God as the supreme therapist 5 – Cultivating qualities is integral to cultivating devotion

[Narasimha Chaturdashi series on Prahlada’s prayers to Narasimhadeva 5.8.8-14]
[Bhagavatam class on 5.8.12 at ISKCON, Denver, USA ]

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Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
Shloka Shloka Shloka Shloka Shloka Shloka Shloka Shloka Shloka Shloka Shloka Shloka Shloka Shloka Shloka Shloka Today morning, we are continuing our discussion on the prayers of Shri Prahlad Maharaj. And the prayers are flowing now towards how we can actually become purified.
The first prayer was, O Lord, I offer my obeisances to you and please destroy the ignorance in my heart. The second prayer was, My dear Lord, I want to simply be devoted to you. He says, let all those who are envious, let them all become pacified so that the world can be happy.
Third word said that, My dear Lord, how do I become envious? If you are envious, it is by being devoted to you. So let my devotion not be distracted towards anyone except you. And the previous verse said that, how do we develop this devotion? By the association of exalted devotees, specifically by healing in their association.
And our thought flow in this scene has been going on, Krishna is the supreme therapist. How he ultimately heals our emotions. So he talked about how we live in an age where people are driven very much by their emotions.
And we have to be sensitive to how people’s minds and emotions are working so that we can present Krishna Bhakti appropriately. He talked about how some people may have developed the envy that is there in our heart, the misgivings that are there in our heart. They make us think and feel in particular ways.
And we have to be sensitive so that the way we are feeling actually helps us lift up and not take us down. And in the third session I talked about how the bhakti, if it is just kind of made to be world-rejecting, then people become averse. They don’t care for the world.
So bhakti is actually world-embracing also. And in the previous last session I talked about how when we are practising bhakti, at that time it is important for us to know that we have to actually select the association of devotees. The purpose of devotion is to ensure that our emotional energy moves towards Krishna.
And we have to select that association, even within devotee association, that association, which ensures that our emotional energy moves towards Krishna. Now this verse is talking about why is devotee association stressed so much. It says over here that actually devotees embody all wonderful qualities.
And this Krishna is up there in the spiritual world. And although we understand Krishna is all-attractive, it is very difficult for us to, at our present stage, relate with Krishna as a person. Because we can’t perceive him directly.
So it is that Krishna’s attractiveness is manifested in this world primarily through his devotees. The various manifestations of Krishna are attractive. The deities are attractive, the holy air is attractive, the scriptures are attractive, the holy ghams are attractive.
However, the attraction of all these things largely becomes manifest by associating with those devotees who themselves have attractive qualities and who are attracted to the attractive manifestations of the all-attractive. In this world, we all are persons and we need personal relationships. And usually we want to develop personal relationships with those who have some attractive qualities.
Somebody who is, Krishna has six opulences and in general people look to associate or befriend those who have one or more of these opulences. Somebody who looks very good, many people get attracted to them. Somebody who is very wealthy, people get attracted to them.
Somebody who is very powerful, people get attracted to them. Somebody who is very intelligent, people get attracted to them. Somebody who is famous, people just want to have a side date.
Oh, I was in this VIP. Somebody who is very renounced, we may say, okay, people are not so attracted to renunciation. Well, people may not be attracted to renunciation itself, but people are attracted to the fruit of renunciation.
Krishna says in the twelfth chapter, twelfth verse, that when there is renunciation, there is peace. And everybody likes a person who is peaceful. Even in sports, which is very excitable, if somebody is very cool and composed, people admire.
In such tension, how do you stay so cool? So, basically these six opulences, whoever these opulences are present, we are attracted to those people. Now, we could say our qualities can be of two distinct categories. One are qualities that are related to the body and the external features.
And these are not really qualities, we could call them resources. Like somebody is wealthy, somebody is beautiful. Now, if somebody looks very attractive, we also think they must be a very nice person.
But somebody who is very attractive, but they may also be very manipulative. Somebody who may be very wealthy, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they will be very kind, very compassionate. So, we could say there are some qualities which result largely from the past karma of a person.
If somebody has done a lot of good karma in the past, then they have wealth or strength or fame or beauty, whatever. Now, along with these, these qualities to some extent are not changeable much. If somebody has a particular look, that’s what they have.
Somebody has a particular intelligence level, that’s what they have. They can practise and they can train themselves, but you can’t change it entirely. But more defining, the first attraction to people happens by these qualities.
Wealth, fame, knowledge, beauty, like that. But what sustains the attractiveness, what sustains the relationship is more internal qualities. Humility, tolerance, sensitivity, care and concern.
So, it’s said that people don’t care how much you know, they know how much you care. So, they don’t care how much you know. Yes, if somebody speaks very eruditely, people will be impressed, okay.
Yeah, you know a lot. But ultimately, if we as preachers, as those who want to share Krishna Bhakti, we want to connect with people, just showing our knowledge will impress them. But it won’t transform them.
What will transform them is when they see how much we care. And people can make that out. They know the way we talk with them, the kind of attention we give, the kind of reciprocations we do.
