Happiness is a byproduct ofabsorption in Krishna SB 10.20.20

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
Krishna, Shri Prabhupada, spiritual contemplations in the mind of Shri Krishnadevaraya Swamiji and shared those contemplations today all of us to Shri Nathaguru. So each little devotion of the divine to the Krishna consciousness was quite literalist in the sense that it can let us take the literal meaning of the scripture and not screw out the unguaranteed metaphorical interpretations.
At the same time, the scriptures do themselves talk about metaphor, metaphor that implies similarities and these are used frequently in the scripture. So, for example, in the Gospels we have the whole pastime of Puranjan, which is described to be metaphor. So, Puranjan is not a historical person, but he represents the kind of mentality that Narada Muni wants to detect when we are instructing Prachinibai.
And for that purpose, he uses a symbolic, a non-historical character that is Puranjan. So, the metaphorical meaning is used quite frequently in the scripture. And what Srila Prabhupada was against was not the metaphorical meaning for the scripture.
He was against the metaphorical meaning supplanting the literal meaning. In the third chapter of the 10th canto, it says, Srila Prabhupada even talks about, represents how Devaki represents fear of middle-aged students and the six children that were born to her, they represent the six anarthas and coincide the names of middle-aged students. So, Prabhupada does give non-literal explanations also.
So, non-literal explanations are not necessarily wrong. Non-literal explanations should supplement, not supplant the literal explanations. Supplement means add, supplant means replace.
So, Vrindavan is a place that is historically real, in fact, not just historically real, it is transcendentally real. It exists in the spiritual realm eternally. And it is interesting that normally we think of advanced Krishna consciousness as, now whatever we see, we connect with Krishna.
And normally if somebody talks about philosophy, we think, okay, this is preliminary. And pastimes are very advanced. If somebody talks about pastimes, somebody talks about Rasa, somebody talks about Krishna, the relationship with Krishna and Devaki, that is very advanced.
So, normally we think of philosophy as preliminary, to later on get to pastimes. But here we see, Shudra Goswami is in the heart of the Bhagavatam. He is in the tenth canto.
He is describing Krishna’s pastimes. He is in Krishna’s abode, in the relative course. And there, in the forest of Vrindavan, he is not contemplating on Krishna’s pastimes, he is contemplating on basic philosophical truths.
Why is that? That is, there are multiple reasons, but the important point relevant for us is that, it is not that remembering the basic principles of Krishna consciousness is preliminary. What is important is, what is relevant for the audience. Now, Shudra Goswami is speaking to Karishma Maharaj, who is preparing for the final exam, okay.
And for that preparation, he is narrating the pastimes along with the philosophical import of those pastimes. So, in this context, it is not that Karishma Maharaj is not an advanced devotee, Vishnu but in this context of illustrating, what is the duty of a person about to die, philosophy is important. And if we see, the Bhagavatam concludes also, 12.4, 12.5, in the place where, 12 canto 4 is the chapter, in the place where Shudra Goswami’s narration ends and Shudra Goswami departs.
And Karishma Maharaj absorbs himself in spiritual reality and departs from the world and the darshan of the world comes in whites. So, there also, just before departing, Shudra Goswami speaks philosophy, he speaks actually Atma Tattva. Of course, Shudra Goswami’s Atma Tattva is a very, this is the explanation of why he talks about Atma Tattva over there.
But the point here is that, philosophy is not unimportant. And remembering philosophy helps us in remembering Krishna. Shudra Mantra Varenyachit, Shudra Mantra Varenyachit, Iha Bhante Krishna, Ke Shudra Narmanas By remembering the philosophy, we understand the futility of materialism and thereby, we get an impetus to fix our mind on Krishna.
We understand that Krishna is the only ultimate reality and therefore, it’s important for us to remember Krishna. So, Shudra Goswami illustrates this point. So, seeing the peacocks, we could normally think, oh, peacock is a complexion, a peacock feather, Krishna is a peacock feather.
And seeing a peacock may remind a person of Krishna. But here, seeing a peacock reminds them of how the traditional souls become happy when they get the opportunity of Krishna Consciousness. Krishna Prabhupada talks about how he tells us to decide on this.
And we could include all of us who are westernised followers in that same category. So, actually, the Prabhupada opens the hippies and they become happy. So, to some extent, this is a journey.
The hippies are living in quintessential Samovar. They’re rejecting all the fundamental principles and unclean lives. And Krishna describes a characteristic of the mode of goodness in happiness.
