidho vadanti, it is a person, laksharam, they attain the brahman. And now finally, when he is talking about the austerity of the body, this is a generic principle for everyone. So, now in Vedic culture, the word brahmacharya can refer, generally refers to, the word brahmacharya has two meanings.
One is a negative meaning and the other is a positive meaning. The negative meaning of brahmacharya is not associating with women, but the positive, or no sexual contact with women primarily. But the positive meaning is brahma charati iti brahmacharya, those who live in spirit, those who live, those who charati, those who move about in brahman, they are called as brahmacharyas.
Now, negative aspect is no sexual contact with women and positive aspect, live in spirit, charati, move about, live in brahman, in God consciousness. Now, if we see Krishna’s references are very much towards the, they are pointing towards the positive direction. Although implicit in the meaning of brahmacharya is that we should oppose not associating with women, but the idea is all this is meant for a higher connection.
Brahmacharya in and of itself is not an end, it is not a goal, it is a means to a goal. And that means, that goal is actually connection with God. Sometimes people ask that ultimately God has only created sex and it is through sex that the world goes on.
So, what is wrong with sex? And one can practise spiritual life even as a girl. So, what is wrong actually speaking? Yes, one can practise, but love means availability. If we love someone, we are available to that person.
And sex is one of the biggest factors that makes us unavailable for God. When we are obsessed with sexual desires, they make us mentally unavailable to Krishna. They are mentally caught up.
And once we try to get into the business of fulfilling sexual desires, we get into householder life and we also become physically unavailable for Krishna. So, the idea is that it is not that the principle of brahmacharya is not to torture oneself, but it is to devote oneself to an enemy. So, love is expressed through availability.
Now, suppose you see that in a very practical way, a mother, she loves her child and that is why she is available round the clock to the child. If there is a babysitter, babysitter has fixed hours and the hours are over and the baby is crying, the babysitter will not really care at that time. But the mother will have no hours.
Love means actually around the clock. So, what we want to do is, as devotees, to be single-mindedly focused on Krishna, we want to be constantly available for Krishna. And so, the desire for sex makes us emotionally unavailable for Krishna.
And then the pursuit of sex makes us physically also unavailable. So, at present, I am writing a book about wankhood, explaining why somebody in the modern times will become a wank. It is not exactly a glorification of brahmacharya, but basically objective explanation.
So, the idea is that when some devotees become or when devotees become brahmacharis, then the emotions are so high at that time that neither can we explain to our relatives nor can our relatives hear from us. And basically, at that time, there is tremendous polarisation that happens between all the relatives and the friends and the family members on one side and the devotees on the other side. And then we get caught in between.
So, although we want to communicate, it becomes very difficult to communicate at that time. So, the idea is that we want to explain brahmacharya in a way that does not convey to them, convey to parents or relatives that we are ungrateful to them or we do not care for them or that for that matter, we do not even care for the world. The way we practise brahmacharya and spiritual and Krishna Consciousness, Ashoka Prabhupada taught is, it is not that we reject the world.
In fact, we engage with the world, but we are engaging in a different way. So, generally speaking, rather than saying that sex is sinful. Sex, when it is outside the presence of dharma, it becomes sinful.
But Ashoka Prabhupada also gave a similar explanation when he was asked. He says, what is wrong with sex? Prabhupada says, we are not opposed to sex. But then you have sexual regulations.
Prabhupada said, yes. Prabhupada said, if you are constantly thinking about searching new sexual partners, how can your mind be peaceful to think about God? And of course, he accepted that explanation. It was on a TV talk show, Prabhupada gave that explanation.
So, the idea is, we should be able to explain what we are trying to do without making other people feel bad about what they are doing. It is not that they are all fallen, they are this and that, we are glorious. That is not the point which you want to convey.
You feel you want to live your life in one way, we accept that and we feel inspired to live our life in a different way. So, that sort of rational communication becomes difficult because the emotions are so surcharged. And that is why when eventually if we want to take to Brahmacharya, it is very good for us to write down our own convictions.
