Going back to Godhead 3 – How to offer our consciousness to Krishna

Video:

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
So, today morning, we continue our discussion on how to go back to Godhead.
I talked about this in three parts. This is the third part. We talked about D.E.P. D was desire.
In the first session, I talked about how by understanding the nature of this world and how we have an innate longing for something beyond this world. Although, there is no lasting life in this world, no lasting love in this world, we long for lasting life and lasting love. And even through science and technology, we are trying to create a technological paradise.
So, it’s reasonable inference that there can be a higher world. And I talked about in that session R.A.P. Reason, Association and Purification by which the desire for spiritual growth can be kindled within us. Desire for attaining the spiritual world can be kindled.
Then, the second session I talked about eligibility. About how we are never qualified. We are always unqualified, but we are never disqualified.
Because Krishna’s mercy is always there for us. Krishna’s love for us is based on who He is, not who we are. Krishna’s mercy is reciprocal, but it is not necessarily proportional.
That is the meaning of causeless mercy. And today, we will talk about the process. What do we have to do to go back to Godhead? This overall metaphor which I was talking about is of immigration.
Say, if somebody wants to immigrate from one country to another, first they have to have the desire to go there. Then, they have to get the eligibility. And then after that, they have to follow the process.
So, eligibility basically gives us entry into the application process. So now, the process is indicated in this verse, or rather the fruit of the process is indicated over here. This is Dhruva Krishna Parayanaha.
Dhruva, who was devoted to Krishna, what happened? He attained that abode Trayanam Lokanam Chudamani, that among all the three planetary systems, that which is even above them. Chudamani is the crest jewel. The topmost among all planetary systems, beyond everything wonderful in the material world, he attained that destination.
So, that is just like if somebody wants to immigrate to a particular country, that country is their destination. Now, Prabhupada’s purport is very profoundly insightful. He says Krishna Parayanaha.
Now, one way to translate Krishna Parayanaha could be that it means one who is devoted to Krishna. But Prabhupada translates it as one who is going toward Krishna. Now, the word Parayan often comes in the Bhagavad Gita as well as the Bhagavatam.
In the Bhagavad Gita, it comes as how the materialistic people are Kaamakrodha Parayanaha. In 16th chapter, especially the demoniac people, Krishna says that āśāpāśiśatairvaddha kaamakrodha parayanaha īhante kaamabhogārtham anyāyenārtha sañcayan. In 1612, he says in the Bhagavad Gita that bound by hundreds and thousands of desires āśāpāśiśatairvaddha kaamakrodha parayanaha They are filled with desire and anger.
I want this, I want that, I want that. And when they don’t get it, it’s anger. So, this is how we are, our desires, the power of desire that we have, it has to go somewhere.
And to go towards, if it is not going towards God, then it is going towards the world. Krishna says, mamai vāṁśo jīva loke jīva-bhūtaḥ sanātanaḥ manah śasthāni nṛyāṇi prakṛti sthāni karṣati. We are Krishna’s eternal parts.
But when we don’t act as his parts, then what happens? We get misdirected. We are dragged elsewhere, which is where? Towards the worldly pleasures or my mind and senses drag us. So basically, everybody is devoted to something.
There are materialistic people who are devoted to matter. Bhakti, you know, Thakur in his song says how? Just as materialistic people constantly think about how can I earn more money, how can I earn more money? So, I want to think, oh Krishna, please bless me so that I can think how can I become more devoted to you? How can I become more Krishna conscious? Basically, there are two main things which in the material life we are devoted to, people are devoted to. Bhoga and Aishwarya.
Sensual pleasure and wealth. So, Jeev Goswami also uses that metaphor of sensual pleasure. He says, just as yothinam yatha yonau, yonau jyothim yatha, mano bhiramate itatra, mano bhiramatam tvayi.
Just as a boy is attracted to a girl, a young boy is attracted to a young girl or a young girl is attracted to a young boy, let my mind be always attracted to you. So, both these metaphors, these two are the deepest attachments in the world. One is wealth and the other is sensual pleasure.
And the Acharyas use both these as metaphors to indicate how we need to be devoted to the Lord. So, parayanaha means, as I said, devoted to. Now, devoted to means, it has two aspects to it.
That we are, that is where we want to go and that is where we are going. So, that’s a destination, but there’s also a journey, a path to follow towards the destination. Now, interestingly in Krishna Bhakti, at one level Krishna is the destination, but Krishna is not just the destination.
Krishna is also the path to the destination. Because the holy name that we chant is non-different from Krishna. The Bhagwat is non-different from Krishna.
The Bhagavad Gita is non-different from Krishna. So, these are also manifestations of Krishna. So, it is Krishna who provides a path, who becomes the path for us to go beyond this world.
One of the names of Vishnu in the Vishnu Sahasranam is Jagatah Setu. That Setu is a bridge. Jagatah is the universe.
But oh Lord, you are the bridge who takes us beyond this universe to the spiritual world. And so, when we are practising Bhakti, even now we are contacting Krishna. It is just that we don’t realise when we are reading the Bhagavatam, when we are hearing the Bhagavatam, when we are chanting the holy names, we are in touch with Krishna.
But because we don’t know what Krishna is, we don’t have an experience of Krishna, so we don’t realise that what we are experiencing right now is Krishna. That’s one reason. Another reason is because we are distracted.
Say, suppose we are eating something delicious, but at that time we are talking with someone on phone and we hear some very disturbing news. And what happens? We may not even taste the sweet food, the delicious food, because our consciousness is distracted. So, because of the distraction and because of the ignorance, we don’t know what Krishna is and we are not focused enough to experience it.
That’s why although right now also we are contacting Krishna, we are not actually experiencing Krishna. But as we keep practising Bhakti day in and day out, gradually two things happen. Our knowledge of Krishna increases and our connection with Krishna increases.
Although we are repeatedly distracted, we keep practising Bhakti, we keep refocusing. We keep practising Bhakti, we keep refocusing. And gradually the focus starts becoming more and more.