And of course, transcendence is filled with happiness. So, the journey in the profiles of Krishna Consciousness has made people from hippies to happy. And essentially, it has raised people from the lower modes, from the mode of ignorance, to the mode of goodness and beyond, to transcendence.
So, we will discuss today a bit about happiness in Krishna Consciousness. So, the first point to understand that happiness is always a byproduct, never a product. What this means is that if we change after happiness, if we do a particular activity just so that we become happy, we will soon find happiness in ignorance.
When people start out doing something, they say, I’ll do only for enjoyment. If people go for a picnic, outing, a hill station, whatever, I’ll go only for enjoyment. And after some time, people become bored with the activity.
When people watch movies or whatever they do, normally they develop enjoyment. That becomes boring and that’s why the shock value, the surprise value, the stimulation value of the enjoyment keeps rising, rising, rising. That’s how people feel understimulated.
Otherwise, there’s no happiness. So, when we change after happiness, we never get happiness. Even at the material level, happiness is a byproduct of dedication to some meaningful cause.
Even in material life, the people who are happy are those who are dedicated to some cause. And in the absorption in that cause, the selfless devotion in that cause, they experience happiness in the life around. And even in the path of bhakti, actually, happiness is a byproduct of selfless devotion to Krishna.
Bhagavatam 1.26 says, So, this is describing the characteristics of the supreme dharma. That which is unobtrusive, unobtrusive devotion to the Lord, that is the supreme dharma. But what it says is, this supreme dharma will, as a byproduct, It will lead to inert happiness.
It will lead to most fulfilling happiness. But the emphasis is, that is the result which will come. But what we should focus on is, a great teacher of this dharma.
So, even in the path of bhakti, if we do that 50’s of devotional service so that we can become happy, then happiness will often elude us. Because happiness is not a product, it’s a byproduct. Bhaktivinoda Thakur explains, in the Chaitanya-shri-shram-radha, that the jivatma, because the jivatma is the amrita of Krishna, so everything that Krishna has is present in a fragmented, minute way in the jivatma.
So, Krishna has his own lagini-shakti, his pleasure-giving potency. So, does the jivatma, if the jivatma is a part of Krishna, does the jivatma also have his own lagini-shakti? Does he have his own pleasure-giving potency? He says, yes. But, because we are tiny, our pleasure-giving potency, or pleasure-gaining potency, whichever you want to put it, we want to gain pleasure.
So, the potency that gives us pleasure, the potency by which we gain pleasure, that is also extremely tiny. And that’s why, when the soul tries to enjoy, separate from Krishna, does the soul get happiness? Yes, but it is an extremely tiny happiness, because our potency for pleasure is extremely limited. So, Lala Narada still talks about this.
He says, दुद्रावशिष्णक्षिनस्नंग्रिविष्णिवुपास्वेगंकलेवर्णशेशिन्जान्वेरोखा निर्वित्यदेविनस्चिन्नोयति विद्वान्कामानलंदुलवैशाने नुरापयी So, actually in this verse, he gives two different conceptions of whether there is happiness in the middle world or not. He first says that, what is the happiness in the middle world? दुद्रावशिष्णक्षिनस्नंग्रिविष्णिवुपास्वेवर्णशेशिन्जान्ने निर्वित्यदेविनस्चिन्नोयति विद्वान्कामानलंदुलवैशाने नुरापयी What can I desire in the middle world? Because all the happiness here is, शृति सुखा नुर्वित्यविष्णिवुपास्वेवर्णशेशिन्जान्ने निर्वित्यदेविनस्चिन्नोयति विद्वान्कामानलंदुलवैशाने नुर्वित्यविष्णिवुपास्वेवर्णशेशिन्जान्ने नुर्वित्यविष्णिवुपास्वेवर्ण� As compared to the need for water in the desert, the need for water in the desert, a drop of water is not going to satisfy. Similarly, as compared to the need for happiness of the soul, which is constitution, the intermittent, transitory, flickering happiness that is there between two souls is never going to be sufficient.
So the mirage is not so much, like mirage example here, not so much to say that there is no happiness at all in the existence. In the Taitiriya Upanishad, there is a hierarchy of happiness that is replicated with some modification, in the Bhakti Samhita also. And talks about, say the earthly happiness is this much, this worldly happiness is 100 times.
Then the happiness in Brahmaloka is 1000 times, or some proportion there. Then the Brahman is this much, 1000 times that. And then ultimately, Bhakti Anukula is much, much greater than that.