Because when we write down our convictions, they stay with us for long. So, there is this whole property of thoughts that as long as thoughts are in the mind, especially thoughts which are complex, which are not subject to easy resolution, as long as they stay in the mind, we just keep going round and round and they do not get resolved. But as soon as we write down those thoughts, several things happen.
First thing that happens is our mind becomes at least temporarily calm. Now I have expressed this. And then just getting those thoughts out enables us to evaluate those thoughts.
As long as they are inside, we cannot really think objectively, critically, rationally about it. Just go around, go around. But once you take out those thoughts, put them on writing in some diary or something like that and then look at them.
Okay, my anxiety is, if I join, what will happen to my parents? If they fall sick, who will take care of them? If we just keep that anxiety in the mind, we just go round and round and round. We take it out and write down. Okay, this could be done, this could be done, this could be done.
And then once we make a plan, the next time the anxiety comes, just go and look at that once again. This is what I have planned. Now, okay, can this be done? Can this be? Okay, I have some brothers who can take care.
I want some money and that can be used. Or I can get them to take them to Mumbai and they can become a part of the community over here or whatever. There can be different ways that can be worked out.
But the point is, these sort of, there are, whenever there is a problem, there is a solution. And sometimes we come across the solution also. But at the time of need, the solution doesn’t come in the mind.
So whatever our convictions, actually the convictions that we have are the gifts of Krishna. Our convictions, our devotional convictions are Krishna’s gifts. And they need to be cherished.
It’s not that just because I feel convinced now, that means I will feel the same level of conviction throughout my life. So our convictions in terms of feelings will keep changing. But beyond the feelings, there is some, there is some logic, there is some analysis, there is some scriptural insight that is the basis for that conviction.
So the feelings may go up and down, but the scriptural basis and the logical analysis, the rational thinking, that will sustain us. So that’s why this is, especially for the pivotal, critical decisions of our life, it is important to write down our convictions. That will help us to revisit them and then either refresh our convictions or maybe modify them slightly.
I was thinking like this, but now after one year of practise, I feel okay, it’s not exactly like this, it’s like that. So then we will have a reason. One of the biggest problems for us is that when we can’t explain our feelings to others or when we can’t make sense of our feelings for ourselves, then we start feeling very insecure.
That means I’m feeling like this, I’m feeling fearful, I’m feeling agitated, I’m feeling anxious. So when the feelings are there and there is no basis for those feelings, then even if we share those feelings with others, it’s difficult for the others to address them. I’m feeling anxious about my parents.
Oh, this is just material attachment. That will not work at that time. Somebody tells us like that, it will not work over there.
So then if I’m feeling anxious about my parents, what is the cause? Okay, this is the cause, this is the cause. And how can I deal with it? One, two, three. So in general, writing down, it does these two things.
Let’s conclude with this point over here. So our devotional convictions are Krishna’s gifts to us. Krishna’s gifts to us.
So feelings will keep changing, but convictions based on scriptural insight and logical analysis will endure. Writing down our thoughts, what does it do? It enables us to create a distance between us and the thoughts and thereby evaluate them. So when I hold the thoughts away from me, then I can evaluate them.
Just like if I am speaking something, you can think about what I’m speaking. And even if this makes sense, it doesn’t make sense. On the other hand, if I am speaking to myself or you are speaking to yourself, it’s a little bit more difficult to evaluate.
So when we create a little bit of distance between us, then we can evaluate those thoughts properly. And then freeze space in our mind so that we can explore alternative thoughts. Once that particular thought, just like we see sometimes when there is something troubling us, we share with somebody.
That sharing also unburdens us. Similarly, when we write it down, it frees space in our mind. And then, okay, this is now out, if you think, what are the alternatives? And we find a lot of thoughts actually come up.