They understand how much a person cares. So, people don’t care so much about how much we know. They know and they care much more about how much we care.
So, how much we care is reflected through how we are respectful, how we are kind, how we are sensitive. And these qualities are what sustain relationships. A people’s charisma, a people’s qualities like wealth, fame, ability, and other such abilities can attract a lot of people.
One of my friends, a very close friend, was an avid cricket fan. This was before he became a devotee. And his dream in life was to meet one of India’s most famous cricketers.
And then he travelled a long distance, came after a match to meet him. And this cricketer, we met him and he wanted to talk with him. This cricketer was just so rude.
He just brushed him aside and walked away. And not only with him, he was like that with everyone. And then he enquired a little bit, he said, this is what his nature is.
He said, it’s such a big disappointment. He said, this person is such a brilliant cricketer, but he is not a very nice human being. So, the attraction initially may be because of the qualities that we have, such as wealth, fame, all sorts of material abilities.
But if the relationship is to sustain, the inner qualities matter much more. And, we see in the third canto of the Srimad Bhagavatam, it is said that, दिधिक्षवा कार्णिका सुरृधः सर्वभुःताना रातः शत्रवः शान्तः साधव साधभुःषरः भुषरः means ornaments. Normally, people wear ornaments so that they can look more attractive.
And sadhus are simple, they don’t wear much ornaments. But still, they are attractive to people in general. And why? Because of these qualities.
दिधिक्षवा, tolerance, कार्णिका, compassion. सुरृधः सर्वःताना दिधिक्षवा कार्णिका सुरृधः सर्वःताना They are always the beneficiaries of everyone. One time, instead of Prabhupada in America, one lady asked, Swamiji, will you please pray for me? So Prabhupada replied, I am always praying for you.
Otherwise, what reason did I have to cross these seven oceans and come so far away? So Prabhupada always had concern for you. One time in Australia, one young girl asked, Swamiji, this knowledge is so wonderful. Why did this knowledge come here early? So Prabhupada smiled and said, because we were waiting for you to be born.
So Prabhupada had that sweetness by which he could attract people’s thoughts. And initially, if you see, when Prabhupada started speaking about Krishna Bhakti, people just couldn’t understand his accent. Not only was his accent unfamiliar, but his message was also very unfamiliar.
So Mukund Maharaj writes in his Miracle on 2nd Avenue that he had met many musicians, many public speakers. He had attended their talks. But he saw most of them, after the talk, were just eager to leave.
Unless somebody was like a very big person, then they would spend some time together. He said, after the talk, Krishna Prabhupada was actually interested in me. He wanted to talk with me, know about me.
This was dramatically different from what I had experienced ever before. So that was what attracted me to Krishna Prabhupada. These are the qualities.
What makes a devotee attractive, the ornaments that a devotee wears are not physical ornaments, but they are the ornaments of qualities. And when we see these qualities in devotees, then naturally we are attracted towards them. And because devotees are attracted towards Krishna, and devotees inspire others to become attracted towards Krishna, so attraction towards devotees is vital for sustaining our attraction towards Krishna.
Once we become purified, once we become convinced, at that time, even if we don’t have so much devotee association, just by our conviction, we will move on. Of course, we always need association. But especially in the initial years, we don’t know who Krishna is.
So, it is we are attracted to devotees. And through the attraction to devotees, slowly our attraction to Krishna emerges. In the early days, when Shraupala gave his Jagannath Pathyatra, because Shamsundar Prabhu and Malti, they just found Jagannath in a store.
At that time, Chaitanya Chaturthi had not been published. And the Bhagavatam, whatever was being published, the first thing I saw, there was no reference of Jagannath. So, the devotees didn’t even know who Jagannath was.
So, at one temple, Satsvarupa Maharaj was worshipping the deities. And he wrote to Prabhupada, Prabhupada, as per the rules you have given, I am worshipping the deities. But can you please tell me, who is this deity that I am worshipping? So, he viewed Krishna, but Jagannath was not there.
So, they were so attracted to Prabhupada. Prabhupada tells us to worship Krishna, let us worship Krishna. So, here, we are talking about how our emotional energy is to be channelled towards Krishna.
But the channelling of our emotional energy towards Krishna happens primarily through devotees. And, now, that’s why it’s said over here, devotees have such wonderful qualities. Actually, whoever has good qualities, he naturally is going to attract you.
Now, can non-devotees have good qualities? Objectively, we can say, yes. Non-devotees may be good looking, they may be wealthy. And even sometimes, non-devotees may also be humble, they may also be sensitive, they may also be tolerant.
So, then in the verse, that what great qualities can be present in a non-devotee? Because they are simply on the chariot of their mind and they are running away. This does not necessarily mean that non-devotees don’t have any good qualities. The purpose of this thought the thought flow over here is that how can we develop our emotion? How can the inauspiciousness in our hearts be destroyed? So, if we see good qualities in non-devotees, we can appreciate that.
But, if we become attracted to that, the result would be, because they are non-devotees, and generally if we become attracted to someone, we want to become like them, in some smaller way. And then, we too will become like a non-devotee. We too will become non-devotees.