So there is a hierarchy of happiness to talk about, which indicates, if the heavenly happiness is 1000 times earthly happiness, and like that 1000 times you multiply, you get the spiritual happiness, then obviously the material happiness is not zero. Because if it is zero, then 1000 times you multiply it, it is still zero. So there is some happiness in material existence.
So in the mirage example given, the mirage example given, not so much to talk about the non-existence of the heavenly happiness. But it is given to illustrate the illusion about the nature and quantity of the happiness. The mirage basically represents the illusion.
And what is the illusion? The illusion is that there is so much happiness in this world, that it is worth giving our whole life to pursue it, and it is the happiness that will make us happy. No, there is happiness in this world, but it is very temporary. It is not going to make us happy, because it will come and it will go.
So why is that happiness so flickering, so natural? Because we are parts of Krishna, but because we are tiny parts of Krishna, the happiness that we experience in connection with Krishna, without connection with Krishna, is tiny. Because our pleasure being potency is extremely tiny. So Bhaktivinoda Thakur explains that the way the soul can experience happiness is when we connect his tiny pleasure potency with Krishna’s infinite pleasure potency.
So then what happens is, that means we have the desire for pleasure, and all our activities are motivated by the desire for pleasure. But when we use this motivational energy to serve Krishna, to love Krishna, to please Krishna, then we connect with Krishna’s unlimited pleasure potency. And then that gives us far greater happiness than what we would get independent of Krishna.
So the happiness of Krishna consciousness comes when we serve Krishna. So the primary focus of the devotee is on serving Krishna. And then as a by-product of serving Krishna, happiness is lost.
So when we practise Krishna consciousness, often we also have our struggles. We are tempted by material pleasures, we sometimes succumb to those material temptations, and we sometimes experience spiritual happiness, sometimes it comes, sometimes it goes. If our experience of spiritual happiness also doesn’t stay constant on most occasions, now why is that? That is because our connection with Krishna is not constant.
Dr. N. R. Patil gives the example that the sun is constantly giving light, but a person who is under the clouds cannot constantly give the light. So we are under the clouds of our conditioning. And because of that, because of the clouds of our conditioning, our connection with Krishna is intermittent, it is not constant.
And because our connection with Krishna is intermittent, so even our experience of spiritual happiness is intermittent. To the extent we become urupa heavy and our conditioning decreases, that is the clouds go away, to the extent our connection with Krishna will become constant. And then our experience of spiritual happiness will also become consistent.
So during this process, when we are trying to serve Krishna, trying to get rid of our conditionings, often maya misdirects us in various ways. One of the ways which maya may tempt a very new spiritual seekers by promising that material happiness is better, greater, and this forgets spirituality. But to serious devotees, that’s not what maya does.
Now maya makes us Krishna unconscious within Krishna conscious. How does that happen? Now often, our own definition of happiness becomes our greatest obstacle to happiness. What does that mean? Our definition of happiness becomes an obstacle to our happiness.
Now often we come to Krishna consciousness with particular plans. Okay, I’ll do this service, I’ll do this, I’ll do that, I’ll do that. And it’s important.
We want to do practical services for Krishna. But ultimately our role is not just to do services, just not to get things done, but it is to be conscious of Krishna. So often, we are, even when we are within the realm of devotional service, we are more conscious of what I am going to do for Krishna, then we are conscious of Krishna.
And when what I am going to do for Krishna doesn’t work out, I become so frustrated that I am no longer conscious of Krishna. So when I am trying to do something for Krishna, I am concentrating on myself, I want to do this. And when I am not able to do that, again I am conscious of myself, oh I shouldn’t do that.
And in both cases, we are actually not Krishna conscious. Of course, this doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t do our services to Krishna. When we get to do our services, then we have to have plans also, so that we can do services properly for Krishna.
But at the same time, we have to be open to Krishna at all times. Krishna often comes softly in our life. He comes softly in our life and he comes from unexpected directions.
Like we are waiting at the door to meet somebody and right before that person is already waiting inside the house. And we are not expecting in that direction. So we expect, we assume that the success of our Krishna consciousness means that things should work out in a vertical way.
I am giving a class, many people should come, many people should appreciate, many people should become devotees or whatever. If I go for distribution, many people should take books and I should, whatever. We all have our own definitions of success within Krishna consciousness.
And these definitions are important, but happiness in Krishna consciousness is not dependent on that definition of success. But when our mind is ready to that definition of success, then we can’t become happy independent of that definition. That means, if I want to give a class and I find that very few people have come for the class.
