Holy Name is Everything Part 2

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
Satyam Satyam Satyam Hare Krishna So we’ll come back to our second part of the Hare Kevalashtakam. So can we sing the fifth text? All of you have the sheets? Satyam Satyam Satyam Satyam Satyam Satyam Satyam Yatra bhagavata janaha.
Wherever there are the devotees, those who are devoted to Bhagawan, they gaayanti bhakti bhavena. They sing with devotion, Harer naameva kevalam. They sing the holy names of Lord Hari.
So Krishna resides where devotees chant the holy names. On the spiritual path, Krishna is not just our destination. He is also our companion.
So suppose, if say from Australia you are going to America to meet someone and you have never met that person before. You don’t even know how that person looks. But you are just going first time to meet that person and then you are on a flight and say there is a very very important person, big person, very excited about meeting them.
And finally when you reach there, throughout the flight you are waiting with excitement, you reach there, knock on the door, when you open the door, the door opens and you see, there greeting you is the same person who was sitting right next to you throughout your flight. But because you did not know that he was the person you were going to meet, so you did not realise. So like that, for us, Krishna is our destination.
When we travel the spiritual journey and the flight towards Krishna, when we reach the spiritual world, we will meet Krishna. But Krishna is not just a destination. Krishna is also our companion.
Sarvasya chaham hrudisannivisto. He is present in the hearts of every one of us. He is always there as a companion.
But Krishna, although He is close to us, not only is Krishna close to us, He is closer than the closest person can ever be to us. Even if a person holds a tight embrace, that person cannot come as close to us as Krishna is eternally to us. So Krishna is close to us but we are far away from Him.
Why is that? Krishna is close to us but we are far away from Him because we have turned away from Him. Krishna bahirmukha jeeva bhoga vancha kare. Krishna bahirmukha.
Our face is turned away from Krishna. At the same time, although we turn away from Krishna, Krishna doesn’t turn away from us. He is there with us even now.
And He always stays with us. There is nothing that anyone can ever do that can stop Krishna from loving them. There is no sin, no offence, no action that anyone can ever do that can make Krishna say I am fed up with this person, I am leaving his heart, I am going away.
Krishna will never ever desert us. He is always there with us. And in that sense, we are never disqualified from bhakti.
We may be unqualified for bhakti but we are not disqualified from bhakti. Unqualified means we don’t have the qualification to participate. Disqualified means we are not allowed to participate.
That never happens. Krishna is always there with us. Krishna always offers us the opportunity to turn towards Him.
So if Krishna is present right now in our heart also, then what can we do to perceive His presence? The perception of Krishna depends largely on the tuning of our consciousness. Our consciousness needs to be tuned with the devotional frequency. It’s like if we use FM radio, the sound vibration is going on.
But if our receiver is not tuned, we don’t get any of the sound. So similarly, right now our consciousness is not tuned. That’s why our heart is focused on other things.
In a practical level also we experience, sometimes if we are very interested in something, then we are only aware of that thing and whatever else might be there, we don’t even notice it. I sometimes say, if a cricket match is going on and people are mad for cricket, then sometimes there is one devotee who is going to a shop to purchase some jewellery for the deities. And just outside that shop, there was a TV kept.
And to enter the shop, along opposite side there were people who were watching the TV and the cricket match was going on. So to just enter the shop, you have to go in between the people who are watching and the TV. And these people were not ready to let anyone come even for one moment.
They didn’t want to miss the action for even one moment. So later this devotee told me that, he is saying that this is the reflection of the Gopis. They don’t want to miss Krishna’s vision for even one moment.
The Gopis say that, oh if our eyelids close for a few moments, we feel as if it is the end of the world. How can we be without Krishna’s darshan for even one moment? They say that, when you go out and we can’t see you. Truti is a small fraction of a movement that seems like a Yuga.
It seems like an intolerable millennium. So the point I am making is that when we are interested in something, we become completely consumed in that and we lose awareness of other things. So just as this can happen even when some things are perceivable, so there are hundred things which are perceivable, but if we are attracted to one thing, we focus only on that thing and forget everything else.
Similarly, what can happen is that although Krishna is present, because our consciousness is focused on the material level of reality, so we can’t perceive Krishna right now. Then how can we access Krishna? That is through the association of devotees. So where devotees glorify Krishna, there in the experience of spiritual sound vibration, the experience of spiritual peace, spiritual joy, we get an experience of Krishna.
And that experience of Krishna helps us progress gradually towards Him. So experience, when we talk about Prateksha, Anumana and Shabda. They are the different Pramanas.
We see with our senses, that is Prateksha. We infer with our mind, that is Anumana. And hear from scripture, that is Shabda.
Sanatana Goswami in the Brihad-Bhagavata Amrit, Goswami has explained that Anubhav is the ultimate Pramana. Anubhav, experience. What Shabda says is true.
But we have to experience it ourselves. Then it becomes true for us. We realise it to be true.
We often say we have to get realisations. Now what exactly is a realisation? Realisation simply means that that which is a reality, we understand and accept it to be a reality. That which is a reality, when we understand and accept it as a reality, then it becomes our realisation.
So Krishna is present right now within our heart. Krishna is present right now as His holy name. But we don’t realise that right now.
But when we associate with devotees and in the association of devotees, Krishna is glorified. Krishna’s presence is invoked through that association. At that time, we start experiencing some mystical peace, some mystical joy.
And that is the experience of Krishna’s love for us at our level of reality. And in this way, as we start experiencing Krishna more and more and more, our consciousness starts getting spiritually elevated. And then our spiritual perception, our capacity for spiritual vision, our spiritual eyes, they awaken, they open.
And gradually we will see Krishna directly. But that journey begins with sound vibration. Not just sound vibration.
Sound vibration that is vibrated by devotees in a mood of devotion. So anybody can chant the holy names and that will give a benefit. But it depends on how much those who are chanting the holy names, they appreciate Krishna’s presence in the holy name.
Then that much they will chant with devotion. And when they chant that much with devotion, with esteem, with regard, with affection, that much Krishna manifests. And when Krishna manifests, not only are the singers benefited, not only are the reciters benefited, but also the hearers are benefited.
So the value of association is that our devotion cumulatively invokes Krishna’s presence. When we practise bhakti ourselves, the invocation of Krishna’s presence depends on the potency of our own bhakti. But when we are in the association of devotees, then the cumulative devotional energy invokes and attracts Krishna’s presence.
And that’s how we can experience Krishna’s presence very powerfully in stimulating association. And there is a famous verse in the Purana which says, Lord Vishnu is telling Narada Muni, नाहं वसामि वैकुंते योगिनामृदयेशिवा यत्रगायंतिमद्धक्तः तत्तिष्ठामि नारद So he says, नाहं वसामि वैकुंते, I am not presiding in Vaikuntha. योगिनामृदयेशिवा, nor am I in the hearts of the yogis.
Then where am I? यत्रगायंतिमद्धक्तः, wherever my devotees are glorifying me. तत्तिष्ठामि नारद, there I am present. Now this is actually a rhetorical statement.
Krishna is definitely present in Vaikuntha. And the yogis who meditate and they come to the advanced stages of meditation, when they come to Samadhi, they do perceive Krishna’s presence over there also. But what Krishna is stressing by this statement is that in those places, we can’t perceive Krishna’s presence.