And then, we will stay lost in this complete world. So, for those who are non-devotees, we all function based on certain worldviews, certain outlooks to life. And these are stored inside us in our mind.
So, for a non-devotee, at present, maybe because of their past life or this life’s upbringing or present culture, they may be gentle, they may be tolerant, they may be looking good. They may be doing good also. But, if the situation changes, and their mindset changes, for those who are non-devotees, they can have good qualities, but they don’t have any transcendental foundation for those good qualities.
Now, why should I be aware? Why, for example, why should I not steal? There was a there was this thinker, Bertrand Russell or Voltaire, one of them. Both of them were atheists. So, they would talk about atheism with their elite friends.
But, whenever he would talk about atheism, he would close all his doors and not allow any of his servants inside. Why? Because, he felt that if his servants stopped believing in God, they would start robbing him. They would start stealing from him.
So, he felt that belief in God is what keeps people moral. Now, does that mean all people, disbelievers, are they moral? Not necessarily. Some people, now, disbelievers may be good also, but there is no foundation for them being good.
Why should we be good? Stand back to others, others will be back to you. But, if tomorrow I become powerful enough that others can’t retaliate against me, that I can do bad things to others, but others can’t do anything bad to me, then there is no reason for me to stop doing bad. So, in the non-spiritual, non-atheistic world view, there is no ultimate reason why not to do wrong.
So, today the mind may say, yeah, you should act right, you should act well. But, what is the reason? Oh, so that people will act nicely. That is the only reason, there is nothing beyond that.
So, that’s why, for many people, morality is simply lack of opportunity. Because I don’t have the opportunity, the facility, the power to be moral and get away with it. Therefore, I am moral.
So, for devotees, that’s why, if you become attracted to non-devotees and their qualities, it’s not that we can’t appreciate their qualities. If they have qualities, we can appreciate it. But, if we get attracted to them, then we will also become non-devotees.
And, the, say, a non-devotee may sing very sweetly. And a devotee may sing very sweetly. If somebody is a good singer, they are good singers.
We can’t say that they sing badly. Now, the problem is, non-devotees may be singing about sensual songs, which will simply increase the lust within us. It will increase the mundane emotions within us.
And they will degrade our consciousness. If a devotee is singing, devotee will be singing about Krishna. And that singing will raise our consciousness towards Krishna.
So, the good singing, good singing ability, is a quality that is in both of them. But, attractiveness or towards, attraction towards the quality in non-devotees will take us away from Krishna. The attraction towards the qualities in devotees will take us towards Krishna.
So, even the non-devotee’s good qualities also come from Krishna. It is like, because of their past karma, by Krishna’s arrangement, now they have some good qualities. So, everything attractive comes from Krishna.
But everything attractive doesn’t take us to Krishna. Even a non-devotee’s good singing ability comes from Krishna. But it is not going to take us towards Krishna.
A devotee’s singing ability also comes from Krishna. It will take us towards Krishna. So, therefore it is said that, actually it is devotees who embody all wonderful qualities.
And therefore, we should become attracted to devotees. Now, having said this, there is a common question that comes up that, as devotees, just, is it that our practise of bhakti alone will automatically lead to the development of good qualities? Or should we also conscientiously strive to develop good qualities? Actually, it is, this question itself is based on a fragmented understanding of emotion. When we say that practising bhakti will lead to good qualities, that means we are seeing that the cultivation of good qualities is different from bhakti.
But bhakti is inclusive. Bhakti is not just about how we worship the deities, how we chant the holy names, how we study the scriptures. Yes, that is bhakti.
But how we deal with others is also bhakti. So, behaving properly, not just doing devotional activity, doing direct devotional activity is part of bhakti. But, general behaviour, general proper behaviour is also a part of bhakti.
A fragmented vision of devotion is the defining characteristic of a Kanishka Adhikari. Kanishka Adhikari is the first level devotee. And what does the first level devotee think? That, as long as I am worshipping the deities nicely, I am a devotee.
I don’t need to do anything else. There are people who, in front of the temple, they may have their own temple at their home, in front of the temple they are just closing their eyes and worshipping the deities with such seemingly sincere devotion. But, this has come out of the temple and they just become nasty, shout at this person, yell at this person, blast at that person.
They manipulate, they cheat, they do all kinds of things. So, they think that as long as I am having that time when I go to the temple room and worship God, that’s all my devotion is. But, the Madhyam Adhikari is one who sees this inclusive nature of devotion.
He says, my devotion is dependent not just on how I worship the deities, but how I interact with everyone. So, Ishwara tad adhineshu balisheshu rishadsuja prema maitri krupo peksha yaha karoti sa madhyamaha That, Madhyam Adhikari understands that Ishwara for the Supreme Lord is prema. Out of love for the Supreme Lord.
For the devotees, tad adhineshu, for them there is maitri. For the devotees, I want to be friends with them. Balisheshu, for those who are innocent, I want to be karma.
I want to be merciful to them. I want to share Krishna. And for those who are envious, rishadsu and upeksha, neglect them.