If my happiness is dependent on how many people are there for the class and how much people appreciate my class, then I can’t appreciate the remembrance of Krishna that is there, available for me when I am preparing for the class, when I am speaking in the class. After the class also, I have contemplated on Krishna. Similarly, when we are distributing books, for us, the opportunity to serve Krishna itself is the source of purification.
Itself is the source of advancement. Certainly, we want results for Krishna’s service. But the results don’t determine our advancement in Krishna consciousness.
It’s our endeavour. And Krishna is pleased even by our endeavour. So sometimes we make plans and the plans don’t work and we just stop making plans.
And then what happens, when we don’t make plans, then the mind makes plans for us. So either way, we get into trouble. When we make plans, we become so control driven.
This is how I want to work, this is how I want to work, this is how I want to work. And when we develop, we get frustrated. We say, I cannot make plans.
Actually, you know, plans usually don’t work, but planning works. There’s a difference between the two. The difference between plans and planning is that plans are specific, planning is more generic.
The planning enables us to come overall towards the goal of Buddhism. It gives us a general compass for others. It gives us the direction in which I have to move.
So when Krishna talks about, in 6.88, he talks about, It’s very interesting what this verse says. We just need to quote the first part of the verse. We regulate.
We regulate in eating, we regulate in sleeping, we regulate in recreation, we regulate in work. But Krishna says something very significant in the last line of this verse. He says, when we are regulated in our bodily activities, then yoga bhavati bhukti.
Then the practise of yoga will free us from misery. So it’s interesting that the practise of yoga is supposed to free us from misery. That’s what we want in our spiritual life.
But he says, the practise of yoga will free us from misery when we are regulated in our bodily activities. Why? So this regulation is essentially nothing but plan. How will I know what is regulated? What is appropriate? What is not appropriate? Then basically it will come by plan.
But what happens is that bhakti can be started from any moment. A person can be in ignorance, a person can be in passion, a person can start bhakti. But if a person has to practise bhakti as a sustained sadhana, some level of goodness is required.
Without goodness, one cannot be a sustained sadhaka. There is a difference between a bhakta and a sadhaka. Bhakta is anyone who has bhakti.
And bhakti can be little, it can be large amount of bhakti. But a sadhaka is one who is following a systematic discipline or sadhana. So for example, there is a constitution which is given 16 rounds, given four basic principles.
So if one wants to be a sadhaka, one has to have some level of goodness. Without that you will not be a sustained sadhaka. So what Krishna says over here is that, by becoming yukta, these are the three modes, ignorance, passion, goodness.
Then it is the yukta, the regulation that will bring us to goodness. And then when we practise yoga, yoga bhavati dukkha, then from goodness, by the practise of yoga, we move towards transcendence, then we become free from ignorance. So actually, our preconceptions, our definitions of what all I am supposed to do in Krishna consciousness, that often obstructs us.
Because that doesn’t allow us to be conscious of Krishna consciousness. So again, the difference, the plan and planning, the difference is, when we become too caught up in specific plans, then it is very easy to go into the mode of passion. This is what I want to do, this is what I want to do, this is what I want to do.
Then it becomes a controllership mentality. And then that decreases the passion. Whereas planning as a general mental disposition is indicative of goodness.
So yukta, yukta is talking about a general regulation for our lives. And to the extent we have our regulations in balance, to that extent, that becomes a foundation by which we can go to the spiritual level. So in bhakti, now the point we started this discussion was that the happening in Krishna consciousness is a by-product.
It is not a product. It is a by-product of service to Krishna. And the more we become absorbed in service to Krishna, the more this happiness will come as a by-product.
So, as sadhakas, the primary focus in sadhana bhakti is to try our best to succeed. Now one of the best ways to make ourselves miserable is to ask ourselves, am I happy? Because once you start asking that question, am I happy, we just give a free play for the mind. And the mind starts playing its various games.
Mind plays the game of comparison. Mind plays the game of complaint. The mind plays the game of seeing all the things that are wrong in our lives.
Basically, rather than asking whether I am happy or not, we focus more on, am I serving Krishna? How can I serve Krishna better? Now serving Krishna better may sometimes require a material existence also. That is okay. But it is not the material existence that will make us happy.
It is the connection with Krishna that we make. So, now within Vedic culture, there was a Varanasi. So Srila Prabhupada, if we look at his letters, lectures, and even the purports that he wrote between 1960-1975-1970, there Srila Prabhupada’s general emphasis was on that actually the Varanasi has become the caste system in India and the caste system is failing.