Now Krishna is there in Vaikuntha, but how can we perceive it? Krishna is there in the hearts of the advanced yogis, but how can we perceive it? But when the devotees come together and glorify Krishna, यत्रगायंतिमद्धक्तः, तत्तिष्ठामि नारद, in the association of devotees, we can experience Krishna. And this experience of Krishna elevates us slowly towards raising our consciousness spiritually. When a baby is very small, just a newborn, at that time the infant’s capacity to understand is very little.
So the infant may not even understand, this is my mother and I’m on my mother’s lap and my mother loves me. The infant doesn’t understand anything. The infant gets the mother’s breast and suckles it and gets milk.
After the infant starts growing, then he or she starts understanding, oh this is my mother and she loves me. And then as he goes further, then he starts understanding what all my mother is doing for me. So suppose that, say it’s very cold and the baby is trembling.
When the baby is trembling, shivering in the cold, so the mother sees that and the mother puts a blanket on the baby. And the baby is asleep and in the sleep only she is trembling. So she may not even understand, oh this is the mother who came and my mother put the blanket on me.
But what the baby experiences is comfort, warmth, security. I was feeling cold, now I’m not feeling cold. And then as the baby keeps growing, then if the same thing happens later, then even in a semi-sleep state she’ll understand, oh my mother must have put the blanket on me, that’s how I’m feeling warm.
So that experience, what the mother is, the baby has not opened the eyes and the baby has not actually seen the mother. But as she has grown up and then for the baby, the experience of the blanket’s warmth is the way the baby experiences the mother’s love. Similarly, when we chant the holy names, when we try to absorb our consciousness in spiritual sound vibration, our eyes are closed, like the sleeping baby, our eyes are closed.
And that’s why we can’t perceive Krishna’s presence. But if we immerse our consciousness in spiritual sound vibration, then we experience comfort, we experience relief from anxiety, from fear. We experience peace, we experience joy.
So Krishna gives a comforting sense of security and satisfaction to our consciousness. And that satisfaction which we experience, that at our level, that is the experience of Krishna’s love. And as we advance, as the baby grows, the eyes will open and the baby will see the mother.
So like that, as we keep growing, we will also realise Krishna’s presence directly, as we keep advancing spiritually. But right now, we need to use the philosophical intelligence to connect the experience of relief and joy in the chanting of Krishna’s holy names with Krishna’s love. Now, people can chant many different names and any chant can give them a little relief.
But the extent and the nature of the relief and the joy that comes to chanting of the holy names, that is not available through any other sound. And that is an indication that this is Krishna manifesting for us. And Krishna manifests in proportion to our devotion.
Because when we have devotion, that devotion shows Krishna that we want Him to manifest. And He reciprocates by manifesting. So when our devotion is not very strong, then we come in the association of devotees.
And therein, by the cumulative force of devotion, we experience Krishna’s presence. That’s why it says over here that wherever my devotees are singing my holy names, Krishna says, I am present. And here also in the Kevalashtakam, it is stated that Hari is always present wherever His name is glorified.
So Ratna is a jewel, Kaachya is glass. So if one mistakes a jewel to be just a piece of glass, then that is a great tragedy. So it is good, better, best.
It is superlative. So it is a great sorrow. It is a great tragedy.
In fact, it is a catastrophe. There is no greater catastrophe than this, that somebody mistakes the jewel of the holy name to be just an ordinary sound vibration. All of us have different conceptions of fortune.
Based on whatever our interest is, whatever our inclination is, whatever our backgrounds are. Some people may think that wealth is fortune. Others may think that intelligence, learning is fortune.
Others may think that strength is fortune. Others may think that beauty is fortune. So all of us can have different conceptions of fortune.
And based on the conception of fortune, correspondingly, we also have our conceptions of misfortune. And if I lose this, this is a catastrophe. And at a material level, say somebody is a surgeon, and the person in an accident loses, and that’s a catastrophe for the person.
Because that is what the person is using for earning a living and has trained oneself for a lot. So just like what may be valuable for one person may not be seen as all that important for another person. So if a person is very expert in a particular thing, then whatever that person is expert in, whatever is required for that expertise, that becomes the conception of wealth and treasure.
When we come to spiritual life, material life, progress depends on having or getting what we want. No, I want a bigger car, I want a bigger house, I want this, I want that. So if we have, if we acquire, if we have what we want, then that is material progress.
Spiritual progress, on the other hand, is different. It depends not on having what we want, it depends on wanting what we have. We already have Krishna in our heart, we already have the holy name, we already have the association of devotees.
But we don’t appreciate it right now so much. So the process of spiritual growth is primarily a process of increasing appreciation of Krishna’s various manifestations. Now when we come in front of the deities, we offer obeisances.
We bow down and offer obeisances. Actually the original spirit in which the obeisances is done is, when the pure devotees come in front of Krishna, they are so ecstatic. Oh, my beloved Lord is right here in front of me.
When they see them, just like Chaitanya Mahaprabhu the first time saw Jagannath. He was longing to see for months and years to see Jagannath. Finally he saw Jagannath, he just rushed forward and he wanted to embrace Jagannath.
He couldn’t even embrace, before that he fainted and he fell on the ground. So the pure devotees, when they see Krishna, His manifestation as the deity, they faint and fall in ecstasy. So we sadhakas, we can’t faint, we are told at least fall.
So fall down and offer obeisances. And gradually by that act of submissive devotion, we will get purified. So we do the external activities and the advanced devotees, pure devotees also do the same activities.
It is not that pure devotees are chanting some other esoteric mantra. They are also chanting the same Hare Krishna mantra. But they have far greater appreciation for the holy name.
This is actually Krishna manifesting as the holy name. So spiritual advancement is primarily focused on more and more wanting what we have. Valuing what we have, appreciating its value.
And this comes firstly by philosophical education. When we study, when we understand the philosophy, we start understanding the glory of the holy name. And apart from philosophical education, it also comes by spiritual purification.
As we become purified, then the glory of Krishna as the holy name starts manifesting to us. So suppose, there are three superlatives used. Aho dukkha, maha dukkha, dukkha, dukkha dharam yadaha.
So it’s bad, worse and worse like that. A triple superlative is used over here. So to understand this, suppose a person is poor and the person is starving.
That’s sad. Suppose a person is wealthy, but because of carelessness, a person has lost all the wealth. And so is starving.
That is even more tragic. You had wealth already. Sometimes people in the hope of getting a lot of money invest carelessly in some shares which are unstable and then they lose all the money.
Or people get into lotteries. And then they just lose money in lotteries. Many times nowadays parents, they earn a lot and they want to give their inheritance to their children.
But they don’t trust their children. So they have legal deeds made by which my child cannot withdraw more than a particular amount of money every year. It’s their children’s own money, but they want them to withdraw in a regulated way.
Otherwise they will squander all of it. So to have money and to just waste it and then to be in poverty and to be starving and suffering, that is even worse. But suppose the parents have kept a great treasure in a treasury.
Before the parents pass away and give the inheritance, they told, I have kept a treasury over here in this chest. And the child forgets it. And so is starving.
They have the money, but they have forgotten that the money is there. So yes, I know that something is there and I don’t know what is there. So to have the treasure and still be starving, that is the greatest tragedy.