Keep a distance from them. Bhaktivinoda Thakur says, this neglect is not because of aversion. A devotee keeps a distance from the envious, not because the devotee dislikes or hates the envious.
But because the very presence of the devotee will make the envious more offensive to Krishna. And those offences to Krishna will actually hurt that soul eventually. And that’s why a devotee keeps a distance so as to not aggravate the enviousness among those people.
And a devotee offers prayers from a distance to those people. But the point I am making is the Madhyamadhi Kalam’s final characteristic is, how does one deal with everyone? Not just how one worships God, but how one sees that everybody is related to God. And how I interact with everyone is going to shape my relationship with God.
So my relationship with Krishna is determined by how I am relating with everyone else. And that’s why in our normal human dealings, humility, courtesy, sensitivity, these are vital. And we don’t have to see these as separate from devotion.
But trying to be humble, trying to be sensitive, trying to be courteous, these are also part of bhakti. And some devotees, some of us, by our past karma, our past upbringing, may naturally have these qualities. And some of us may not have.
So if we do not have these qualities, then we have to conscientiously exert ourselves to try to act in a way that we manifest these qualities. And these qualities also develop by the steady practise of bhakti. But at the same time, when I say by the steady practise of bhakti, what I mean here is bhakti can be used in different senses.
Here, I’m using them in the sense of if you chant Hare Krishna regularly, if you study scriptures, if you associate with devotees, we will come to the mode of goodness gradually. And as we come to the mode of goodness, naturally these qualities will develop. However, it is for us to also check whether these qualities are developing or not.
And to strive to develop these qualities. Because sometimes, if I have a tendency for pride, if I am self-righteous, condescending, arrogant, pride, proud, then sometimes it may happen that my practise of my religion may become a reason for my increase of my self-righteousness. I am so pure.
I am so strict in following this. And then, I may end up becoming more self-righteous than before. So, normally, our religious practises should lead to humility.
But, if our religious practise, if we have a tendency to be self-righteous, then our religious practise may actually increase that self-righteousness. So that means, if we consider our emotions, our internal tendencies, they cause our consciousness to flow in particular directions. So, our practise of bhakti is meant to change the channel of where our consciousness is moving.
If I am very proud, then I am meant to become humble by the practise of bhakti. But sometimes, I may use my bhakti practises as a means for rationalising and justifying my pride. You know, I practise this so purely.
There are sometimes celebrities in India, they come on janmashtami to the temples. And it’s good, at least on janmashtami, they come to temples. But, their primary purpose is they treat coming to the temple as a photo op.
They’ll take some photos and they’ll put it on their Facebook, because India has a large number of Hindus. So, they say, oh, this celebrity is such a nice Hindu, she goes to a temple. She goes to a temple.
Then, for them, they are not coming to the temple to take darshan of the Lord. They are coming to the temple to give darshan of themselves to the world. Just see how pious they are.
That is not really going to purify them much. Yes, coming to the temple is good. But if you want the full benefit, we need to not just do the right thing, but do the right thing with the right motive.
And that’s what is said in this verse over here. यस्यास्ति भक्तिर् भगवत्य अकिम्चिना अकिम्चिना means one who does not have any material possessiveness. One who does not have any ulterior motives.
So, sometimes we may just fight for ourselves, thinking that I am a devotee, so whatever I do is right. No. If we are devotees, then there is even greater responsibility for us to behave in the appropriate way.
Once Shri Prabhupada asked, how do we know your followers? How do we know your disciples? Prabhupada said that they are perfect gentlemen. They are perfect ladies, perfect gentlemen. What this means is that he at this stage, when he was talking with people in general, he did not say that Oh, my devotees chant sixteen rounds every day, they wake up in the mornings, they do this, they follow the four hundred principles.
Yes, that is there. But, outside people, how are they going to appreciate that? If you see in our spiritual life, I’ll conclude with this point and then we can have questions. In our spiritual life, there are four broad things.
There is sadhana, there is siddhanta, there is seva, and there is sabhaji. So, sadhana is our practise of spiritual discipline. So, waking up in the mornings, chanting sixteen rounds, doing the devotions.
Siddhanta is our understanding of philosophy. Okay, this is mayava, this is atheism, this is this, this is this, this is shuddha bhakti, pure abhish, that is siddhanta. Seva is the practical service that we do for Krishna’s cause.
And sadhaja is the proper behaviour. So, ideally speaking, our sadhana, our siddhanta and our seva should transmit into sadhacharya. That is, if I am doing my sadhana properly, then this should lead to my behaviour becoming better.
Sadhacharya means good behaviour. And good behaviour means, broadly speaking, qualities of the mode of goodness. And when will these qualities develop? When we are actually elevated to the mode of goodness.
But, sometimes, if you see, now, when Prabhupada said, my mood is affected, gentlemen, ladies, that means he is saying that they exhibit sadhacharya. They offend me. So, why did we talk about this particular thing over here? Because for our new people, they don’t care what our sadhana is.