So, there is no need for this Varanasi. People can just practise Krishna consciousness and transcend this. But from the 70s onwards, especially from 74 onwards, Srila Prabhupada’s letters, lectures, conversations, they talk about the sustained influence of Varanasi.
So, Srila Prabhupada emphasises that we have to have a Varanasi system by which we can typically practise Krishna consciousness. So, what happened? Actually speaking, we often think of the Acharya as normative. Normative means that whatever the Acharya speaks is the absolute truth and it is unchanging absolute truth.
Well, the Acharya himself speaks changingly to the different texts. There are many places in which Srila Prabhupada makes different statements based on the context. So, what happened between the 1960s and 1970s, that means Srila Prabhupada changed.
Several things happened. In 1960s, there was no Krishna consciousness movement at all. But by the 1970s, as the Krishna consciousness movement started developing, then there was significant difficulty in both the primary ashrams.
In the renounced ashram as well as the renounced ashram. In the gross ashram, there were a lot of conflicts and there were divorces. In the renounced ashram, the nuns had difficulty in following the standards.
And as these problems became more and more, Srila Prabhupada felt that actually for devotees to be able to practise Krishna consciousness and stay within it, they need a supportive social structure. So, actually speaking, Bhakti is transcendental. Bhakti is beyond the material world.
And Bhakti does not require Varanasi. You will see, if you look at the history of Gaudiya Vaishnavism, in the 64 elements of Bhakti, there is no reference to Varanasi as beyond the Bhakti Samyasa. Even in the commentary of say, Jiva Goswami, Duryodhana Sivamani or Chakravarti Path’s commentary on the Bhakti Samyasa, there is no reference to Varanasi per se, at the emphatic level.
Now, Varanasi is talked about first time in a clearly distinctive way in our tradition by Bhakti Murthy. Where he talks about, he talks about Asuri Varanashram, Vaidik Varanashram and Vaidyanik Varanashram first. Vaidyanik Varanashram is scientifically called Daiva Varanashram.
So, Asuri Varanashram is what exists today in society. That means, what exists today in society is the caste by birth. So, you know, the birth right made it wrong.
The caste by birth right made the whole system wrong and that is demoniac in Asuri Varanashram. The Vaidik Varanashram was generally by birth. In general, in the Vedic culture, if a person was born in a Brahminical family, that person would become a Brahmin.
So, the Vaidik Varanashram system was by birth. But it was understood that birth was the foundation for subsequent development of qualities. The difference between Asuri and Vaidik Varanashram is that the birth itself is assumed to be a qualification.
Whereas in Vaidik Varanashram, birth was understood to be the beginning qualification. And from there one has to proceed forward. So, in the Vedic, in the four Vedas randomly, there are exceptions but not many of people from Var Varna taking up the profession of another Varna.
They are there but not many. And that is to be respected and that’s why Krishna talks about this Vaishya Vijnanam Sraddhamo Bhuvanam Pradharam Aancho Jiva. You say verse, verse, it comes twice.
One is birth chapter and one is death chapter. So, Krishna offers deference, respect to the Varanashram system. Now, what is Vaidyanik Varanashram or as we call it Vaidik Varanashram? In the Vaidik Varanashram, we don’t, we accept Varanashram as a social structure.
That means, our idea of Varanashram is not that there are different people of different castes. It’s rather there are four broad human types. Whichever society we go to, there are intellectuals, there are administrators, there are business people and there are general assistants, there are leaders, whichever society we go to.
So, the whole purpose of Varanashram is to train people according to their propensities. So, what does Varanashram do? Varanashram enables people to find some dharmic material happiness. What is their pursuing transcendental happiness? Of Kshatriya, when you do Kshatriya work, it is not that all the happiness that Kshatriya gains by ruling the kingdom, by marrying some princesses, by defeating invaders, it’s not that all the happiness that Kshatriya gains is transcendental.
Even if the Kshatriya is a devotee, there is so much interaction between them. But because the Kshatriya is having the nature of Saptarajyogana, that character of Kshatriya, so that kind of life gives the person a dharmic material happiness. It’s happiness that’s according to one’s material nature.
So, is that kind of material? Now, we are not going to a hermeneutic analysis here of what is material happiness and what is spiritual happiness. We could say everything that is experienced in the service of Krishna is spiritual happiness. That is fine.
If everything that we experience in Krishna’s service is spiritual happiness, then why does sweet rice taste more tasty to us than rice? Isn’t it? Both are prasad. So, both are prasad. So, if you are just tasting it spiritually, then both should be equally tasty.