So these are especially helpful for us when there are certain concerns, certain worries, which we don’t have someone close enough to us to whom we can share. Or sometimes we are ourselves not clear enough by which we can share with others. Sometimes if we go to some senior devotee and say, no, I want to talk something.
And he says, what do I actually want to talk? Just that I’m feeling insecure, I’m feeling this, I’m feeling that, but what exactly? So, this is not a substitute for taking guidance from other devotees or Bhuji Mahakhyati Pujyati, but this is an aid to Bhuji Mahakhyati Pujyati. Because when our thoughts are clear, then we can actually express them to others clearly and they can give us better guidance. So, Brahmacharya is an austerity of the body.
Why is it austerity of the body? Sometimes some people say that the body has certain urges which are natural. And to suppress those urges is unnatural. However, if that were the case, then obesity should have been unnatural.
Isn’t it? Because obese people, what do they do? Whenever they feel like eating, they eat. They feel like eating at that time. Isn’t it? Now, we may say that that is not a real hunger, that is pseudo-hunger.
But whatever it is, at that time they feel like eating. So, there are certain urges in the body which are meant to be regulated and some which are not meant to be regulated. For example, when the body wants to excrete, at that time that is not an urge to be regulated.
Isn’t it? We have to respond to nature. But when there is the urge to eat, there is the urge to sleep, there is the urge to mate, these urges, it is not that every time those urges come, we have to satisfy. Actually, speaking generally, people sleep for many reasons.
Sleep is not just for resting. Sometimes we sleep because we try this thing, this doesn’t work. I try that thing, that doesn’t work.
I try that thing, that doesn’t work. And I just lie on my bed, put my blanket and go to sleep. At least that’s one thing that works.
Just forget everything in life. And the worst is that at that time you can’t sleep also, that also doesn’t work. It is even more frustrating.
So, sometimes we just sleep to get away from the frustration. And sometimes we feel sleepy just because we are bored. Isn’t it? It’s not that we are tired, but just when what is going on is not interesting enough, then we sleep.
So, actually speaking, I have never experienced even once, you know, sometimes in the morning we are doing japa and in the morning I just feel so tired. I just want to sleep. But then prasad comes along.
Many times I will feel that, okay, before bhagavatam class I will sleep. Or before japa I want to sleep a little bit. But if prasadam is there, you will never feel that.
At least, you know, before prasadam I will sleep, then I will take prasadam. Generally, it is almost like as soon as the prasadam comes, it’s like some magic spell was there and it just went off. Or maybe it is that the prasadam put some other magic spell on us.
So, in general, if you are very tired, it’s a biological need, then we’ll really be dragged towards sleep. So, for most of us, chanting and hearing are like prescribed duties. And eating and sleeping are cherished pastimes.
So, it is not that all bodily urges have to be indulged. There is, with respect to eating, sleeping, mating, there is regulation which is natural in any civilised society. And leave alone a matter of, somebody may say civilisation is a matter of subjectivity, what you consider civilisation is different from what I consider civilisation.
Leave alone civilisation, then just look at basic health. Now, can I eat whenever I want and stay healthy? It’s not possible. So, eating, it’s simply a matter of leave alone discipline or morality or regulation, even for basic health, the urge to eat needs to be regulated.
Similarly, even if I want to do something worthwhile in my material life, forget spirituality, I’ll have to regulate myself. So, even for the material well-being, we have to regulate many of the bodily urges. So, now, the level of regulation may vary for different activities.
That means, if somebody wants to become an athlete, who actually needs a very light and fit body, then the level of regulation for the diet will be much higher, than say somebody who wants to become a software engineer. So, even in this world, we see, first of all, regulation is essential and level of regulation will vary depending on the kind of goal that the person is pursuing. So, similarly, with respect to sex, the idea is everybody has to regulate.