So, at one level that focus can increase by knowledge. So, that means the more we come to know about Krishna, the more we can understand Oh! He is wonderful. Everything that I am attracted to actually is coming from Krishna.
For attaining Krishna, Krishna repeatedly talks in the Bhagavad Gita about Yajna. Yajna is sacrifice. So, now the process of attaining Krishna we can talk in different ways.
But I will talk about it today in terms of sacrificing our consciousness for Krishna. The whole point of Krishna consciousness is what? That with our consciousness we can be conscious of hundreds of things. We can be conscious of what is the cricket score today? What is the share stock price? Or we can be conscious of latest gossip.
Oh! This person did like that. So, our consciousness can go in so many different directions and wherever it goes, some direction it has to go because it is functionally necessary. If you are driving a car, you will be conscious of where the consciousness is.
But we are conscious of many things beyond what is functionally necessary. And we are conscious of those things because we think those things will give us pleasure. So, now they do give us some pleasure but it is titillation.
It is very superficial pleasure. So, Krishna consciousness means we sacrifice our consciousness for Krishna. When Krishna says always think of me.
What that means is that you can think of many things and thinking of those things may give you some pleasure but forego that pleasure and think of it. Now, I will focus mainly on two points here. Understanding the concept of God and understanding the concept of sacrifice.
Because the sacrifice for God will take us to God. In fact, if you consider the Latin root of the word sacrifice, it comes from the same root as sacred. So, when we sacrifice something, we make it sacred.
So, when we sacrifice our consciousness by giving it to Krishna, then we sanctify our consciousness, we make it sacred. So, if we consider the Bhagavad Gita, let me talk about the concept of sacrifice first, then about God and then we will talk about how both of them are combined in Krishna consciousness. Now, the idea of sacrifice, if we consider, this is actually one of the defining differences between humans and animals.
Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita talks about a very interesting thing about sacrifice. It says, yajna karma samudbhava. The third chapter is talking about the concept of yajna and it says, yajna arises from karma.
Karma samudbhava. Now, karma, we can use it to refer to generically to activity or specifically to duty. Now, all living beings do some activity.
All living beings, say, even a small ant. Now, ant is moving around trying to find some food and ants can actually carry weight which is 30 to 50 times more than their body weight. That is why ants are considered often to be industrious.
The Bible says, be thou industrious like the ants. Don’t be sluggish. So, even ants are busy doing activity.
But, the difference between the work that humans do and animals do is that humans can consciously prepare for the future. Animals may also prepare, but it is unconscious. What does it mean by unconscious? Say, a bird, an animal might dig a hole so that it can go inside the hole and stay in winter.
But, when it is digging, it is just genetically driven to do that. At that time, the animal doesn’t think it’s a frog or some other animal, burrowing animal. It doesn’t think oh, you know, I would much rather be by the river playing.
No, they are simply genetically driven and whatever they are genetically driven to do, they do. A bird builds an artistic nest, but it is not thinking oh, you know, I could just be flying around enjoying life, but I have to build this nest. It is just driven and does it.
We human beings, we have this capacity to understand that we can bargain with reality. That means, we can trade the present for the future. That we can trade the present.
That means something enjoyable I could do now, but I can give it up now so that I can get something better in future. And this is a vital insight. Every advancement that humanity has done in any field, whether it is science, whether it is economics, whether it is architecture, whether it is art, whether it is literature, it is based on this defining insight that we can bargain with reality that by trading, by offering the present, I can create a better future for myself.
Now, I have the choice. I needed to take that bargain. I can just enjoy in the present and who cares about the future.
That is also one way of living. But in any field in which we humans have advanced, when Newton saw the fruit falling, he saw the apple falling, and I had gone to Cambridge University to speak, so on that way we saw that tree. It is still existing.
So that tree is considered to be like a pilgrimage place for scientists. They go and meditate over there. You know, Newton was so brilliant.
We will also get some brilliant insights in science we will take forward. So now when he saw that apple falling, some people say it fell in front of him, some people say it fell on him, on his head. Wherever it fell.
The point is, now if a monkey had been there, what would the monkey have done? Just picked it up and eaten it. And maybe thousands of human beings might have also done the same thing. But what he did was, he thought, what made this fruit fall? I mean, instead of simply getting the immediate gratification of eating that fruit, he thought, if I can understand how things work, there might be a better result.
Something like that. So basically, we forego immediate pleasure to get something better. And this understanding is what defines human beings.
The capacity to recognise that by foregoing the present, I can create a better future. When we learn language. Now actually, spoken language is reasonably okay.
We have to utter some sounds, and if we can have some words, we can communicate better. But actually, written language requires quite a lot of effort to learn. Especially if in adulthood you try to learn a new language, you start realising how difficult it is.
So we all put in that effort. At that time, it’s just effort. But then, a whole universe of communication opens for us.
So what are we doing when we are learning language? We are basically sacrificing the present for the future. In fact, that’s the principle of education itself. Years and years, somebody studies.
Nowadays, when people don’t have this understanding, in jungles there are animals, and in colleges there are party animals. And they are like party animals, they party for some time and then they quit. Because that ethos of sacrifice has not been instilled.
I just want to enjoy, let me enjoy. And the future, what? I’ll just take up some job, and they might just take up some odd job here and there and try to survive. But if somebody sacrifices for 3, 4, actually it becomes 15 years almost of our life.
We sacrifice so that we can have a better future. Now, this requires some functional assumptions to be realities. See, when we sacrifice the present for the future, we have to have that faith that there is some orderliness to the emergence of the future.
That when I trade the present, in future I’ll get something in return. Just like when we have these currency notes. What are we doing? I promise to give the bearer this, that’s what we it’s a promissory note basically.
Now the economy has to be stable. I met a devotee from Zimbabwe. He told me that a few years ago their currency had devalued so much that he went once to a shop to get some grains and he took a bucket full of currency notes.