Okay, you wake up in the morning, you chant this many rounds, okay, that’s just your religious practise. I don’t care so much about that. They don’t care about our siddhanta.
What your philosophy is, okay, you memorise so many verses, you know this, you know that. People don’t care much. One of the growing groups of people in today’s post-modern world is what is called apatheists.
Apatheists means that you don’t care. Whatever you believe, you don’t believe, I don’t care about it. Whether there is a god or there is no god, I don’t matter.
So, these people, they just feel that, okay, you people, you believe in god, and then, based on your belief in god, you fight with each other. So, you think about something in the other world, and based on that, you make things miserable in this world. So, why do you care about other world? So, most people are, many people are becoming apatheists.
That’s because they do see religious practise as bringing about a positive change in this world. They don’t see religious people as being better than other people, in terms of their qualities and behaviour. Siddhanta people don’t care so much.
In seva, okay, you have your temples, you do your services. How does it make any difference to you? What will attract people is sadhacara. They see, oh, this person, I am a nice person.
He is polite, courteous, friendly, wise also. Yeah, so, people will be attracted to the good belief that we devote to this. When Shri Rampalji used to go on his morning walks, at that time, when he would greet people, he would say, good morning.
He would not say Hare Krishna. What would people understand Hare Krishna? He would say, good morning. So, in the early days of our movement, one devotee told me, he said, no, hi, hello, chhodo, Hare Krishna bolo.
Stop saying, hi, hello, mundane greetings. Just say Hare Krishna. But then, I thought, it is nice.
I thought it is good. But then, people who don’t know anything about us, we start saying Hare Krishna. People, you are just so, just filled with your false ideas.
You can’t act as normal human beings. So, we have to act the way we need to so that we attract people to Krishna. They are hearing Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna is going to purify them.
Yes, it is going to purify them. That is true. But, they may hear Hare Krishna once and they may never associate with the Hare Krishna thereafter.
What is better? They don’t hear Hare Krishna at that time, but they associate with the Hare Krishna. They think Hare Krishna is good. Then, after that, they will hear Hare Krishna so many times.
If they associate with the devotee. So, we have to actually act in a way that we become agents by which Krishna will attract people to Him. And so, this emotional energy which is there within us, which is there within everyone, that is going to be directed towards wherever there are attractive qualities.
And, if devotees manifest these attractive qualities, then devotees will be able to attract people towards Krishna. And, it is not just about attracting people towards Krishna. It is also people who are attracted to devotees.
What will keep us going on in our devotional life is the satisfying of loving exchanges between devotees. Prabhupada talks about this. Six-fold loving exchanges in Charyana Upanishad.
And, he says in the Purport over there that the life of the Krishna Consciousness movement is sustained by these six-fold loving exchanges. We offer prasadam, we honour prasadam. We give gifts, we receive gifts.
We speak our heart in confidence and we hear others speaking their heart in confidence. So, we need to be able to do this. As devotees, it is very easy to become judgemental.
Now, you are just doing this wrong, you are doing that wrong, you are doing that wrong. Now, as devotees, we need to become non-judgemental. So that, devotees can open their hearts and share their words.
And, just as we have our conditioning, we are struggling against, they have their conditioning, they are struggling against. And, we need to help each other. If you become judgemental, then it becomes like, between me and others, there is a wall.
And, everybody tries to put on a facade, Oh, I am a nice devotee. Others put on a facade, I am a nice devotee. And then, actually, the conditioning that are tormenting us, we don’t have anyone to connect with, to get help from, by which you can overcome those conditions.
So, when we really learn to embody these wonderful qualities, and strive to cultivate those qualities, then, not only will we be able to attract others to Krishna, but we will also help each other as we are going towards Krishna. Our emotional energy will not get choked within because of the wall that we create between us. But, actually, it will be directed towards Krishna.
The word that we speak, actually, especially the last, you see, giving prasad, taking prasad is good, but not a huge amount of affection is entrapped within that, especially if you are a little bit devoted, you are always serving each other prasad. And, giving gifts, we may do occasionally. The most important and most defining of the loving exchanges is how we speak with each other.
We, actually, our hearts can be enriched, our hearts can be shattered by the words that we speak with each other. Our words can act as windows by which we understand each other better and come closer to each other. Or, our words can become walls which increase the blockage between each other.
So, learning to be sensitive in our speech is a vital aspect of sadhacharya. And, if we can develop this non-judgemental, non-critical way of speaking, then, the whole atmosphere of devotion will become much more supportive and much more inspiring for all of us in becoming attracted towards our all-attractive God. So, I’ll summarise.
I spoke today about how cultivating qualities is integral to the cultivation of devotion. And, in that, I spoke initially about wherever there are good qualities, we get attracted over there. The qualities can be, to some extent, external.
Like the six opulences of Krishna, they may manifest in some people. And, we may get attracted there. That’s what captivates on first impression.
But, what sustains relationships is more internal qualities. That means humility, sensitivity, concern, respectfulness. These are what sustains relationships.