So for us spiritually, that is our condition. Krishna is there with us right now. Not only is Krishna there with us, we have the opportunity also to connect with Krishna.
And we have also at our level, in some small ways, experienced the joy of connection with Krishna. But still we forget that there is so much spiritual fulfilment, there is so much spiritual joy available and we look elsewhere for happiness. We look towards material things.
So the holy name is like a jewel. But we think this is just a glass and we look for jewels somewhere else. Where can I find jewels? That is the greatest tragedy.
And just as the children, they have to be told by someone, your parents have kept a great treasure for you in this chest. If the children are very small, even a precious jewel might be there. They may think this is just a nice colourful stone.
They may take the jewel and start playing catch-catch with it. And if somebody sees this, they will get a heart attack. This is a jewel, you fall, it breaks, you lose it, lose your treasure.
So then somebody has to tell them what is the value. And not only that, they also have to grow up to realise its value. When they are very small, they don’t realise the value also.
So like that, at present, we have to be told, repeatedly reminded that what is the glory of the holy name. And not only that we have to be reminded, we also have to grow up spiritually. So if we don’t associate regularly with devotees, where we hear the glories of the holy name, there can be different kinds of association and we hear different aspects of Krishna Bhakti.
And that is all important. But especially we can observe that if we don’t hear regularly, then we will find that our chanting starts becoming a burden. Why? Because if you are not hearing regularly, by default our mind starts devaluing the holy name.
Oh, I have spent so much time and I have chanted so many times, what has happened? Again, one more day I have to chant. So then as the mind starts devaluing the holy name, then chanting starts appearing more and more like a burden. Suppose somebody comes and tells, Okay, there is this 20 kg weight, please carry this.
20 kg, why should I carry it? Can’t someone else carry it? You will feel it’s a burden. But suppose the same person, this is a 20 kg gold. And the further you carry it, that much of the gold will be yours.
Say, I will carry as far as you want. So, if we appreciate what is there we are carrying, then the same thing, the weight is there, but it does not feel like a weight. But if we don’t appreciate the value, we feel it’s just a burden.
So, sometimes some devotees chant 64 rounds, 128 rounds, 192 rounds. If somebody can chant like that, that’s good. But we have to be honest with ourselves.
Am I really just absorbed in chanting? Or am I just trying to meet some numbers, targets? It’s good. Actually, having a particular commitment in quantity, it also forces us to bring quality. Because if we decide if I am going to chant 16 rounds every day, then what happens, I have to spend one and a half, two hours.
And then if I am not going to absorb myself in the holy name, if I am not going to be attentive, then what will happen, those one and a half hours will just go waste. So then, I have two options. Nobody wants to waste time.
Of course, we all waste time, but when we are wasting time, we don’t think we are wasting time. When we get into illusion, we start doing something, we think this is important. This is what I should be doing.
So, we don’t consciously think, oh, today I have a lot of time to waste. Let me find a new way to waste time. So, we don’t consciously ever go out wasting time.
But, based on our state of mind, certain things appear like a waste of time and certain things appear like a very valuable use of time. Whether that perception is true or false, that may vary according to person to person. So, somebody who is a cricket fan, that person may think that watching cricket is a very valuable use of time.
Chanting is a waste of time. So, that’s based on the state of awareness. Person is not spiritually aware, so they think like that.
But, in our case, although we have spiritual knowledge, often, see Maya, when she attacks devotees, she doesn’t attack directly. It’s not that Maya doesn’t come forward, you know, you give up Krishna and start doing sense gratification, start doing sensual activity. No.
Yes, Krishna is important, but not so urgent. Krishna is important, but you don’t want to keep it number one priority. You can do later.
So, you start pushing Krishna down our priority list. And then, from the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, it goes down, it becomes invisible. We are still devotees, but there is no visible aspect of devotion left within us.
That’s how we just push down, push down, push down. So, when we are chanting the holy names, when we are trying to commit, we commit ourselves, okay, I’ll chant for a particular amount of time, say, one and a half, two hours, sixteen rounds. Then, if we are not attentive, then eventually you start feeling, this is a waste of time.
I’m getting nothing out of this. Why should I do this? At that time, we have two options. Either we bring in quality, or if we are not going to bring in quality, sooner or later, we’ll give up the quantity.
We’ll think, why should I chant so much? And we’ll give it up. So, now the quantity itself is not all that important. The quantity is an impetus for us to bring about quality.
So, when we are chanting sixteen rounds, we spend a little time in reminding ourselves about the glory of the holy name, about the importance of chanting. Then, that helps us in focussing, in putting our heart in chanting. So, there is a point of concentration and there is a circle of concentration.
The point of concentration is the sound of the holy name. We just hear the sound of the holy name, gradually from that, remembrance of Krishna and the presence of Krishna will manifest. But to focus on the sound of the holy name is difficult.
So, just to focus on that one point is difficult. And when you can’t focus on that one point, our mind goes all over the universe. So, instead of letting it wander everywhere else, we can create around the point of concentration, a circle of concentration.
If the mind wanders, okay, let it wander, but it can’t stay on the sound of the holy name. Let it stay on something that is related to Krishna. So, if we keep a picture of the deities in front of us, or if we write down the Hare Krishna Mahamantra, a nice attractive font, keep a printout of the written Hare Krishna Mahamantra, or write down some words glorifying the holy name, or write down some sentence which strikingly reminds us about the glory of the holy name.
Then, even if we can’t focus on the holy name, our mind wanders here and there, it will wander where? In that circle of concentration. And because those things are connected with Krishna, they’ll bring our mind back here. So, rather than letting the mind wander anywhere and everywhere, we give it scope for wandering.
We give it some scope so that it doesn’t feel like it’s being choked or suppressed completely. We give it a scope which is connected with Krishna and gradually it comes back to Krishna. So, here, one of the things which we can do is, in that circle of concentration, put things that remind us of the glory of the holy name.
So, something that reminds us of the glory of the holy name, that pushes us, yes, this is the same Krishna I’m associating with. This is the same, all-attractive, all-powerful Lord, all-merciful, all-loving Lord, that I’m associating with right now. And that way, this misfortune of mistaking the jewel to be a glass, that we can counter it.
So, we may not overnight realise that this is a jewel. But, at the very least, based on our experience, based on our understanding, yes, this holy name is not just an ordinary sound vibration. That much we can understand.
We all experience something enchanting which ordinary sound doesn’t provide. Based on that conviction, we at least give it attention. And the more attention we give, the more we will see Krishna manifesting.
The potency of Krishna will manifest as the holy name more and more. And, so, the point I was making earlier is, that just chanting a lot of rounds, it’s good, it’s service to the holy name. But, it may just become a burden over a period of time.
And if somebody says, I’ll chant so many, 64 rounds, so many rounds, on special days, we feel inspired, that is fine. At the same time, while we are chanting, it is important to at least try to be attentive. Otherwise, you are chanting and thinking, this holy name takes so much time.
And then, actually, it is like, sometimes you meet a person, and they spend 15 minutes with you, but every second within those 15 minutes, they make it clear to you that they don’t want to be there with you. Then, far from feeling happy with that meeting, we feel, why did I come here? And no one wants to feel unwanted. If somebody is going to make us feel like that, I don’t want to be with you.