And the shopkeeper threw away the currency note, took the bucket and gave him grains in exchange for the bucket. So, if things are unstable, you know, if things are not stable, the faith that we have when we are trading the present for the future, that may not work out. So, of course, we could say that currency is a human arrangement.
Sometimes it happens that students work very hard to get a degree and after they get the degree they find there are no jobs available in that field. Sometimes, depending on how the economy changes, might not have the jobs available. So, there has to be certain stability to reality by which our deal with reality can work.
Now, this principle, we human beings function on that. In any area we progress, we function based on that principle. Now, what the Bhagavad Gita and the scriptures tell us is that this principle applies not just to the humanly constructed reality, but that it is a feature of reality itself.
That when we sacrifice for God, then God creates a brighter future for us. And what this, so this is first the concept of sacrifice. So, when Krishna says yajna karma samudbhava, sacrifice emerges from work.
What that means is that like all living beings, we also do work. And like all living beings, we also do impulsive work. Impulsive work means when I feel cold, I put on a warm dress.
There’s no not really, I’m thinking of long term, I’m thinking of immediately. But among all the work that I do, some of it can be for immediate results. But we can allot some of our work for future results.
So, we can’t give up everything in the present for the future. It’s very difficult to live like that. I’ll forego of all pleasure in the present, so that I’ll get something better in the future.
It doesn’t work like that because that’ll become too much of renunciation and too much of self-abnegation, self-deprivation. But some part of the present, I will allot for the future. So, from work, yes, sacrifice emerges.
So, all work, if not work, we could use the word activity. All activity may not be sacrifice, but at least some activity needs to be done in the mood of sacrifice. That’s why we cannot say if we earn something, we cannot give everything in charity.
But something should be given in charity. When we earn something, we can’t save everything. But something should be saved.
So, we could say saving is for we are using the human banking system to create a better future for ourselves. And when we are giving charity, we could say we are using the divine banking system. Prabhupada says when we give one thing to Krishna, Krishna gives much more in return to us.
So, we are basically allotting a part of the present for the future. So, this is the concept of yajna. And applying this principle to Krishna consciousness.
Now, we can use our consciousness for many, many things. But we consciously choose to offer our consciousness to Krishna. Now, we can’t offer it always.
We can try, but practically it’s not possible always. But at least some time of the day, I will offer my consciousness to Krishna. When I am doing my sadhana, when I am doing my swadhyay, when I am studying scripture, when I am chanting the holy name, when I am worshipping the deities, when I am doing kirtans, when I am hearing or giving class, I am offering my consciousness to Krishna.
I could offer that consciousness to so many other things. At least some part of the consciousness or some time that I am conscious of, I offer it to Krishna. Now, why Krishna in particular? This is where it’s very important that we have a proper understanding of God.
Now, God, we all, see there are, there is the personalism and there is impersonalism. Now, in both of these, impersonalism, there can be oversimplified ideas of both of them. The oversimplified idea is that I am here, God is there.
And God is one person, I am another person. And just like I may form a relationship, we say we form a relationship with a partner, we form a relationship with a friend, like that I have to form a relationship with God. So, the idea is that I and God have no previous relationship, but I am trying to form a relationship.
That is the oversimplified personal idea. I’ll explain what is wrong with that shortly. But what is the oversimplified impersonal idea? The impersonal idea is that actually neither I exist nor God exists as conscious beings, they are just consciousness.
So, they are just consciousness and purification or liberation means that we just merge into that ocean of consciousness. Why is that oversimplified? Because we are conscious beings and consciousness is an intrinsic feature of existence. So, if there is just simply an ocean of consciousness, then what is the meaning of consciousness? Whenever we talk about consciousness, there are three things in the world always.
There is the subject of consciousness and there is the object of consciousness. So, right now you are hearing me. So, then you are the subject, you are experiencing consciousness.
And because you are hearing me, so you, I and my words are the object of your consciousness. So, right now say if you are looking at me, then you are looking at me, then you are the subject, I am the object and in between us there is a stream of consciousness. So, what the oversimplified impersonal idea is that that neither the subject nor the object are real.
Only the stream of consciousness exists. So, liberation means we understand that we go beyond this object and the object both. So, why is that oversimplified idea? Because consciousness has no meaning without a subject and object.
The very idea of consciousness means there is someone who is conscious and there is something we are conscious of. Otherwise, what is the meaning of consciousness? So, now but still it is said that the opposite of one great truth is not one great falsehood. The opposite of one great truth is another great truth.
For small truths, the opposite is a falsehood. So, God is personal is one truth. Now, God is impersonal is not an untruth.
It is another great truth. But the greatest truth is that both of these are integrated in God. So, what this means is that how do we integrate both this? One word we can say that God is personal, God is impersonal.
Third word we could use, God is transpersonal. Impersonal often conveys the idea that he is less than a person. But transpersonal means he is more than a person in our understanding of personhood.
So, in our understanding of personhood, if I am sitting here, then I am not in India or I am not in America. I am only here. As a person, I am limited.
So, the impersonalists say that to be a person is to be in a prison. Because personhood limits our consciousness. But actually, to think that to be a person is in a prison, that thinking itself is a prison.
Because that thinking deprives us of personal exchanges at the spiritual level. So, yes, our personhood is limited. But God’s personhood is not limited.
So, in that sense, God is a person, but he is not a person like us. Now, I don’t want to go into an elaborate philosophy of personalism or impersonalism. My point here is, when we say God is transpersonal, what does it mean? That God is not separate from us.
We are integral to him. That means, it’s like that, I said earlier that if we have the oversimplified idea that God is some person over there and I have to develop a relationship with him. But no, we already have a relationship.
And what is that relationship? We are already his parts, eternal. So, God is not separate from us. We are integral to him.
Again, as I said, God is not separate from us. The oversimplified opposite of this is that we are one with God. Okay, we are one with God, but in what sense? We are parts and he is the whole.