So, people may be attracted initially to how much we know. But, they will be attracted sustainably by how much we care. And, these external qualities like beauty, intelligence, these we get by past karma and we can’t change it much.
But, the internal qualities, each of us can actually improve by practise. We can become more humble. We can become more sensitive.
We can become more courteous by conscious practise. So, now, do non-devotees have good qualities? Yes, they also can have good qualities by their past karma, by their present culture. But, those good qualities won’t lead to a good destination.
Because, by practising non-devotees, we will also want to become like non-devotees. And, that will lead to an auspicious destination. For the good qualities among non-devotees, there is no ultimate foundation or rationale.
It is more of a functional rationale. I will be good to you, so that will be good to me. But, if I can be good, if I can force you to be good to me, without minding to be good to you, then I do that.
So, morality is often lack of opportunity. Then, there is no spirituality. All attractive qualities in everyone come from Krishna.
But, everything attractive doesn’t take us to Krishna. A non-devotee singing will take us into Maya. A devotee singing, attracted to it, will take us towards Krishna.
So, we need to be attracted to the devotees with attractive qualities. By which, our emotional energy will get channelled towards them and through them towards Krishna. So, Prabhupada manifested such sweetness and attractiveness that thousands of people were attracted to him and through him to Krishna.
Devotees started worshipping Jagannath even if they didn’t know who Jagannath was. Because, they simply wanted to please Prabhupada. So, we, to the extent we manifest good qualities, to that extent we will be able to attract people towards Krishna.
And, our sadhana, siddhanta, seva, all this, people don’t care for it. They will primarily care for the sadhacharya. So, sadhana, siddhanta, seva should transform into sadhacharya.
Prabhupada defined his followers by saying that they are well behaved, gentlemen and ladies. So, is it that simply chanting Hare Krishna will lead to the development of all qualities? That bhakti will lead to everything? Bhakti is actually everything. That means bhakti is not just chanting Hare Krishna or worshipping the deity.
Bhakti is also how we behave with others. So, when we have the fragmented understanding that bhakti simply means worshipping the deity, then we are in the preliminary stage of devotion, kanishta. But, when we understand that bhakti includes the way I behave with others, then I rise to the ultimate stage.
So, we try to develop ultimate qualities as a part of our devotional practises. And by this, not only will we attract new people towards Krishna, but also we will be able to attract each other towards Krishna. We will keep each other’s emotional energy not choked internally because of, say, our judgemental words which act as walls between us, but with the genuine sharing that happens when we use sensitive words that make our words like windows which help us to connect with each other.
Then, whatever ups and downs of life we can go through, the support of devotees because of their good behaviour will help us to move towards Krishna steadily. Thank you very much. Yes, Anand.
Thank you so much. I had one reflection just to ask for clarification. What I was really appreciating… My reflection is to ask for clarification.
I was appreciating this point of your making about three loving exchanges or six loving exchanges and how it seemed to me that the receiving and giving of prasadam and the receiving and giving of gifts are meant to facilitate the hearing in confidence and speaking in confidence. Is that correct? I didn’t get it. You had to give more importance to the… Okay, yeah.
Is it that the receiving and giving of gifts or the receiving and giving of prasadam is meant to facilitate the receiving and sharing of confidences? I wouldn’t say necessarily like that. All of them are important. I was only talking about in terms of when we feel loved or when we feel unloved.
Okay, if I have a birthday and nobody gives me a gift, I may feel unloved at that. But how often do we really expect gifts and how often are our expectations frustrated? It’s not so common. With respect to prasadam, normally food is just something which we eat regularly and it’s very rare that we will make a devotee starve.
And it’s not so great, it’s not so common that if somebody gives us nice food, that will make us fall in love. Make us have great affection for them. Yes, if it’s cooked very nicely, we’ll appreciate that.
But in terms of strong, in terms of these getting food or not getting food, how much are they going to affect us emotionally? Somebody starves us, that is going to annoy us. But who is going to do that? And somebody cooks very wonderful food, that’s nice, we’ll be attracted. But I was talking that in terms of the impact on us, where we very frequently go wrong is in the words.
With respect to giving gifts or with respect to giving prasadam, we don’t go wrong very often. So all three are important, but I was talking about the possibility where we go wrong and where we hurt each other. So quite often, we may do some surveys and we expect some appreciation from someone.
Not in an egoistic sense, but just in a human sense. We’ve done this service. And they don’t speak anything.
We feel a little let down by that. Or sometimes we do a lot of work and do a service very well. Say we cook a feast.
There are 15 items we have cooked. And one item has a little wrong, and people just criticise us just for that. And all the other food and everything I cook, it is so good.
Not one word of appreciation for that. And we feel so much hurt by that. It’s that, with respect to our words, we tend to become sometimes very callous.
When new people come in, they are so sweet. We just chant one round. They say, oh very good, you chanted one round of Hare Krishna.
Very good that you came to the temple. We praise them so much. But somebody who has given their life to Krishna, we just treat them so uncourteously.
We just take them for granted. So the possibility of going wrong is very much higher with respect to our usage of words. And the sadhachar, the proper conduct, may or may not be manifested.