Then why are you with me? Don’t be with me. They don’t have the meeting at all. So, like that, if we make Krishna feel unwanted, then why are we invoking his presence? Of course, it is not that we shouldn’t invoke Krishna’s presence, but we shouldn’t think that just chanting a lot of rounds is itself going to lead to spiritual advancement.
Yes, 16 rounds the acharyas have given us, and that’s why we chant them regularly. And more rounds, if we feel inspired, we can chant. But the important thing is not just to chant, it is to try at least to remember Krishna.
It is to appreciate the value of Krishna, the mercy of Krishna when he manifests as the holy name. And that way, when we appreciate, Krishna gives us more and more appreciation. And then gradually we start realising, this is kachayam vismatam.
There is a devotee who had gone to the Middle East, he was an American devotee, he was in the American army, and he was sent to the Middle East. He was in the American army before he became a devotee. And then, when he became a devotee, so he was thinking, should I stay in the army, or should I just leave the job because this is all mundane politics? Vismatam master told him, no, that is your job, you should continue it.
So then he was sent to the Middle East. And then in the Middle East, they were all subject to guerrilla attacks, ambush attacks at any moment. So everybody, all the American soldiers were quite stressful, fearful.
So then he wrote his series of experiences, which he called the Battlefield Bhajans. So he wrote that I have been chanting the holy names for a long time, but in the war fields of the Middle East, I realised how wonderful the holy name is. So what he would do is, whenever he would have to, he would have his gun and his helmet and all, the green dress of the American soldier, and internally he would be chanting Krishna’s names.
Not loudly, but in the mind he was chanting or softly he would be chanting. And he felt that just the chanting gave him so much security. Several times there were ambush attacks, and in the very presence of mind he guided all this, he was like a leader of a squadron.
So he guided his team members to safety. And then one of his team members asked, Sir, how do you stay so cool in such a situation? So then, when I was about to answer the question, it struck me, he said, this is why Krishna sent me here to the Middle East. You know, these other soldiers, they would never else have been interested in spirituality, in Krishna.
But now is my opportunity. So then he started telling them about how you are not the body, you are the soul. And at that time, they became interested.
Because they were on the verge of life or death. So at that time, if something gives meaning, they were interested in that. And they started hearing it.
And so he was a good singer. So what he would do is, there itself in the camps, every week he would have some bhajan sandhya sort of. In the army camp itself.
They would have different kinds of entertainment. So here people would come and have spiritual entertainment. And then he told them about, so he had all these American soldiers, and before they would go for an operation, he would give them a pep talk.
They are not the body, they are the soul. In life or death, we should remember God. And then, all these soldiers, before they would go for war, he would sprinkle Gandajal on all of them.
The sacred water from the Ganga, and they would all go to battlefield. So sometimes when there is great danger, at that time, we appreciate the value of the holy name. But we don’t have to wait for danger to appreciate the value.
We use our intelligence and try to put our attention, in the holy name we can appreciate the glory of the holy name, even without the danger. And that is the opportunity we have everyday in our sadhana. Yes, in danger to appreciate Krishna is good, that is Sukhrudina.
But to appreciate Krishna, even when there is no danger, to connect with Krishna, even when there is no danger, that is actually selfless love. And that selfless love is the most fulfilling for the heart. ययात्मा सूप्रसीदती Bhagavatam says that, when we practise bhakti, अहाई तुक्ये न पृतियता, unmotivated, uninterrupted, at that time, there is, सूप्रसीदती, the soul becomes fully satisfied.
Can you see me? May be some of the devotees can sit here also, if you want. You can come here. Om Nithyanandoh Bhakti is the path of sensory spirituality.
Normally, the senses are considered to be the causes of entanglement. And there are three broad approaches to the world. There is a path of karma, there is a path of jnana and there is a path of bhakti.
So, in the path of karma, the idea is that, by doing karma, by doing work in this world, we can improve things here and we can become happy. So, most of the modern world is focused on the path of karma. And even science, with all its advancement, it is actually not jnana, it is also the path of karma.
Why? Because science is used with all its knowledge, primarily to try to enjoy this world. Most scientific knowledge is used to build technology by which people want to become happy in this world. So, in that sense, although there is a lot of intellectual component in science, but it is also part of karma.
The jnana in the Vedic context is always associated with vairagya. When we acquire knowledge, when we understand the true nature of this world, then we become detached from it. So, in jnana, in the path of jnana, one understands that the very promises of pleasure in this world they become the causes of misery.
Just like a fish is attracted to a bait. And because of the attraction to the bait, the fish loses its life. Or for some mice are there in the house, some cheese is kept in the mice trap, and whatever they are attracted to, thinking that they will get pleasure, that is what causes their suffering and even their death.
Similarly, we look in this world, that many of the things that we think will give us pleasure, they are the causes of our suffering. So, in jnana, one understands this, that the promises of pleasure in this world are deceptive. Bhakti Siddhanta Sri Thakur said that this world is like a treacherous soil.
If something appears to be smooth soil, we can walk calmly on it. If something appears slippery, then we will be careful while walking on it. But something is slippery and appears smooth, then we will walk and we will slip and fall.
In Mahabharata, that’s happened to Duryodhana in the Mayasabha. He thought there is land over there, it was water over there. He just slipped and fell down.
So, like that, Bhakti Siddhanta Sri Thakur, this world is treacherous soil. So, here things are not the way they appear to be. And that’s how we become entangled.
So, the path of jnana is that this world is a very, not just a dangerous place, it’s a treacherous place. And therefore, there is aversion to this world. There is the aversion from the senses.
The path of bhakti is different from jnana. Sometimes, if the renunciation aspect is overemphasised, then the renunciation becomes a greater focus than bhakti. And that becomes more a path of jnana than the path of bhakti.
In bhakti, the focus is, Actually, in both karma and jnana, the focus is on the world only. And the world’s relation with me. In karma, the world will give me so much pleasure.
And in jnana, the world will cause me so much suffering. The focus is on the world or on me. Remember, today morning we talked about the three components of existence.
What are they? Jyabdish, Jeeva and Jagat. So, the Lord, the soul and the world. So, now in both of these, there is the focus only on Jeeva and Jagat.
So, in karma, the idea is Jagat will give so much pleasure. And in jnana, Jagat will cause so much misery. But in bhakti, the eyes are not on the Jagat, but they are on Jyabdish.
So, we don’t look towards the world. We don’t look away from the world. We look beyond the world.
A devotee’s eyes are fixed beyond the world towards Krishna. When the eyes are fixed on Krishna, that doesn’t mean the devotee neglects the world. But devotee sees the world in connection with Krishna.
And we use the things of this world in Krishna’s service. And one of the things in this world is also our senses. So, the same senses that can cause bondage.
If we use one of the obstacles in bhakti that Rupa Goswami talks about, in the Upadesha Amrit, is Prajalpa. Prajalpa is just mundane talk unconnected with Krishna. That causes entanglement.
But the same tongue can also open the door to liberation if it is used to glorify Krishna. So, bhakti is not about rejecting the senses. It is about using the senses in the service of the lord of the senses.
One of the names of Krishna is Rishikesh. One who is the lord of the senses. Rishikesh.