And this understanding that we are integral to God, what does it imply? What it implies is that when we offer something to God, that thing comes back to us in the best possible way. And the simplified example, when we offer something to God, that comes back to us in the best possible way. This is a truth which the Bhagavatam illustrates through the simple examples.
That, just as the hand is a part of the body, so when the hand offers food to the stomach, the food comes back in the best possible way to the hand. That, if the hand just keeps holding the food and squeezing the food and scratching the food and rubbing the food, the hand will not get nourishment. But when the hand gives the food to the stomach, the food comes back to the hand as energy.
So similarly, when we give something to God, it comes back to us in the best possible way. Now what do we mean by the best possible way? You might feel like, I give some charity to God, it goes. It doesn’t come back to me.
I did so much service to God, what has come back to me? Nothing has come back to me. I am still empty handed. But actually we have to understand what is it that we give and what is that we get.
This reciprocation can happen at the material level also. Like Sudama, Brahma and he gave a small little bag of chipped rice to Krishna. And Krishna gave him a huge palace.
There are some situations when Krishna’s reciprocation may happen at the material level also. We give something small to Krishna materially and he gives it hugely back to us. There is another pastime which demonstrates this in Krishna’s Leela, which is that? In Krishna Chai, Vrindavan pastimes? Yes, the fruit seller.
She was a seller, but in the presence of Krishna she became a fruit giver, not a seller. This gave to Krishna, Krishna gave barely a few grains, because the grains had slipped out from his hand. But she was so much attracted to Krishna, I just want to give this to you.
And Krishna gave her far, far more. He gave her jewels. Now actually, those jewels were immensely valuable, but what Krishna gave her even more was he enriched her basket with jewels, but he enriched her heart with the jewels of love for Krishna.
She already was attracted to Krishna, but when she gave that to Krishna, Krishna revealed his attractiveness and she became enriched with immense love for Krishna. So similarly for us, when we offer our consciousness to Krishna, now there are many services specifically we may do. Okay, I want to distribute books, I want to decorate the deities, I want to study scripture and teach scripture.
Now all these are important, no doubt. And we want to get practical results in these services also. If we are trying to share Krishna consciousness, we want to see how many people are coming for the programmes, how many people are becoming devotees.
But these are all external results. So the purpose of service is not popularity or even productivity. The purpose of service is purity.
The purpose of service is not that, oh people glorify me, oh what a wonderful devotee, such a great devotee, that’s popularity. Or, oh you do so much service. We get some titillation for it, oh you are so productive.
You distribute so many books, you build so many temples, you have made so many devotees. That’s all fine. It’s not that we don’t want these.
It’s not that these things are undesirable. If they come by Krishna’s grace, that’s wonderful. But the primary thing is, service is the means by which we offer our consciousness to Krishna.
And when we offer our consciousness to Krishna, what is the result of that? Our consciousness becomes attached to Krishna. That’s why Krishna says that in 12.9 he says, First in 12.8 he says that, just fix your mind on me, fix your intelligence on me and in this way, he doesn’t say over here you will come to me, he says in this way you will live in me. You will live in me right now.
So if our mind and intelligence, that means our inner world, inner being is absorbed in Krishna, then we are already with Krishna. It’s only a matter of time when our as per our past prarabdha karma, the body falls and then we attain Krishna. But if we are not at that level, Krishna says you strive to fix your mind on me.
And by striving to fix the mind on me, through sadhana bhakti, what will happen? He says, your desire for me will become stronger. So the purpose of service is purity. Purity means essentially that our impure desires go down and pure desires go up.
Impure desires are the desires for all the worldly things. They go down. And pure desire, the desire for hearing about Krishna, for remembering Krishna, for serving Krishna, that desire goes up.
So now, it’s significant that when we offer our consciousness to Krishna, in that offering itself, we experience peace. We experience joy. Why is that? Because just thinking of Krishna is pacifying.
Thinking of Krishna is enriching. Thinking of Krishna is fulfilling. Quite often what happens to us is that we offer our consciousness to Krishna but we often think that I should be getting something by this.
Okay, I’m giving a class, after the class some people should come and appreciate my class. How many people will come for my class? How many people are attending my class? Now of course, because we are serving Krishna in this world and as a part of Krishna’s mission, we need to be conscious of that also. But that is not the primary result.
It was not that Prabhupada became successful after he went to America. Even when Prabhupada was in India and nobody was taking up Krishna Bhakti, still Prabhupada was successful. Why? Because Prabhupada was offering his consciousness to Krishna.
Every day he was chanting the name of Krishna. Every day he was writing about Krishna. He was speaking about Krishna while preparing the Bhagavatam purpose.
He was talking about Krishna to whoever came to meet him. So the offering to Krishna of one’s consciousness, that is the essence of Krishna consciousness. And our various services are meant to facilitate us in that.
So Krishna consciousness is the process by which we attain Krishna. And there is a significance of Prabhupada using Krishna Parayanaha over here. That means when we are devoted to Krishna, we are progressing toward Krishna.
On the way toward Krishna. Every day, every moment that we offer our consciousness to Krishna, we are moving towards him. And actually Prabhupada, by Krishna’s mercy, has given us so many opportunities to offer our consciousness to Krishna.
Say, if we decide to build a temple for the Lord, if we decide to distribute, if we decide to cook for the Lord. Now doing all those things is important from a practical perspective. But if we get so caught in doing those things that we lose our Krishna consciousness in that process.
That means we stop being conscious of Krishna. Now, of course, we may say that, okay, but if I have to raise funds, say for example, now I have to travel. If I travel across the world, I have to think so much about the logistics.
And it’s not that when I’m thinking about those logistics, I’m necessarily thinking about Krishna. So if we are trying to build a temple, then we are not necessarily thinking that I have to trade with this person, that person, make this deal, get this permission. We are not necessarily thinking about Krishna at that time.