Proper conduct is usually reasonably manifested with respect to giving gifts and giving food. But it may not be manifested with respect to speaking properly or keeping secrets. Especially, sometimes a devotee tells us in confidence and we speak it to the whole world.
And then we think, oh actually, I’m enlightening others about the nature of this devotee. But no, our purpose is to help everyone move towards Krishna. So we can justify our insensitive speech as a service to Krishna.
So that the possibility of going wrong is higher. That’s why I focused on that. Yes.
Thank you for the nice presentation. I’m going to ask a question that’s probably kind of a classic question that you’ve seen through this topic of this presentation. You talked about broadly speaking, somebody who’s doing the wrong thing for the wrong reasons.
That’s one category. So the right reason is the devotee who’s describing this first. And then you have the celebrity who’s going to the temple for the wrong reason.
They’re just giving attention to themselves. So the right thing for the wrong reason. So the fourth category is to do the wrong thing for the right reason.
It means that you want to be as Krishna but the way you’re dealing is actually wrong. You pointed this in two verses from the 11th to the one who worships a devotee who can’t be Krishna but who is a devotee with a nice intention. One who can, deal properly.
That’s my evidence. It’s simply the right answer. And you used that as evidence for that I should talk to you isn’t just me.
It’s the devotees. I’m actually moving the world. Which I accept as evidence.
It makes a lot of sense. So what is the position of somebody who has been practising for some time. Perhaps they’re senior.
Perhaps they’re very qualified in many ways. But they have a great difficulty or a huge difficulty, consistent challenge in giving nicely perhaps in their speech and things like that. Such that what does it mean for how would you view them in terms of their seniority, in terms of their advancement in bhakti, and what places is there for considering what this person is actually really devoted and has all these wonderful qualities but they have perhaps awful sun stars for having them around the world.
And what can we expect from both of that in terms of their advancement. It seems like a good question. So if somebody is been practising for a long time, they’re senior devotees but they sometimes behave in a very inappropriate way.
So they’re doing the right act they’re doing the right act the wrong action but with the right motive. That means they want to serve Krishna but in serving Krishna, say for example if a senior devotee calls me and there’s a crowd over there in between that they’re sitting on the grass and calling me something and there’s a crowd in between now to go towards that devotee I just start kicking everyone in the way. Now okay, I’m going senior devotees call me, I want to do service to that devotee but if I’m kicking devotees along the way then I’m having a very restricted view of devotion.
That means that obeying the order of that senior devotee, I only think as devotion but how I deal with others, I’m not thinking of as devotion. So yes, I want to go immediately but I have to go curiously, ask devotees to show me the way so that I can go ahead. So we do want to behave also in the right way, do the right thing for the right motive.
Sometimes as you rightly said, some people just have some conditionings which may not go away for a long time. So the Mahabharata describes that Bhima is a great devotee but Bhima he found it very difficult to forgive Dhritarashtra and he burned in his heart to see Yudhishthira offering so much respect to Dhritarashtra. He was the person whose sons caused him so much distress.
So the Mahabharata describes that that when Bhima would, Dhritarashtra would stay in his palace and Bhima would sometimes stand outside the window and he would speak loudly, these are the arms by which I killed the sons of Dhritarashtra. You know, these are the hands which I ripped apart the hand of Dhritashastra, the hand which I tried to dishonour Draupadi. This is the hand with which I hit the thigh of Duryodhana.
Now these words would hurt Dhritarashtra a lot. Now Bhima, he had this Kshatriya nature, he had that you could say, belligerent disposition. And that came out.
Now he never acted on it and did anything directly defiance of Krishna. And later on Vidura used these very words. He says, he spoke to him bhima pavarjita pindam he says that actually you are living like a household dog.
That the fool that is left by normally not in western culture but maybe in India, dog is not a very worshipable member of the family. In America it’s different. So normally the people eat their food and whatever remains they may give to the dog.
You don’t have special dog food that you purchase from a market. So the idea over there is that he is telling that you know, your whole kingdom was, you lost all your sons. Actually you lost all your opulence but simply out of courtesy Vishnu is allowing you to live here.
And Bhima makes you aware of the reality of what you have done. So remember the words of Bhima and become detached. When Vidura pointed that out, Dhritarashtra got some renunciation in that.
The point I am making here is that the five Pandavas were five individuals. And each of them had their individual religion. All of them were very devoted to Krishna.
But still they had their individual religion. And Bhima could never become like Yudhishthira. Yudhishthira was always very forgiving, always very deferential.
But Bhima couldn’t be like that. But he was still devoted to Krishna. So of course Bhima being exalted and devoted, we can say his character is transcendental.
I am just giving this as an example that sometimes something may just be a part of somebody’s nature. Some people they just act in a particular way. Their way of treating others is through sarcasm.
Their intention is you should not make such a mistake like that. but they just speak it in such a way that they think that the lesson would go deeper into someone if it is spoken sarcastically. Now it may, it may not.
But that’s the way they have they think, that’s the way they are. And if we can’t get along with them, we keep a distance from them. Krishna has a place for everyone in his merciful embrace.