But we find sweet rice more tasty than rice. So, we can’t discount the material aspects of things. So, when people do things which are compatible with their material nature, they experience a material happiness.
But if that, if they are doing those material activities according to the varnashrama, according to the framework of dharma, then that gives them a dharmic material happiness. And this dharmic material happiness supports them in the journey towards spiritual happiness. So, the whole system of dharmartha kaamaksha is what? It provides people dharmic happiness.
And most of the happiness is material happiness. But it is religious material happiness. So, now, in spiritual service, of course, whatever we are doing is ultimately aiming for transcendence.
But even while we are aiming for transcendence, there are all of us are individuals and all of us have our individual propensities. So, when we are engaged in a way that is compassionate with our propensities, then we experience happiness at the material level. Harmonisation is the material level.
That makes us peaceful for the practise of spiritual service. So, when I said earlier that we shouldn’t seek for happiness at the material level, that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t necessarily serve according to our nature. No, whatever is our nature, we need to serve according to that.
And it’s not easy, especially if you are to discover what our nature is. So, the problem is that our mind is so flickering that it doesn’t allow us to really ponder whatever is our nature. So, it just goes from here and there and here and there.
So, we may not be able to discover our nature immediately. But overall, it’s not difficult to discern where our inclinations are and what we are comfortable doing, what we are not comfortable doing. And over a period of time, we naturally gravitate towards the kind of activities, the kind of services, the kind of association, even within devotee association.
That is according to our nature. That is according to our inclinations. We cannot call it as a spirituality ashram.
It’s an association that is of a similar nature to this position as our own. So, now, when we are considering happiness in devotional service, that means our ultimate goal is to connect with Krishna. And our focus is on connecting with Krishna, not so much on becoming happy.
But how do we connect with Krishna? That is according to our psychological inclination. That is according to our inclinations. So, when we connect with Krishna that way, it’s not that suppose somebody has a brahminical tendency.
Now, it’s not that if a person with a brahminical tendency gets a brahminical engagement, that will make the person happy. No. Even a person with a brahminical inclination and getting a brahminical engagement, still, even for such a person, the material world remains a good place.
And even for such a person, there will be misery. But there are different kinds of problems in materialistic. There are some problems which we like to face and some problems which we don’t like to face.
What that means is, if a person with a brahminical inclination is told, can you please find where this verse is? I find it. Now, somebody with a Vaishya propensity is told, can you find where this verse is? So, how do the verses, where will I find the verse? Why do you need the verse? Forget, do the class without the verse. What is the big deal? On the other hand, somebody with a Vaishya propensity is told, we want to build a big temple.
You know, we need to raise five crore rupees. Oh, very good. Okay, this plan, this plan, this plan.
And within maybe five days, a person will make a plan for raising fifty crore rupees. And the brahminical person is told, no, we have to make a plan, we have to raise five crore rupees. Why do you need this? Change the religion wherever you are.
Study scripture and be happy. So, the point is that, you know, according to our nature, there are certain problems that we like to face and there are certain problems we don’t like to face. So, material existence is problematic for everyone.
But what Varanashram does is, Varanashram allocates people the kind of problems that they like to face. And, so, in positive thinking, you know, people talk about, don’t talk about difficulties as problems. Talk about them as challenges.
That’s a positive way of looking at it. That’s true. But, you know, unless one has inclination to face such a situation, they will not appear as challenges.
They will appear just as problems. So, we can’t just wish away material nature. We have to deal with it.
So, as devotees, when we are trying to serve Krishna according to our nature, then also the focus is not so much on becoming happy as it is on serving Krishna. So, when we are serving Krishna according to our nature, there are dangers in that. Earlier I discussed that when we try to serve Krishna independent of our nature, what happens is there is so much material agitation and irritation that we can’t focus on Krishna consciousness.
But, on the other hand, when we are trying to serve Krishna according to our nature, there is another set of problems. The problem is that when we do something according to our nature, we can do it well. And it creates very easily the illusion of doership.
If somebody is not a good cook and then somebody cooks in his hand, what has been cooked is not good, it’s easy to say, I am not going to do it. Because I didn’t do anything over there. What I did is not something I am proud of.
But when we do something and we do it well, at that time, it is quite easy to take up the doership in that. But that is the challenge. Someone who is not a devotee, who used to sing kirtans very nicely, so Prabhupada was going for darshan, Prabhupada can enjoy his singing kirtan and playing with him, so Prabhupada can play with him.
So, kirtan is very nice. So, it’s devotee in effect. So, it’s a master that appreciates him as well.