Now, even a materialistic person, even if that materialistic person is living in a society where there are no sexual regulations, anybody can do anything with anyone, still that person will not be able to indulge unlimitedly, because the body itself has limited capacity and there are other things to do in life also. So, there is regulation unavoidable and the level of regulation also varies. So, if somebody wants to march, rush back to Krishna, that person’s goal is like the goal of the athlete, just the athlete will have to regulate his eating to a very strict level.
Similarly, one who wants to focus on Krishna, that person regulates sex to a much higher level than a person who is, say, a grahastha. Actually, even a grahastha has to regulate sex. You know, actually speaking, the mind is so devilish that after some time the mind is not satisfied with one’s spouse and the mind starts hankering for others.
And even the grahastha has to regulate at a particular point. So, regulation is required. So, the only thing about brahmacharya is that the regulation is at a higher level.
So, it’s like somebody decides that I’ll fast on Ekadashi and I’ll take grains and somebody else says I’ll fast just with gel or without gel. So, the principle of regulating the eating is there and the level of regulation of eating is different. Similarly, with respect to sex in brahmacharya.
So, actually speaking, grahasthas also follow regulated life. They are also called as grahastha brahmacharis. And there are naishtika brahmacharis also who try to regulate sex life completely.
But this is the austerity of the body and the austerity of the body is essential even for bodily upkeep, what to speak of for spiritual advancement. Any questions about this? Many brahmacharis suffer from poor health despite having a largely regulated life and practising yoga. So, is it because of purification? Is it because of some kind of unregulation? I think it’s a combination of various factors.
One of the things is definitely there is some amount of unregulation that comes up because brahmacharya life has its austerities and then the sadhana requires a significant amount of time. And because we have the passion of youth, we also want to do a lot and when we are in close quarters with others, at that time, that also sometimes saps the emotional energy because our mind has a tendency to compare. You know, what happened to this person? What happened to that person? How is this person doing? How is that person doing? So, sometimes brahmacharya life can be emotionally demanding also.
So, that can also have an effect on the health. But basically, we are choosing a way of life that is radically different from what we were living earlier. And that often creates problems.
For example, if somebody from say India goes to Iceland and in Iceland the food that is available is different, the weather is different, there is a period of acclimatisation that is there. And when a person is getting acclimatised, at that time often the person has health ups and downs. So, in general, in the initial years, it’s quite likely that till one gets acclimatised, there might be some ups and downs.
But over a period of time, we start understanding ourselves, okay, this much is what I can do. And it is by experimentation. There is no standard of saying that in your BT years, you may have a prescription.
Okay, this is what you do morning, afternoon, you make that. But over a period after that, there is a relatively much more flexibility is there. You have services to do, but it will not be like so much to the minute you have to do everything.
So, at that time, we start learning ourselves, okay, this is what I should do. This is the way I can function most effectively. This is the time I should sleep.
This is the way I should eat and all this. We start in a sense, we conduct discover yourself courses, but we keep discovering ourselves throughout our life. So, as we discover ourselves more and more, then we start understanding, this is how I should be living.
And then, as we attain that stability, then the health normally stabilises. So, certainly there is purification that is there, because we are in the association of devotees and we are practising Krishna Consciousness. So, whatever bodily reactions they come up, they do bring purification.
So, I’ve seen over a period of years, devotees do become, sometimes they take too much anxiety about things and they try to stretch themselves beyond their capacity, then they may suffer from health problems. But otherwise, we come to a stable level, okay, this is what I can do, this is the way I should do. It’s by, to some extent, by trial and error, just like our diet.
You know, how much should we eat? Nobody can tell us, you know, take only two chapatis or take only five chapatis or take only this or that. Now, we learn by our experience, okay, this much I take, it’s too much, this much is too little, let me take this much. So, that way we learn over a period of time.
So, the difference between a devotee suffering versus non-devotee suffering is that the devotee suffering brings realisation, renunciation and devotion, whereas the non-devotee suffering simply brings frustration. Why is this? First is realisation. See, what does realisation mean? Do you remember we discussed what is realisation actually? Okay, I am not an audience, so that is an example of a specific realisation.