There is thinking of Krishna and there is thinking for Krishna. Thinking of Krishna means we fix the mind on Krishna directly. And that’s very important.
But there is thinking for Krishna. That means that we think for Krishna’s cause, for Krishna’s purpose. So Krishna wants to bring more and more people to his lotus feet.
And therefore, we want to build a temple for him. So, if we understand that the purpose of my life is Krishna, the purpose of my life is to share Krishna’s message, then even if we are not thinking of Krishna, we can be thinking for Krishna. Thinking for means not in place of Krishna, but on his behalf.
Thinking of how best I can serve Krishna. And that’s the one level over Krishna. In 1210 he says that if you cannot fix your mind on me, if you work for me, then you will attain me.
So even by working for Krishna, we can attain Krishna gradually. Now, what about say when we are not doing a direct service to Krishna, we are on our jobs, taking care of our families. Is that thinking for Krishna? See here, I’ll conclude with one last point.
It’s very important that we have to understand that if I understand that God and I are not separate, then that means my interests are contained within God’s interests. That means if say, if right now in my particular role, I have to take care of this job, I have to take care of this family, then that is my interest. But if my life is devoted to Krishna, then my interest and God’s interest, they don’t run contrary to each other.
Now, God is not the inhibitor of human flourishing. It is not that God doesn’t want human beings to flourish. In fact, God is the inspirer and the empowerer of human flourishing.
And this is what we see in the Dhruva pastime. That Dhruva, he came to God for material things. He wanted a kingdom.
But what did he do? He offered his consciousness in meditation with severe austerity. The purpose of austerity, the purpose of fasting is not to deprive ourselves and torture ourselves. The purpose of fasting is that I want to offer my consciousness so much to Krishna that there is no time left to offer my consciousness to food.
So if somebody while fasting is constantly thinking, when is the fast going to break? Then better break the fast now, take some food and then think of Krishna. The purpose of fasting is not to torture the body. So when there is intense austerity, the point is that we just don’t spare any thought for the body needs and direct all our thoughts towards Krishna.
Then what happens by that? So he offered his consciousness to Krishna and because of that he was so purified that when the Lord told him what do you want? He said I don’t want anything. Kaacham vichinvanapi deviratnam. He said actually the kingdom that I was looking for Asthana bilashi tapasi sthitoham, that I was wanting this kingdom but that is like a broken piece of glass and you are the jewel.
Now I have got the jewel, what do I want in this kingdom? But the Lord said take it. He said you are purified therefore if you take this kingdom you will not become, you will not get enamoured, you will not become deluded. Now if those who are pure they have responsibility in the world, they can actually do good to the world.
So God is not against human flourishing. Vishnu, Krishna wanted Dhruva to flourish and that’s why Dhruva he became prosperous by the Lord’s grace. Similarly God wants us to flourish in this world also.
After all Krishna one of his mission is to establish Dharma. Dharma samsthapanarthaya sambhavami. So now who is going to establish Dharma? It is not that Krishna is going to be personally present throughout this world as the king of the world.
It is Krishna’s devotees who are going to do that on his behalf. So if Krishna’s devotees are going to establish Dharma that means Krishna’s devotees have will, Krishna wants to give the devotees that power by which they can establish Dharma in the world. So Krishna is not against human flourishing.
But Krishna doesn’t want our flourishing in this world to be at the expense of our flourishing in his abode. So if Krishna gives us lots of wealth and power and position and popularity and connections in this world will we get carried away by that? Will we get infatuated by that? If we won’t then Krishna wants for the devotees to flourish because devotees are the agents who can make the world flourish in a holistic way. So Krishna would want devotees to be the best lawyers, the best engineers, the best doctors, the best politicians, the best sports players, the best in everything.
God is not against human flourishing. But when our human flourishing takes us away from God, that is when God opposes human flourishing. So we don’t have to see our family or our career as separate from God.
We make sure that we devote quality time to directly connecting with God. And when we do that then everything that we do can be a part of Krishna’s interest. So if our life is devoted to Krishna and then we are seeking financial security, we are seeking a social position, all that is so that we can serve Krishna better.
If we have that attitude then even that will be a sacrifice of our consciousness for Krishna. But the important thing is there is a direct offering of our consciousness to Krishna which is say, we come and hear about Krishna. We hold Krishna.
There is no distraction. It’s we and Krishna. That’s a direct offering of our consciousness to Krishna.
That’s thinking of Krishna. And then there is the indirect offering of our consciousness to Krishna. Not exactly entirely indirect but say for example we are doing some services where we are not directly thinking about Krishna.
See we are distributing books, we are building temples, we are planning our travel itinerary. All that, that is thinking for Krishna. And then lastly we could say thinking of various things so that we can think for Krishna and think of Krishna.
We need to arrange for our social financial security. So if you consider these three levels, now the third is what is functionally required in this world. And most people get caught in the third and they never do the first and second.
And we may also get so caught in the third that we may neglect the first and the second. We need quality time for the first, thinking directly of Krishna. And then we need some quality time for thinking for Krishna, doing some direct service to Krishna.
And then we do the third. Then what will happen? That Krishna connection, that seva bhava, service attitude which you have carried with us, which has become impressed within us, will be permeated into our being and it will flow into the other activity that we are doing also. That’s why I say if somebody is in a family both say husband, wife, children, all devotees and somebody says, oh my whole family is a devotee, so I have devotee association at home.
There is no need for me to go to the temple. Well, okay, you have devotee association, but you are not always associating with your family members on devotional terms alone. Because all the dynamics of the family relationships come up over there.
So that is a devotee association but that is not equal to a direct devotee association. We are associating not primarily or exclusively for devotional purposes. So we need the association in the first and second level also.
And the third level also is fine. That’s why if we are interacting with devotees only for services and we are not discussing Krishna katha with devotees, then again our relationship will become a little, at best, it will become filled with friction. At worst, it will become filled with collisions.