Then he just went and confesses to Prabhupada. So, sometimes I feel proud. And then Prabhupada will come and say, what’s wrong with him? What’s wrong with him? Now, you might say, is everything wrong with pride? Actually speaking, pride is something which is like a disease that is there within us.
And we can’t wish that disease away. Pride is there. And if we don’t do activities that are worthwhile in devotional service, that pride will impel us to do activities outside the realm of devotional service that are worthwhile.
So, we can’t wish away pride. We might say, if I do something according to my nature, I do it well, and because of doing it well, I become proud. Therefore, I will not do it.
And pride will not go away like that. The pride is already there as a disease. So, it’s not that doing the activity which I am good at makes me proud.
It is that doing the activity I am good at gives me reason to express my pride. The pride is already there in the heart. And what will remove pride is not avoiding the service, but actually doing the service in as much devotional fashion as possible.
If I don’t do the service only, what will happen? Somebody else will do the service. Somebody else will take the credit. And then my pride will express itself in ugly form as anything.
Oh, that person, I could also have done that. Why is that person getting credit? So, actually speaking, the idea that because I have become proud, so I will not do the particular service, that is not really a devotional understanding, nor is it a philosophically correct understanding. Because philosophically, it’s not that pride is not there.
Just like a small child may not exhibit lust, but lust is already there. And when puberty comes, lust becomes expressed. Similarly, pride is already there within all of us.
And it’s not that doing service is what makes us proud. It’s that doing service as well gives us an opportunity to express that pride. But we can also do the service as well and offer the glorification when it comes for that service to Krishna, to Guru, to Vaishnavas.
And that way, it’s only when we render service to Krishna are we taking the medicine. It’s like doing the service or not doing the service, it doesn’t determine whether pride is present in us or not. Pride is already present and the cure for pride is devotional service.
So, only when we render devotional service can we become free from pride. So, we have to have some philosophical awareness that ultimately Krishna is the blesser by whose grace we do everything. But still, the important point is that we keep doing devotional service.
And as we keep doing devotional service, over a period of time, we will become purified. That’s why at the foundation of Bhakti is this sutra. Somehow or the other, it’s reminded Krishna.
Somehow or the other means, it is not a licence for immorality or insensitivity. But it is the indication of the pragmatic efficiency. Whatever way it works out, according to one’s nature, according to one’s circumstances, whatever way we can practise devotional service, we will use it.
Ultimately, practising devotional service is like fighting a war. And when we are fighting a war, we may go with a particular strategy, we may use particular weapons. But if the particular weapon that we are using doesn’t work, then we take some other weapons, find out what works and use that weapon at that time.
So, in a prakarya means that we have to, actually each of us, we have individual initiative to find out how we can best be Krishna conscious. And then take out that initiative for advancing devotional service. In that way, in Aishwarya Prabhupada says over here, that just as the peacocks become happy whenever the clouds manifestation will start, the conditioned soul, the sadhana, the devotee will become happy whenever there is manifestation of Krishna.
Whenever there is an opportunity to connect with Krishna at a deeper and greater level. In summary, I started by talking about the metaphorical representations, explanations should not be, should not supplant, but they can supplement the literal explanations. Then I discussed about how studying philosophy is not preliminary, it is essential for fixing the mind of Krishna.
And even in the Bhagavatam, the tenth chapter, then I discussed about what happens to Krishna consciousness. Then I discussed three main points. First is that it is a by-product, not a product.
And then we have a focus on connecting ourselves with Krishna. And a by-product of that will be happiness. Then for connecting with Krishna, I discussed about Varnashram and how we have to find how we can connect with Krishna in a way that is most compatible to our natures.
And then lastly I discussed that even by connecting with Krishna, if you become proud, still you should not drop the connection with Krishna. You have to serve Krishna, but rather try to do the service in a way that will keep us free from pride. Somehow or other, we stick to Krishna.
Thank you very much. Is there any more questions? We didn’t get Krishna consciousness, we could be Krishna unconscious. And you were explaining about engaging in services, moving around in nature.
I just wanted to know how can, as we grow older, you know, we get a lot of responsibilities and a lot of services. And we want to, it’s not that we don’t want to do services. It’s not practically possible to do services.
You know, as you grow older, you get older. So we want to do services according to our nature. It becomes very, it becomes imperative for us to discover our nature.
So I don’t know how to actually discover our nature. And then, if we know our nature, it also means we may have to say, you know, many things and many variables. And that means, you know, not fulfilling the expectations of so many people.