So, devotees, time and again, as we see over here, there is prayer. There is the aspiration that let the senses constantly be engaged in Krishna’s service. So, let the ear always hear the holy names.
Let the tongue always chant the holy names. Let me always use my senses to become absorbed in Krishna. Now, we can, hypothetically speaking, remember Krishna anywhere and everywhere.
But practically speaking, our consciousness is very much affected by our physical circumstances. Now, whatever we experience at the sensory level, that affects our consciousness. And that’s why, when we come to a temple, our consciousness tends to get spiritualised.
Why? Because at a sensory level, we are exposed to spiritual stimuli. The subject of rasa is very elaborate. And later in our retreat, I’ll talk about rasa.
But rasa, one of the things in the experience of rasa is something called uddhipan. Uddhipan means spiritual stimulus. So, that which stimulates our remembrance of Krishna, that is called uddhipan.
It’s a simple definition. And the technical, Natyashastra has a technical definition also. But all of us may have different uddhipans.
So, for example, our thoughts about Krishna, our attraction to Krishna may be stimulated by different things. So, for example, when I take darshan of the deities, if I don’t recite any verses, I don’t feel any connection with Krishna. So, when I remember some verses, recollect those verses, recite those verses, then I meditate.
This is the Lord who is glorified by these verses. He is present over here. That invokes the remembrance of Krishna more.
So, once I spoke this in a class. You know, by reciting verses, we can make our darshan of deities more devotional. Then after some days, one devotee came and told me, that when I try to take darshan of the deities, and I recite verses, you need to remember verses causes so much tension, that whatever bhakti is there, goes away.
So, actually, the shoe that fits one leg, bites another leg. So, different people have different leg sizes. So, similarly, what may be uddhipan for me, may not be uddhipan for someone else.
Somebody else may find that, when you go in front of the deities, and sing some Hare Krishna, Mahamantra, simple tune, that may attract. Or somebody else may just focus on how the Lord is decorated. And focus on each of the details of the Lord, and that gives them absorption in Krishna.
So, in bhakti, there is a standard process to follow. But there is also abundant room and necessity for individualisation of that process. Individualisation means, yes, we all have to remember Krishna, but how we remember Krishna, that will vary according to person to person.
So, while chanting the holy names, you know, if we can trigger some uddhipan, that something that invokes the remembrance of Krishna for us, and then we chant the holy names, our chanting will become more prayerful, more devotional. And that can be reciting a verse, that can be singing a song, that can be singing the Hare Krishna mantra in some musical tune that we like for a few times. And that way, the aspiration is here, whatever it is that we normally use, whatever we are good at, whatever we normally use in our life, we use it for Krishna’s service.
So, the senses, the same senses that are the cause of bondage, can become the roadways to liberation in the path of bhakti. And that’s why bhakti involves trying to spiritualise the environment. So, that’s why in the temple, we will have beautiful decoration of the deities.
And that is, Krishna doesn’t need to be beautified by us, he is all attractive. But his all attractiveness is not manifested to us right now. So, when we use our intelligence, our creativity, in trying to serve Krishna by decorating the deities beautifully, then we are not only serving Krishna, but we are also making Krishna’s beauty accessible at our level.
And that way, by spiritualising our senses, by creating a spiritual environment as much as possible for our senses, then we can increase the possibility of remembering Krishna. So, whatever we are exposed to, we try to spiritualise those particular faculties. So, if we are using computer, we can have as a wallpaper, as a screensaver, we can have Krishna’s picture.
If we are having some phone, if we feel inspired by a particular musical tune, we can have that tune in the phone. Whichever way we think about is conducive for us, we use that and create as much as possible of spiritual stimulus around us. So, for us, it may not be practical to constantly chant the holy names, to constantly hear the holy names.
We have so many other things to do in our life. But even while doing other things, we can try as much as possible to spiritualise our consciousness. And that way, as our senses are engaged more and more in Krishna related stimuli, although Krishna is in the heart, as I said, Krishna is close to us, but we are far away from him.
That means Krishna is here, but we are turned like this. So, because we are turned like this, our vision, our consciousness is turned towards the physical world. And that’s why to turn our consciousness towards Krishna, first we need to begin with manifestations of Krishna in the sensory world around us.
And those manifestations attract us to Krishna. So, somebody may come and somebody may just like to see beautiful statues. And the person comes to the temple and sees, oh, this is just a beautiful statue.
But even with that initial appreciation, the person keeps coming to the temple and says, oh, here, I experienced something that I can never experience, I don’t experience anywhere else. So, gradually, the difference will start sinking into the consciousness. And as it becomes more and more apparent, then even in the absence of the external stimuli, if we keep exposing ourselves to external stimuli related to Krishna, our consciousness becomes turned towards Krishna more and more.
And then even when external stimuli are not there, that time also we will be able to remember Krishna. So, the more we can use our own intelligence and our own creativity to find out how we can create as many devotional stimuli in our environment as possible. And that way we can increase the remembrance of Krishna.
That way we can remind ourselves that yes, Krishna is the ultimate reality. Harer naameva kevalam. Thank you.
Jagat, the whole universe, Trinikritya, Trinikritya makes it insignificant like a blade of grass. Trinikritya jagat sarvam rājate sakalabharaṁ. This holy name rules over the whole world.
Rājate sakalabharaṁ and chidānanda mayaṁ śrutam. This is filled with spiritual joy. Chidānanda mayaṁ.
Ānanda mayaṁ is filled with consciousness joy. Śrutam, supremely pure. Hare nāme va kevalam.
This is the holy name of the Lord. Holy name alone. Trinikritya jagat sarvam.
The whole world becomes very tiny. Now what does this actually mean? There are many people who talk about positive thinking. I mentioned that briefly yesterday.
The glass is half empty, see it is half full. And this is involving changing our perception. When I see, what do I focus on what I see? That is changing our perception.
There is another thing is, so yes, it is always good to think positive. But bhakti is not just about seeing positive. It is not just about changing our perception.
Hare Krishna. It is not just about changing our perception. Is it too loud? Some echo is there.
So it is also, bhakti is also about changing our perspective. Remember yesterday I mentioned that. There is a difference between a one story house and a hundred story skyscraper.
That difference from the ground is huge. But if you are in an aeroplane high above, then the difference is not much. You may not even notice that.
So there it is not just a change of perception, it is a change of perspective. So perception means, when we see, change of perception means, in whatever we see, what do we focus on? Change of perspective means, from where we see. So bhakti is about change of perspective.
Because when we understand, I am not the body, I am the soul. Then that completely shifts our perspective. What is important in my life? What will bring me true happiness? That is change of perspective.
But bhakti is actually more than change of perspective also. It is change of reference. Change of reference means, if you travel in an aeroplane, and if the aeroplane is flying through the sky, then if you are sitting near a seat from which you can see the plane, the plane sometimes appears, the wing, you can see the wing stretched out, it sometimes appears in the sky as if the plane is moving very very slowly.
It is like almost as if in slow motion, not moving at all. Why is that? Now in some aeroplanes they have the details. It may be 500 km per hour, it may be moving.
But it appears as if it is moving very slowly. So why does it appear like that? Because the motion is seen relative to the reference. So the sky is vast and as compared to the vastness of the sky, even the huge motion, the very fast motion appears to be very less.