But if some devotees we can’t get along, then we keep a distance from them. If interacting with them causes us too much agitation. So what do we do with that? Yes.
Some devotees can get along with some devotees, some devotees can’t. That’s just the way people are. And that’s the way devotees are also people.
So it may be that we just keep a distance. Now, is it that devotion is not working for them? Devotion is working but which aspects of our conditioned nature will get changed? Which aspects of conditioned nature will be used as they are? And which aspects of our conditioned nature need to be tolerated? Despite they being inimical, unfavourable. That will vary from person to person.
That means, some aspects may just change by the practise of bhakti. Some may be already good and use them in devotional service. And some may just not change.
So what devotion changes primarily is the intention. But the execution of that intention will be according to the kind of body-mind we have. So if somebody has a Kshatriya nature then it’s very difficult for them to act like a Brahmin.
As a Kshatriya also they will serve Krishna. As a Vaishya also somebody will serve Krishna. Somebody who is more of a Vaishya nature.
The first thing if you talk about any project what is the cost? Now a devotee will think what is the purpose? Krishna is going to be glorified. But that’s where their mind is. That’s not necessarily bad.
That’s how they feel. So rather than judging somebody’s devotion by their or judging the actions of devotional action in someone because of certain behaviour on their part. We see that okay, this part might be just not changeable.
But that doesn’t mean that devotion is not changing them. So certain behaviours, some people may just be brash. And that’s how they still serve Krishna.
Some people may be more adventure seeking. And some people may be more security seeking. Both of them want to serve Krishna.
Security means more sustainability. Some people just want to do big things for Krishna. Krishna will take care of everything.
Some people, they’re sustainable. They will do this. How is it going to sustain year after year after year? Krishna has a place for both of them.
So let’s not get into the zone of whether the absence of a particular good behaviour necessarily indicates the absence of devotion. Somebody who practises bhakti diligently, we see that yes. That they have been practising bhakti and how are they advancing? That is between them and Krishna.
At the same time, because we are functioning in the material world and in the material world, people can’t see the spiritual side of us. They can see only the material side. So therefore, if specific services require specific material good qualities, then it’s only those devotees who have those material good qualities should be given those services.
Say for example, if you’re having a kirtan festival, somebody may be a very advanced devotee, but if they’re not good singers, and people who are music lovers are going to come there, the music lovers are not going to appreciate the singing of Hare Krishna. They want to see the quality of the singing also. So for that service, a devotee with a good musical ability is required.
If somebody doesn’t have that, then they should themselves have the humility and others should also have the maturity. Tell them properly, you can sing in other places, not here. So similarly, if somebody is, say, a part of the reception department of the temple, and if they tend to be uncourteous, they tend to be rude, we can tell them you can do some other services.
Some people are good with people, some people are good with things. Now they can manage technology. This machine has got this problem, they’re going to fix this.
This device has got this problem, they’ll fix it. But they may not be very good with people. So, it is both the individual’s humility to recognise that, okay, I’m not so good at this.
And it’s also the institution’s responsibility to recognise that rather than harping on people for not being good at certain things, we need to see what they’re good at and engage them accordingly. Some devotees may be just very good at doing services alone. I mean, association of devotees is very important.
I know one devotee who says that when I try to work in a group, my brain stops working. Now, does that mean that they don’t value association? I like devotee association, but I just can’t function in a group. So, you know, in many companies, some people in big companies, they identify these people like they’re potential geniuses.
So they are told, you know, you develop some new product for the company. And they have no boss, they have no deadlines, just given their time. And many of these big breakthroughs in technology that happen, they’re done by these people who are, you could say, they’re almost like asocial geniuses.
They’re geniuses in their field, but they have zero social skills. So, even mundane companies, they also recognise these people are valuable, but we can’t put them in the customer support. We can’t put them in the face of our company.
So, they will do their product. Similarly, as devotees, people who may be as a devotional movement, such people, we need to respect them for their seniority. And we don’t have to judge their advancement based on their particular behaviour and trait.
But for the functioning of the movement, they have to be engaged in a way that doesn’t hurt others who are coming towards Krishna. They need to be engaged in such a way that they can move towards Krishna, and others can also move towards Krishna. Simple example.
Some devotees want to chant very loudly. Say, I’m actually calling out to Krishna. If I chant softly, I don’t feel like I’m calling out to Krishna.
Now, ideally, we should chant in such a way that we can be absorbed in Krishna in the sound of the holy name that we are reciting. And others can be absorbed in the sound of the holy name that they are reciting. But if we start chanting so loudly that others can’t hear their chanting, they have to hear our chanting.
Then, what do you do? They have been told to chant softly. If they can’t, then maybe they have to chant away from someone else. So, we have to make sure that people are given the space to practise bhakti, but in giving space to practise bhakti, their bhakti practise should not encroach on others’ bhakti practise.
So, how to do that? That requires both intelligence on the part of the individual practitioner and the leaders of the community. Okay? Thank you very much. We’ll stop here.
Thank you.