Understanding becomes consolidated. Yes. Vidyasana, okay, correct.
All right. See, realisation, have we not discussed this in our show? A simple way to understand, I’ll just explain this first, then we’ll go back to the slide. See, realisation means that which is a reality, I understand it to be a reality.
So, I’ll explain this first. That which is a reality, I understand it to be a reality. So, how does it work? Say, for our first, we hear from shabda, then we experience through pratyaksha and third is we connect the experience with the hearing through anumana and that becomes realisation.
I’ll repeat this and then illustrate this question. How does realisation begin? First, there has to be hearing. If there is no hearing, there will never be any realisation, generally speaking.
There has to be some hearing or some wisdom. Otherwise, people may go through a lot of suffering, but what they think is, oh, I am suffering because I am in this condition. Those people, they are so happy.
If only I could get into their condition, I would be happy. So, they think, so in general, if there is no hearing by which we understand that this world is a place of misery, then what happens is, we think my misery is the exception and others’ happiness is the norm. But I think, oh, I am so unfortunate, I am so miserable.
Only if I could become like this, I will become, I will become happy. So, what is this illusion? My misery is an exception and others’ happiness is the norm. That means others are happy and that is the way everyone should be and I should also be like that.
But then we understand, this is what is the illusion, but hearing dissipates that illusion. It makes us understand that actually this world is a place of and also helps us understand that by Krishna consciousness, I can get to tolerate and transcend the misery. Then when I get the experience of misery, then I start to think, oh, really, this is true.
So, for example, we hear from scriptures that wealth cannot make a person happy. But yet, if you are travelling in the crowded locals of Mumbai and then we see outside a person travelling in an air-conditioned car, that person is comfortable. I am miserable, that person is happy.
That is how we will think. But then suppose we go to a very wealthy person’s house and then we go, there is almost like a brigade of cars outside, big palatial house, this person must be really happy. And we go inside and then we meet that person and that person is a jaded old man and he says, last year my wife died of blood cancer and I worked so hard to send my son to America and he got married to a woman there and he doesn’t come here anymore.
And then my daughter, she ran away with some boy and she is not coming back. And all my relatives, they are just waiting for me to die so that they can get my inheritance. Then what happens? What we have heard through shabda, we experience through perfection.
So now, this is where what we have to do is, we have to connect the experience with the hearing. Yes, if I have not really heard very seriously, then my mind will start thinking, this person must have been alone, must be having so much money. Yeah, maybe I can become close to him, he will give me the inheritance.
He will give me the inheritance, I can start thinking of that kind of things. So, where my thoughts will go, I can’t say. But if I can connect my experience with my hearing, for that, one requires reasoning, one requires scriptural analysis.
Then that becomes a realisation. So, that which is a reality, what is the reality is what scriptures tell us. So, when I understand it to be a reality, then it becomes a realisation.
So, how do I understand it to be a reality? First, there has to be shabda, then there has to be pratyaksha and then there has to be anumana. Now, in some cases, pratyaksha may not be required also. For example, it is not necessary, nor is it possible for us to be able to experience everything in the material world to realise its futility.
Now, I don’t have to take drugs, I don’t have to smoke, this was the argument which was made to Prabhupada. You are saying drugs are not necessary, have you taken drugs? So, when some famous musicians came to one of the programmes, they asked Prabhupada and they said, Prabhupada said, what to speak of drugs, I have never even taken tea or coffee in my life. Then how can you speak to this? I started laughing as if they had defeated Prabhupada.
And Prabhupada remained very calm and he said, I have not taken, but my disciples have taken and they will tell their experiences. I agree, you tell. And then I agree with what happened, I agree with what Prabhupada said.
Now, when you take drugs, you go high, but after some time you come back and come back not only down, you go lower than where you were earlier. But by Krishna consciousness, you go high and then you go higher and then you never come down. So, that’s why Krishna consciousness is higher.