So how do we deal with that? So there are two things. One is how to know our nature so that we can serve Krishna. And secondly, if we know our nature, then we may have to say no.
And that means not satisfying the expectations of so many people. So how do we deal with that? So how do we know our nature? And if we serve God in our nature, how can we say no to services which are not according to our nature? Generally, if something is according to our nature, then first thing is that we will do better doing it. That’s just the result of that incompatibility.
And secondly, there will be very little inner conflict or resentment in teaching by doing it. There will be a greater amount of satisfaction, comfort, if you say I am doing the activity that are according to our nature. So that means the external competence and inner satisfaction.
If we observe these, then that’s a reasonable parameter of whether something is according to our nature or not. And in general, in the initiations of spiritual life, we do various services. And while doing services, we can observe ourselves.
And it’s an attitude of, it might not surrender for us that whatever services we are doing, but it also might not be a responsibility for us to observe. Because it’s not that throughout our spiritual life somebody is going to be there doing this, doing this, doing this throughout their life. We will have to take initiations in our spiritual life.
So observing where we are most competent externally as well as most satisfied internally, that is a good parameter for us to understand our nature. And regarding saying no to certain services, certain engagements, it’s an, I would say, honest communication. Honest and sincere communication.
Generally, within an institution, there are many things to be done. And naturally, those who are having the responsibility of getting those things done will want to do those services. So that is important.
At the same time, ultimately the institution is made up of individuals. And only when the individuals are at least or basically satisfied, will the institution thrive. So over a period of time, if we clearly explain why we want to do certain things, want to focus on certain things, and not do certain things, and if we communicate properly, generally it should not be very difficult.
It’s only if we are ourselves very inconsistent, then it becomes a problem. Whether we don’t want to do something, we say it’s not in my nature, but later on we do the same thing again afterwards for some other purpose. Then it becomes a little problematic.
But as our movement grows, then we let the sort of pressure on the devotees, because we have more devotees also, and then the different devotees will do different services. So in the pioneer phase of any project, there will be the pressure for everybody to do whatever is required. But over a period of time, there will be the facility for specialisation.
And that’s how our movement will also become deep-rooted and respectable. Only when we have specialists. So now there is an overall gradual encouragement.
If devotees want to specialise in certain things, there is an encouragement for that. And we can be humble, but at the same time we can be firm about certain things. It’s matter-of-fact communication.
We can talk to each other. That’s fine. Would you like to add something? You can yourself tell me.
I just wanted to clarify something about, you made a point that when we ask, am I happy in this material world, and being more visible. Actually the Varnashrama itself is a finding that I need some type of happiness and be honest about it. So I think we have to be honest to accept that I need some type of happiness.
And I was a part of that form. And not all the Nathanam Nathanam and all those things. So I think it is good to ask whether I am happy or not.
Good point. Actually we need to ask ourselves whether I am happy or not. And only we can find out according to the Varnashrama.
I also made that point, that internal satisfaction is a criteria for judging what is our nature and what is the appropriate service. When I said asking whether I am happy is the recipe for making ourselves unhappy, what it means is that on a moment-to-moment basis, if that is the question we are asking, then our focus is very self-centred. Then what will happen is that we will not really be service-orientated.
So that way the mind will always find some reason to keep us dissatisfied. So there are periodic times when we can pause and reflect. So generally evaluating whether we are happy or not should be done when we are peaceful, when we are relatively in the mood of goodness.
If we are in the thick of action, and especially generally we see even though we are practising the Guru’s service, when we are in the thick of action, to some extent we are in Vajaguna. And one of the characteristics of Vajaguna is to keep us dissatisfied. So, lobha pravrtti naranda karmanasanas pralaseetan jayate buddhe buddhe So the following point is that lobha, greed, dissatisfaction.
So if in the heat of the moment, if we constantly think am I happy, am I unhappy, then because at that time we are not in a position for calm reflection, the default answer will be no I am not happy. This is wrong, that is wrong, that is wrong, that is wrong. So periodically in times of reflection we should definitely evaluate whether I am happy or not.
Now as devotees, at least what I can say, and most of us can say, if somebody asks whether we are happy or not, happiness is a process. And we are on that process. Surely I am much happier than what I was 10 or 15 years ago.
And I can see that I am happier than what I was 5 years ago, 7 years ago. So we are on the journey towards happiness. That we can observe.
And we can see that those who are more advanced than us, they are having a deeper level of happiness than us. So surely we want to check whether we are on the right path. Therefore asking that question is good, but it should be done not in the moment to moment basis, but during periods of calm reflection.
Thank you very much.