So we need to come together with Krishna at the centre. We need to hear about Krishna from each other and learn to see each other as devotees of Krishna. Then the collisions and frictions will go down.
So the process of sacrificing our consciousness for Krishna. While in this world there are so many objects to which we can give our consciousness and they will give us some pleasure. But instead of giving our consciousness to those objects, we give them, give our consciousness to Krishna.
And if we have to give it to some objects, other objects, we give it so that we can give it to Krishna better. So the third level shouldn’t be seen simply as mundane and illusionary and just simply taking me away from Krishna. A third level is also a way which we are connecting with the second and first level.
And then in this way, as we offer our consciousness to Krishna every day, gradually our desire for Krishna will increase more and more. And then the offering of our consciousness to Krishna will become more and more. And as we offer our consciousness more and more to Krishna, we will gradually become absorbed in Krishna.
And when we are absorbed in Krishna, then the time comes for us to leave this body. The associates of the Lord may not come to take us. That is for very special souls.
But even if we are not special souls, we can still attain a special destination. For a devotee, when a devotee dies, the devotee does not leave home. A devotee goes home.
When people think this is my home in this world, oh, death will take me away from it. For a devotee, yes, this is a home, but this is a home for this body in this world. My real home is with Krishna.
And a devotee goes home to Krishna. Just as Dhruva Maharaj went back and just as Srila Prabhupada has given us the process by which we all can go back. Home, going back to Godhead.
So I’ll summarise. I spoke on this theme of going back to Godhead. What is the process for that? And I broadly talked about this in terms of three things.
Sacrifice, understanding sacrifice, understanding God, and understanding how to sacrifice for God. So sacrifice is a uniquely human activity. In sacrifice, we trade the present for the future.
All living beings, including humans, act impulsively for their immediate needs and desires. But we humans can allot some of our present energy to create a better future. And any progress that distinguishes human beings from animals, whether it is science, whether it is art, whether it is language, whether it is literature, all that has happened because the pioneers in those fields were ready to forego the present to create a better future.
Newton sacrificed the pleasure of immediately eating that apple so that he could get understanding of gravity. And same way, now, the dharmic scriptures tell us that we can extend this principle of sacrifice to God. Now sacrifice for it to work, reality has to have some stability.
That what I sacrifice now, reality will give it to me in return later. So the human constructed reality may not give it back to us sometimes. We might invest in a stock but the stock might collapse.
We might have a lot of currency but the currency might devalue. But when you offer to God, there is no disruption over there. Then I talked about what is the concept of God? That God is not just some other being existing somewhere with whom we have to develop a relationship.
And it is not that to attain God means to become depersonalised and giving up all individual consciousness. So God is not impersonal. God is not just personal.
He is transpersonal. That means He is a person but without the limitation of personhood that we all have. So He, God is not separate from us.
We are part of Him. Integrally part of Him. And that means whatever we offer to Him, it comes back to us in the best possible way.
As the hand offers food to the stomach, the food comes back as energy to the hand. So what can we offer to Krishna? The most important thing that we can offer is our consciousness. And when we offer our consciousness to Krishna, that comes back to us as we become joyful, we become peaceful, we become enriched.
Now, there is directly offering our consciousness to Krishna by thinking of Krishna. But we can’t do that constantly because we are not that devoted and because we live in the world where we have to do other things also. There is thinking of Krishna and there is thinking for Krishna.
While functioning in the world, while doing various services in Krishna’s mission, we may not be directly thinking about Krishna but we are thinking for Krishna. And that is also one way in which we can attain Krishna. But when we are thinking for Krishna, doing various services, the purpose of service is not popularity or productivity.
It is purity. Which means that by doing service to Krishna, our desires, our impure worldly desires will go down and our pure devotional desires will go up. And when we are doing other work in our day-to-day life, at that time also we can see that this is ultimately meant to create a foundation so that I can think of Krishna and think for Krishna.
So, God is not against human flourishing. नते स्वार्थ गति में विश्णू God is our ultimate self-interest. So, human interest and God’s interest, they are overlapping.
In fact, our interests are a subset of God’s interest. And therefore, what we need to do, if we see that this is ultimately my devotion to God, then it can also be a part of our devotion. But God becomes against human flourishing when our human flourishing will take us away from God.
That’s why when we are serving Krishna in the world, Krishna can give us the whole world. But then we will take the world and we will give up Krishna. That’s why we need to strive for purity.
And the more we offer our consciousness to Krishna by thinking of Krishna and thinking for Krishna, then even if we have to think about other things, those things won’t enamor us. And if Krishna offers us the world, we will offer it to Him. But right now, if Krishna offers us the world, we will take the world and thank Krishna and go away.
We will not even thank Krishna and go away. So that’s why, it’s not that right now God may not be giving us what we think will help us flourish. But that doesn’t mean God is against human flourishing.
Ultimately, for us, if we keep offering our consciousness to Krishna, either by thinking of Krishna, thinking for Krishna or thinking of the things that enable us to think of and for Krishna, then gradually our consciousness will become connected and absorbed in Him. And then, we will eventually attain Him. At death, a devotee doesn’t go away from home, the devotee goes back home.
Thank you very much. Hare Krishna. Any questions or comments? Question being asked.
So devotee has too many services and responsibilities, which are actually distracting the devotee from thinking of Krishna. Then should we not think like that and think that Krishna will empower me to do this? Or should we consider that and try to adjust? I think both can be applicable according to time, place, circumstance. So the important thing is that the mind tends to always be dissatisfied.
Even if we go to paradise, the mind will say that, yes, but this is not right. So at one level, the mind always makes us feel. If we have a lot of services, the mind will say, you don’t have peace of mind so that you can chant Hare Krishna, you can study Shastra.
But then, sometimes it may happen that if you have a whole day, now, nothing to do. You can just chant, you can just read. And so we’ll get bored.
I want to do something. If we have the whole day to read, we can’t actually read. Most of us can’t.