So, we can learn from others’ experiences also. So, in that case, the Prataksha is not our experience, the Prataksha can also be our observation of others’ experience. Isn’t it? So, actually speaking, in a sense, in a sense, when there are brahmacharis or there are naishtika brahmacharis, but they go from one to three.
They don’t necessarily have to go through two in terms of direct Prataksha for instance. We hear from the scriptures that sex cannot make us happy. And then we observe it also, but we don’t have to experience it ourselves.
And then we infer. So, Prataksha doesn’t have to be one’s own experience, Prataksha can also be others’ experience from which we derive an influence. And that way we get realisation.
So, let’s go back. Now, what happens when a devotee goes through suffering? First thing that there is there, realisation. Okay, scriptures told there is suffering.
I’m getting the suffering. But scriptures also are telling us how by remembering Krishna, by taking shelter of Krishna, the suffering minimises. I’m experiencing that also.
Then what happens is, because we get the realisation, we understand actually nobody is happy. This world is not really a place where happiness is. That brings renunciation.
So, for materialistic people, suffering rarely brings renunciation. Doctors and medical professionals, they see so much suffering. But how many of them actually become renounced? Not, because somehow the mind creates the illusion that these people are suffering, but I won’t have to suffer.
You know, I can enjoy. So, then there is beyond that, not just renunciation, the path of bhakti, when the sufferings come, we also get experience of how Krishna protects us. We get relief from that suffering by remembrance of Krishna.
And then that increases our faith, that increases our devotion. Long ago, I had written a Hindi poem. So, one of the lines in that was, आये संकट हुआ साक्ष्यात कार, बिना भक्ती का कैसे करता हैं भी पार? So, what happens is, a person who doesn’t have faith, when the miseries come, they say, I’m doing devotional, why are these miseries coming? But when the miseries come, the devotional attitude will be, okay, the miseries are coming because of my own past karma.
But it is not that Krishna is up there sending these miseries on me. So, the miseries are coming because of our own karma, but Krishna is in here with us. He’s helping us to face those miseries.
He’s shielding us from those miseries by giving us His remembrance. So, that’s how our devotion increases. And then, beyond that, there is, for the non-devotees, there is simply frustration.
Because for them, their whole life is based on the idea that I have to enjoy my senses. When I don’t get my enjoyment, what is the purpose of my life? I just become frustrated. So, that’s why, although devotees may suffer, non-devotees may suffer, but there’s a world of difference between the sufferings.
And to some extent, actually, if we get some suffering, if we get some health problems and other things in our, in the early years of our brahmacharya life, that can create a strong foundation of renunciation also. So, I remember, long ago, I had a, for many years, I was quite sick. So, I was quite sick.
So, Krishnanthroo is a very powerful brahmachari creature. So, one time he was telling that, you know, that actually when you become very sick, Krishna is very merciful to you. Because Krishna is giving you a glimpse of old age and youth.
What is he doing? He is giving a glimpse of old age and youth. By which, all the illusions about what all we can do in youth, they sort of subside. And then, we can have that stability that comes.
So, in a sense, suffering can ground us in reality. Of course, we have to take shelter of Krishna. Otherwise, suffering will not ground us in reality, it will bury us in reality.
If we don’t take shelter of Krishna, then we will get overwhelmed by the suffering. But if we take shelter of Krishna, then suffering can make us strongly rooted in reality. Any other questions? We’ll continue tomorrow.
We were discussing this brahmacharyam. Basically, I’ll just complete this verse quickly. So, Krishna talks about respectfulness.
In our life, we talk about respecting Vaishnavas by offering obeisances and the deities. And primarily, in our life, we practise ahimsa by, by say, non-violence. We certainly don’t eat meat, but ahimsa is also by using non-violent speech as much as possible.
So, I’ll talk about that immediately in the next verse, Anudveyakaram Vakyam. So, we’ll discuss that tomorrow. Thank you very much.