But then as the plane starts coming closer and closer to the ground, then we see how fast roads and homes are just whizzing by. Then we see how this is moving so fast. So our perception, what we see is determined by our reference also.
So that we are moving forward, we don’t realise it when we are in the sky. When our reference for trying to assess the motion of the sky, it appears as if there is very little motion. But when our reference is the ground, we see there is a lot of motion.
So for most people, the reference in everything is this world. And that’s why all the changes that happen in this world are very important. There are people who are just hooked to the news.
And nowadays with breaking news coming, breaking news keep breaking at every moment. So people can get just consumed by the news. There is one sociologist, he said that what is news? News is essentially old things happening to new people.
The same things are happening but they are happening to new people. Of course, I am not saying that we should stay ignorant about news. The point I am making is that when our reference is this world, things that happen in this world seem to matter a lot for us.
In fact, even when people worship God. Now Krishna, he performs his pastimes in the spiritual world and he plays his flute to invite us to be with him in the spiritual world. Many times people go to different temples and they sometimes come to Krishna temple and they say that other temples God is giving me blessings.
But here Krishna, he never gives any blessings. He has lost his own world. You hardly ever see Krishna with a hand raised in blessing.
It is not that Krishna is not blessing us. Krishna’s blessing is not that we try to be happy over here. Krishna’s blessing is that he is playing his flute.
And just as by playing his flute he invited gopis to come and participate in the Ras Neela, like that Krishna is playing his flute to invite us to his abode for joining his pastimes. But when our reference is the material world, our purpose is that Krishna should help us perform pastimes here. I want to perform pastimes and Krishna should help me in that.
So this is, of course it is good that we are connected with Krishna in some way. But with this reference point, we cannot get much taste in bhakti. Because bhakti is transcendental.
And if our reference point is the world, then what happens in the world affects us too much. And then we can’t get the taste in bhakti which is actually meant to raise our consciousness about the world. So the more we absorb ourselves in Krishna through study, through worship, through chanting, through association, gradually our reference point changes.
Our reference point changes. And then when that reference point changes, then in relationship with Krishna, even the material things that are very big, they don’t agitate us so much. Trulikruta jagat sarvam.
That means the world becomes like a blade of grass. That doesn’t mean that we don’t care for the world. But that we don’t consider ups and downs in the world to be catastrophic.
We don’t think that changing things in the world alone will make me happy. Changing our consciousness becomes more important for us. So when Prabhupada was in America, he was travelling various parts and he was preaching.
So he came somewhere to a city which is quite close to Washington. And then Prabhupada said, at the start of his lecture he said, I have come in this remote corner of the world trying to share Krishna’s message. The people in remote corner, people think that America is the centre of the world.
Not only America think they are the centre of the world, they think the world begins and ends from the east coast to the west coast. So, what do you mean remote corner of the world? But for Srila Prabhupada, you know, Mayapur was the centre of the world. That is where Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu had descended.
And then when Prabhupada first came to Mayapur, after a lot of struggle, he got land over there. And when they got the land, what they got at that time was just completely remote. Prabhupada went to that land with some of the devotees, Valkrishna Maharaj, Epitaka Maharaj, and he told the devotees, small group there, this will be our international headquarters.
And the devotees looked around and they said, not a single human being anywhere. All around was simply overgrown sugarcane fields, you know. He said, Prabhupada, this remote corner of the world will be our headquarters.
Prabhupada said, you have material vision. This is the place where Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu descended. This is the place where the Yugavatar appeared.
And this is where the Yugadharma is going to be propagated. So, this is the spiritual headquarters of the world. This is where we will have our headquarters.
And devotees worked very hard. Now there is a beautiful spiritual community and city coming up in Mayapur. So, from a devotee’s perspective, because Krishna is the centre, so everything else is seen with that reference point.
So, America will be geopolitically the most important part of the world. It may be the centre of the world. But a devotee does not consider that as the centre of the world.
And similarly, in our spiritual life, as we keep practising bhakti more and more, the worldly ups and downs, they will not have so much agitation for it. They will not cause so much either excitement or agitation. One of the things Krishna repeatedly talks about in the Bhagavad Gita is, नप्रहरिशेत् प्रियंप्राप्य नोध्विजेत् प्राप्यचाप्रियम् He says, when somebody gets good, one doesn’t jump up and down in delight.
And when something bad happens, one doesn’t sink into despair. Because स्तिरबुद्धिरसंमोर्हो ब्रह्मविद् ब्रह्मनिस्तित्था स्तिरबुद्धि, the intelligence is fixed, one is situated in spiritual realisation. So we may not be situated in spiritual realisation right now.
But if we take shelter of the holy name, take shelter of Krishna in his various manifestations, then we will experience this. The same thing, it may appear like a big catastrophe to us, and if we start chanting the holy name, start remembering Krishna, we will start feeling calmer, we will start feeling, gaining perspective, yes, this is an issue and I have to deal with it. But, there is a difference between, Prabhupada writes in the Parpot, a devotee may be perplexed, but a devotee is never discouraged.
What that means is, perplexed means sometimes life may present us a situation that we don’t know what to do. Should I do this or should I do that? Should I take a job here or there? Should I do this or do that? There are so many decisions we have to take, and sometimes it may not be clear what decision we should take. A devotee can be perplexed, but a devotee is never discouraged.
Discouraged means that a devotee doesn’t think, what is the use of doing anything? Devotee is confident that, yes, I have to keep serving Krishna. How I will serve him, that may not be clear to me right now. Let me just take one step forward, one step forward, and gradually things will become clearer.
So often, faith means that we take one step forward, even when the full path is not clear. Even when the full path is not clear, just take one step forward, one step forward, and as we keep taking one step forward, the next step will become clear, the next step will become clear and we’ll keep moving forwards. So if we keep our eyes fixed on the world, then we cannot keep our heart fixed on Krishna.
If we keep our eyes fixed on the world, our heart will also go towards the world. If we keep our eyes fixed on Krishna, then not only will our heart be fixed on Krishna, but also we will be able to deal with the ups and downs of life more maturely. Many times whenever a problem comes in our life, our response to the problem makes it a bigger problem.
Just like, suppose somebody falls sick, somebody says that person is going for a picnic, and a whole group is going for a picnic, and just before the picnic this person gets a flu, and the person is lying in bed. Now at that time, the mind, it’s like, oh, I could have gone to the picnic, I could have been enjoying. Now physically speaking, if the medicine is taken, at that time, physically there will not be much pain.
It’s just weakness is there and one has to rest. But in the mind there is resentment. Why did this happen? Why did this happen? Why did this happen? And that resentment of reality often hurts more than reality.
You know, going to the picnic, not going to the picnic, you miss something. But that resentment of reality eats us up a lot. And that happens, why? Because within our frame of reference, we may think that the only enjoyment I have is going for the picnic.
And I didn’t have that enjoyment, then I missed something. But if we are connected with Krishna, if we are devoted to Krishna, then Krishna is ever available for us, ever available for us. And when we connect with Krishna, this resentment of reality, which actually hurts us a lot, that can be cut down substantially.
And that way we can decrease our misery even when there are problems. Now problems can’t be avoided in life. But sometimes our attitude towards problems, our response towards problems, that makes it a much bigger problem.