Some of us can, that’s fortunate. But we have to at first level check with this. Is this just the routine complaining and dissatisfaction of the mind? That whatever situation I am in, the mind always feels.
This is not the right situation for me. I need some other situation where I can serve. So, having said, having checked, once we check that, now it’s not always like that.
Sometimes we can truly be overburdened by service. So, say we may decide that based on my past experience of bhakti, I can study maybe study Shastra for one hour a day or half an hour a day or two hours a day. Whatever.
And now this is what I need for my nourishment. Sometimes, I have seen some devotees who study 8 hours, 10 hours, but actually if you associate with them, there is no Krishna Shakti coming from them. They don’t really feel inspired by them.
Even their classes are very pedantic. They are like very, they have a lot of knowledge, but that knowledge is not transformed into the energy and enthusiasm to serve Krishna. And there are some other devotees, their classes may not be very learned, but when you hear their classes, you feel energised.
I want to serve Krishna. So, yes, we want to be nourished, but the test of our nourishment is not just in terms of how much quantity we read. The test of our nourishment is how much energy we have to serve Krishna.
And how much of that energy can we transfer to others in terms of giving them the desire to serve Krishna. So, we have to see how much of direct devotional activities, level A we can say, the thinking of Krishna, we can do in a sustainable way, in a way that energises us. Sometimes we may decide, I’ll chant 64 rounds.
And then we chant 16 and after that we are simply counting to complete the rounds. We are not actually concentrating. Is that really helpful? Of course, you could say chanting is always helpful, but yes, but there are different things that are also going to be helpful.
And maybe doing some other service might be, you might be connecting more with Krishna through some other services than through chanting. Those who can chant 64 rounds and be absorbed, that’s wonderful. So, we have to see for ourselves how we can be best connected.
And then try to, once we understand this much is the time I need for my personal nourishment, then we try to restructure our life so that we can get that much nourishment. Now, is it wrong to think that, oh, I’ve got too much services? No, because Krishna has also given us intelligence. And with our intelligence, we have to evaluate.
We can say that it can be atyahar or prayas if we over-endeavour even for Krishna. See, Prabhupada was extremely busy, but still Prabhupada would take time out for massage every day. And Prabhupada would not be while eating food doing other things.
He would just, while eating food, he would eat food calmly. So, Prabhupada was busy, but Prabhupada was never rushed. When he was talking with him, he had time.
He would give time for all the activities that he was doing. And he could have said that, you know, maybe at that time when I’m doing massage also, I can do other things. But Prabhupada would prefer not to do that.
So, that was, now Prabhupada is a very exalted consciousness, very exalted devotee, but still we can learn from his example that he would do what was required even for his, for keeping a sustainable pace. So, we have to find out and gradually we can adjust. Sometimes it may be that we are doing some services roles and we can’t immediately get out of it.
Then we can gradually maybe outsource some responsibility, delegate some things, withdraw from some things. So, we need to take care of ourselves. Our movement is such that the services are unlimited.
One devotee was telling me that when somebody new comes to our movement, we give them fried pakodas. And when they become regular, we fry them like pakodas. So, we have to make sure that we don’t get overworked.
So, now if we feel we are being overworked and still we are doubtful, maybe is it that I am just being lazy or am I actually giving up my Christian tradition, maybe then we can talk with some devotees, not directly necessarily those devotees who are giving us that service, because sometimes they may not be the best judge because they also have to think about the project and other things. But some other devotees whom we know, we can talk, you know, I am doing all these things. Is it too much? And then sometimes getting some perspective from someone outside of ourselves also helps us.
And that way we can decide. So, doing services in a way that we can keep doing services in future, that is also very important. In fact, I did not have time to talk about it, but sacrifice is another conception.
Sacrifice also means that I take away some things from my present self so that my future self can have those things. When we say my present self and the future self are the same. It is the same, but it is not the same also.
Say, if I have some money and for the present self’s pleasure I use all the money, the future self will have nothing. So, sacrifice applies also, the present self gives up something so that the future self will have something. There is a letter of Prabhupada where he says that if you don’t take care of your health, then in future you won’t be able to serve Krishna, even if you are very enthusiastic to serve.
Because if the body is broken down, what can you do? So, we have to serve Krishna in a way that is sustainable. We don’t work for our body and mind, but we don’t work against our body and mind also. We work with our body and mind.
What is the capacity of my body and mind? What are the strengths? What are the weaknesses? And we have to understand that and work in a way that is sustainable. Does that answer your question? Thank you. Any other questions? So, if fasting, we go for work and then we think of food quite a bit because we feel hungry or weak, then is it better to give up the fast and well, by giving up the fast, it doesn’t necessarily mean that we take grains.
We can take kadashi food, only kadashis. But there is a balance between when we are doing too little austerity and when we are doing too much austerity. In general, you could say that it is like weight lifting.
If I can lift 15 kg weight and if I go to the gym and I just lift 500 grammes, well, I won’t be doing any exertion. It might be just I am going through the motions but my muscles are not going to become stronger by that. But if I can lift 15 kg weight and I try to lift 40 kg weight, I will crumble under that.
So, if I can lift 15 kg, then I should lift 15 kg or maybe 16 kg. It will be a little exertion and by that, our muscles will grow. So, similarly, we need to find out what is our capacity for austerity.
So, austerity itself will make us a little uncomfortable. Just like if I can lift 15 kgs, then if I have to lift 15 kgs, it is uncomfortable. So, you could say there are three levels.
There is comfortable, uncomfortable and unbearable. So, austerity should be a little uncomfortable. If there is no discomfort, then there is no austerity only.
What is austerity if there is no discomfort, isn’t it? But if it is not just uncomfortable, it is unbearable, that means we are constantly thinking about it and we feel tormented by it, then that is not desirable. So, our best is on holy days, we fast and we think of Krishna directly. If not, we think of Krishna or at least we think for Krishna.
But sometimes, holy days are not holidays for us. So, then we have to do other things also. Then, yes, we want to avoid, we have to think of various other things also, which is okay.
But then, if the thoughts of food are dominating our consciousness, then it is better that, so we are not even able to function on level 3 where we are not able to do our work properly, we are not able to interact with people properly, then better that we lower the level of austerity. So, we shouldn’t be afraid of discomfort, but that discomfort should not become like a torment. It should not go to the level where it becomes unbearable.
A little pain is okay. Yes, Pramod. You have a question? So, if our thoughts go a lot of our time and thoughts go in thinking of our family and taking care of things and we don’t get much time to think about Krishna directly, then we feel dissatisfied because of that.
So, what can we do? What will be our destination? See, at this stage, we have to recognise that it is ultimately by Krishna’s plan that we are in a particular situation. If I am in a family, if I am in a demanding job, if I am in a job where my boss is squeezing my blood. Now, I could say this boss is such a terrible person because of which I am not able to have any time for Krishna consciousness.
Okay, that’s true. Functionally, it is true. But beyond the functional is the transcendental.
And the transcendental is that nothing happens without Krishna’s sanction. So, if I am in this situation, it is also by Krishna’s plan. So, surrender to Krishna has two aspects.
One thing you could say is I want to surrender everything to Krishna. But another aspect of surrender is also surrender means to do what we can with what we have now. To do what we can with what we have now.
So, in this situation, this is what I can do for Krishna. So, let me do it. And accepting the situation we are in, that is also a part of our surrender to Krishna.
If we are in a particular situation and we are very resentful. Why is this like this? Why is this person like this? Why is this taking so much time? Then if we are resentful, we will be irritable, we will be disagreeable. Then even if we perform bhakti, that will not be priti purvakam.
Krishna says, that we should perform bhakti with affection. And when we perform bhakti with affection, then Krishna says, I will give you devotional intelligence of how to come to me. So, see the situation in which a lot of our time is being taken in this and that and that, that also as an arrangement of Krishna.
Now, when we say it is an arrangement of Krishna, that does not necessarily mean we just give up our intelligence and not evaluate whether the arrangement is favourable for our absorption in Krishna or it is unfavourable. Now, if I have a choice between two jobs, one job where I have to work for 16 hours, another job where I have to work for 6 hours. Then, okay, right now I have a 16 hour job, but I should try for a maybe 6 or 8 hour job.
Certainly, that is more favourable. But while we are in a situation that is unfavourable to our Krishna consciousness, we need to accept that and do the best in that situation. And Krishna is an understanding God.
Krishna is not a judging God. You didn’t do this, you didn’t do this, you didn’t do this. No, Krishna is going to look at our heart.
Krishna knows our situations. So, if we are trying, Krishna appreciates that. Of course, we want to try more and more.
As far as feeling dissatisfied is concerned, at one level, a devotee should always want to do more for Krishna. So, in that sense, spiritual dissatisfaction is good. We have the Goswamis singing, Hey Radhe Vraja Devi Ke Chalalite, Hey Nanda Shona Kutaha Although Krishna and Radha are there in their hearts, they are constantly searching in the groves of Vrindavan.
Where is Krishna? Where is Radha? Our mood of Gaudiya Vaishnavism is that we can never have enough of Krishna. We always want more and more of Krishna. So, in that sense, spiritual dissatisfaction or spiritual greed is good.
But, for the great devotees, how is the dissatisfaction spiritual? Because they are absorbed in Krishna now and they want Krishna more. But for us, often when we are dissatisfied, we are not absorbed in Krishna as much as we can be. Say, suppose we come for a class and we wanted to come on time but somehow we came late.
Maybe some work came up, some traffic issue came up. Now, we come to the class and we are so angry. Why did this traffic happen? Why did this person call me? Why did this issue come up? We could have come for one hour class, we come for 30 minute class.
But in the 30 minutes, we are resenting. Why did that happen? Why did that happen? Then we are not there for 30 minutes also. Yes, we can plan so that in future, maybe I can come for the full hour.
But now I am there for 30 minutes. Let me be fully there for 30 minutes. So, doing bhakti with a mood of acceptance of our situation, that is also surrender.
And that is also a way in which we can please Krishna. Accept the situation I am in. Krishna, I will do my best I can in this situation.
I would like to do more. And we can use our God-given intelligence to see how we can change the situation also. Sometimes changing is easily possible.
Sometimes changing requires time. Now, suppose somebody has a, say, newborn children. You know, taking care of a newborn baby is more than a full-time job.
Isn’t it? It’s literally full-time. A full-time job is 8 hours. But taking care of a baby is almost 24 hours.
Isn’t it? So then, at that time, we have to see that this life has come here by Krishna’s grace through me and I am responsible. I am serving Krishna by taking care of this child. At that time, our direct services may go down.
Now, as the children grow up, sometimes as the children grow up, maybe they go into their teens, even if we want to give them time, they don’t want our time. Leave me alone, they say. So, what happens is our devotional services go through different phases.
So, sometimes we are able to give more direct time to Krishna. Sometimes we are not able to give direct time to Krishna. That happens in any service.
Say, if I am travelling, when I am planning all my travelling, last time I calculated that I last time I travelled for about 5 months. So, usually in a month, I give about 40 to 50 classes, about 10 classes a week. So, about 40 classes a week.
So, each class may be one and a half hours. So, maybe I have about 60 hours of speaking, actually I do. But I found that for every 60 hours of speaking, I have to spend almost 20-30 hours in all the logistics planning.
You know, you go catch a bus, get the wheelchair assistant or catch the fly, do this, do that. Now, I would be very happy to not do that. But I cannot do the 60 hours without doing this 20-30 hours.
Isn’t it? So, even when we are doing something for Krishna, we can’t always do it for Krishna. So, while we are functioning in the material world, we cannot divorce our devotion from the logistics of the world. But, if we are understanding that I am doing this