And when we have something other than the world and its objects to think about, to focus our heart on, then the world’s problems don’t trouble us so much. And a devotee can be concerned about things without being disturbed by things. To not be concerned at all will be irresponsible.
But to be disturbed will often impede our capacity to do anything constructive. So by taking shelter of Krishna, we can be concerned but not be disturbed. Because the world will not be at the centre of our vision.
Krishna will be at the centre and we will be able to respond to the things of this world appropriately. So chidanandamayam shuddham, that Krishna and His holy name, chidanandamayam. There are many things in this world which are attractive.
But nothing is purely anandamayam. Many things which give pleasure, but they give pleasure for some time, and afterward that pleasure, they say there is a law of diminishing returns. If I eat first gulab jamun, delicious.
Second gulab jamun, good. Third gulab jamun, yes. Fourth gulab jamun, you also take something.
So that you also take something is not because we are so selfless. That is because the taste is not all that much there. And if you are forced to eat 10 or 15 gulab jamuns, No, I don’t want anything more.
So in material life there is a law of diminishing returns. But in bhakti, Krishna is fully anandamayam. And as we become purified, we start realising that anandamayam more and more and more.
And thus, poornamrtam, as Chaitanya Mahaprabhu says, in the chanting of the holy names, that it is complete nectar. And that nectar we can relish as we become more and more purified. So although we don’t have the taste right now, we can by hearing from the great saints, remember and get the inspiration that this is what awaits us ahead.
This is what awaits us ahead. And by that we can take inspiration and keep moving onwards. So usually, if we feel, sometimes the mind can work in different ways.
The mind can say, yes, all this is very nice, but this is so far away. When will I get this kind of taste for the holy name? I am never going to get it. Yes, if we get discouraged thinking how far away the pure state is, then we can turn back and look at how far we have come.
Now if we have been practising bhakti for a few years, and if we think at our life before we started practising bhakti, we would probably never have thought that we would be following the four principles, we would be chanting the holy names, we would be devoting ourselves to Krishna. So by Krishna’s mercy, we have already come a long distance. You know, if Krishna’s mercy had not been there, we would not have come all this far also.
So if we start feeling discouraged, thinking that we are so far ahead to go, we can look back and see how far Krishna has already brought us. And actually it is not that we have determinately come, it is, despite our determinately resisting, Krishna has brought us. So, if Krishna has brought us so far, Krishna will take us all the way ahead also.
And if we just keep faith, it’s like, as I said, if we just keep faith, Krishna will keep moving us forward, forward, forward. And this state which appears very lofty and inaccessible, that will become slowly and surely more and more accessible. So in bhakti, the process is evolutionary.
But the result is revolutionary. The process is evolutionary. Every day we chant, we see nothing is happening.
You know, yesterday I chanted, today I chanted, tomorrow I chanted, what is happening? But if you look at our life, there is a radical transformation that happens. And that revolution happens not through a sudden change. It’s not that suddenly one day we wake up and Krishna is standing in front of us.
That may not happen immediately. But as we become purified, as our frame of reference changes, then the reality and the sweetness of Krishna becomes more and more of an ever-present reality for us. And thus, even in this world, we can experience the eternal joy of bhakti.
Prabhupada writes in the 5.29 parakorda bhagavad-gita that bhakti is invoking the spiritual world in the material world. Experiencing Krishna in this world itself. And as we become more and more absorbed in bhakti, we can experience Krishna here itself.
And a video related to that announcement. And after that we’ll have a Q&A session. The announcement is about, for the past two days, we had this seminar, which was very sweet.
But there is a treat which is awaiting you at the retreat. So on 25th and 26th of this month, we are having a retreat with His Grace Chaitanya Chaturanga Prabhu. And there is a video which is going to be shown based on that.
You will find that this retreat will be a completely entirely different retreat from what you have attended in the past. So I would request all of you to just watch this video. And after that, there is Sashi Bhushan who is in charge of the retreat.
If you are interested, you can make the bookings through him. Now we’ll watch the video and after that the Q&A session. Thank you.
Are you tired? No, so tired. From Karnataka to Prema. Retreat with Chaitanya Chaturanga Prabhu.
Over the Easter long weekend. 25th and 26th March, 2016. Set in the scenic and historic Sovereign Retreat Centre.
Get ready to discover the power of Dharma. And how it uplifts our consciousness through Prema. Valmiki Ramayan’s depiction places Lord Ram in the midst of human relationships.
And this gives us living demonstration of how we too can have better relationships. Develop as better individuals and as better devotees. The Ramayan’s beauty lies in the sweetness and the selflessness of the relationships it depicts.
Our core self, the soul, is like a precious stone. Buried under the layers of impure mental impressions. Meditating on the Ramayan offers purification and cultivation of devotional impressions.
The long weekend retreat from Dharma to Prema reflects the journey that we all need to take. To develop a clear practical understanding of how Dharma and Prema relate to each other. The whole Ramayan is essentially a depiction of how different characters navigate this journey.
Some of them start off right at the start. Some start off but stumble along the way. Some go as far as we can imagine.
And some go further than what we can imagine. On this two-day spiritual adventure with Chaitanya Chandraguru, we will get to hear his profound insights on selected pastimes from the Ramayan. And we will get to absorb ourselves in some illuminating life principles.
By thus becoming equipped with practical wisdom from the Ramayan, we will be able to cross over the mountain of unaltered liberty and embolden the state in the process of developing love of Godhead, as explained in the Mahabharata beneath. Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Hare Hare Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare So, does anyone have any questions? We’ll have a short Q&A here. Yes.
The question is that, sometimes when we chant the holy names, we may not pronounce properly. And while dealing with various problems in the world, this improper pronunciation becomes a further problem and it becomes discouraging. How to deal with that? Firstly, the pronunciation is not the most important thing in devotion.
The important thing is the devotional intention. So, if occasionally there is a mispronunciation, Krishna is not a fault-finding God. He is not there to catch us when we do wrong.
He is there to catch us when we fall. Krishna is not there to catch us when we do wrong. He is there to catch us when we fall.
So, first of all, we recognise that devotion can be expressed even through an improper pronunciation. That is not a problem. At the same time, when we want to serve Krishna, we want to serve Him in the best possible way.
So even when we chant His holy names, we try as much as possible to chant clearly. And sometimes we may do a recording of our own chanting to see if we are mispronouncing, where we are mispronouncing. And by that we can correct.
Okay, this is when, maybe when I start thinking about something, I am going to mispronounce. Or when I am rushing and trying to complete the rounds very quickly in some time limit, I mispronounce. And about pronunciation also, if we find that usually, maybe sometimes the last Hare gets missed out.
Because there are three Hare. Hare, Ram, Hare, Ram, Ram, Ram, Hare, Hare, then Hare. The three Hare may sometimes become one or two.
So, we can find out what is the mispronunciation and gradually work towards that. If it seems like too much of a task, then we can make it gradually. Say if you are chanting 16 rounds, a habit of mispronunciation has been developed, somehow.
Then at least some rounds we consciously take care that we pronounce properly. Even if that requires a little more time. But suppose, say, if we are mispronouncing and we are chanting every round in 5 or 6 minutes.
And if we are going to pronounce clearly, it takes 10 minutes. Then the mental burden becomes so much. How can I spend so much time? Then, as I said, again we start becoming offensive towards the whole thing.
Why is it taking so much time? So, at that time, we may decide, at least we should try to correct the habit. So, at least 1, 2, 4 rounds I will chant with careful pronunciation. Remaining also, it’s not that I will be intentionally careless.
But if there is a default habit, I may not be able to invest so much energy in countering that at that stage. But those 4 rounds also, few rounds, whatever we do carefully, if we do that, gradually that habit of clear pronunciation will pass over to others. I mean to other rounds also.
And another thing is that pronunciation is also relative. That means, we may ourselves pronounce a word clearly. But someone else may say, I can’t hear this word being pronounced.
So, if that is happening, then we have to ourselves record and check it. It shouldn’t be that we are enunciating the words ourselves. But because they are being enunciated in such a way that others are not able to hear it, others say that you are not pronouncing properly.
So, introspect and check it properly. There is no need to be very discouraged. No matter whatever happens, there is actually, the biggest problem in bhakti is discouragement.
If we don’t get discouraged, if we keep moving onwards, doing what we can, Krishna will help us to do what we can’t do. But when we become discouraged, we don’t do even what we can do. And then, Krishna will not force things upon us.
Then he will not help us directly. He will not intervene with us. So, first of all, find what is the problem and what is the cause of the problem.
And then take practical manageable steps to gradually correct it. And when we get discouraged, we should know that anything, normally we think of temptation as lust, anger, greed and these things as temptations. So, we usually think that Krishna is here, something takes me away from Krishna.
That is temptation. But actually, that is not the only definition of temptation. Anything that comes between us and Krishna, that is also temptation.
So, discouragement can also be a temptation. If discouragement stops us going towards Krishna, then you should know, this is, so actually how it works is, that the same mind which makes us do a wrong thing, then afterward the same mind becomes a judge and starts saying, you are such a fool, you know. Why did you do such a wrong thing? So, the same mind, it’s like, the same mind is the criminal and then after it makes us commit the crime, then it becomes a judge and sentences us.
So, when this happens, this is like a dangerous double rule of the mind. So, at that time, we shouldn’t listen to the mind. Anything that discourages us, we should recognise this is a temptation and not pay attention to it.
So, yes, there are different kinds of sources, different sources of discouragement. But whatever it is, if there is something discouraging us, we move away from it, move towards something which encourages us. That is not to deny or hide our faults.
But we cannot deal with all our faults at the same time. We have one fault, one problem, we slowly overcome step by step. So, discouragement is also temptation and it needs to be intelligently resisted.
Does this answer your question? Thank you. Any other questions? Yes. There is a prayer in Christian faith that, Oh God, thy seed is so great and my boat is so small.
So, in the second verse, it says that right from Brahma to the stump of the tree is the part of the individual energy. So, everything is so inconsequential. So, what hope do we have to sustain the Madhuram Sangalam when we have gone through millions of species over millions of lifetimes? So, this world is so vast and the temptations are so many.
The illusory ocean is so big. So, what is the hope that we can go across this ocean? Our hope is Krishna. Now, a devotee may be helpless, but a devotee is never hopeless.
Sometimes, we are in a situation where there seems to be no solution. So, we may feel that there is no help. But there is always hope because Krishna is still with us.
So, Gajendra prays that, My dear Lord, you are Madhuram. Please have mercy on me and liberate me from this animal body which I caught. Liberate me from this body.
And he says, why should you liberate? You are yourself free. And the Lord may say that, Yes, I am free, but you are bound by your own karma. You deserve it.
But you are extremely merciful, oh Lord. So, even if somebody is undeserving, you will give mercy to that person. And Lord may say, I gave you mercy so many times.
You kept neglecting it. So, he says, My dear Lord, you never get tired of giving mercy. So, please don’t get tired.
Please keep giving me your mercy. Please liberate me. So, yes, we have gone through millions of lifetimes.
That is true. But it is also true that Krishna has gone through with us on millions of lifetimes. So, Krishna has not given up on us for millions of lifetimes.
Why should we think of giving up in only one lifetime? In this life, we keep practising bhakti. Krishna is there to help us. And as I said, if our focus is on the temptations to be overcome, then sooner or later we will be overcome.
But if our focus is on Krishna, who is beyond the temptations? Who can lift us beyond the temptations? Krishna says, In 12.6, in the Bhagavad Gita, He says that, If you fix your consciousness on me, soon, without much delay, I will liberate you from material existence. So, Krishna is our hope. And when we feel that there are big problems and there is big discouragement happening, then we need to associate with those who will encourage us.
We need to have some friends who see the potential within us. And who give us encouragement and positivity. When Sita was abducted by Ravana, month after month after month, it was just going on and on.
And one time, one of the demons, there was a magician in Ravana’s army, he made an effigy of Ram. And he cut off that head. And then, Ravana came there.
He said, you are so proud that Ram will come and rescue you, just see. I didn’t even have to fight. My demon went and killed him.
He beheaded the head and the corpse. Sita was shattered. She fainted over there.
And when she came back to consciousness, Ravana was jeering at her. And she looked at him. She said, oh, the astrologers had said that I would never be a widow.
And alas, they have gone wrong. She just said, she was crying bitterly. And she said, just get a funeral pyre.
I will die with my lord. Ravana said, what happened? He thought she will come to me. But instead of coming to me, she is just carrying some grief.
He said, I don’t want to tolerate this woman crying. She said, she will come to her senses later. He just went away from there.
So at that time, Vibhishana’s wife came over there. And Sarama, she said, she consoled Sita. She told her, this is all an illusion.
She says, Ram is even now building a bridge and coming across. And when Sita heard that, she became so late. She looked carefully at the form of Ram.
And she said, yes, this is not my lord. And she recognised, this is actually an illusion. So sometimes, our mind creates various kinds of illusions, which can shake or even shatter our morale.
So at that time, we need association that encourages us. So not just association. See, what happens is, devotees also who are guiding us, they have to be sensitive.
Sometimes when a person is discouraged, at that time, we need to be encouraged. But if somebody is discouraged, we discourage them further at that time. That is a disservice.
Now, Prabhupada was so expert. One time, one devotee wrote to him and said that, Prabhupada, I want to assist you in saving fallen souls all over the world. And Prabhupada wrote back, He said, yes, it is good to save the whole world.
But first we should save ourselves. It’s like somebody is over ambitious, isn’t it? Prabhupada calmed him down. Another time, another devotee wrote to Prabhupada, Prabhupada, you know, I have so many anarthas.
I am utterly useless. What can I do for you, Prabhupada? So Prabhupada wrote back a letter, I need many useless souls like you who can help me in saving all the souls all over the world. So, Prabhupada, he was expert, depending on the mood.
So if somebody is discouraged, at that time, the devotees around should take it as a responsibility to encourage that person. So all of us will stumble, all of us will sometimes fall, and we all need an association that will encourage us. And both, we ourselves try to fix our focus on Krishna, and rather than on the problems that are there, the conditionings, the temptations, and also we strive to associate with those who help us fix our vision on Krishna.
OK? Thank you. Hare Krishna. On behalf of all of you, I want to thank His Grace Chaitanya Charan Prabhu for this feast to the head, and Yamuna Sundari Mataji for the feast to the heart.