How can motivate us to move on in our spiritual life – can the saints’ realizations inspire – don’t we need our own experiences?
Answer Podcast
Transcript
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This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors. more simply reciprocates by revealing himself. So, when you talk about revelation of saints, realization of saints, we have no idea of what they are experiencing. So, it is just a revelation that we have to accept on faith. What will spur us on? Is it our own experience? Okay, by experience, we can have two distinct meanings for this. As far as moving forward in our spiritual life is concerned and our spiritual journey, what is it that will take us forward? If we are, I gave a whole class on, I gave a class on how to emigrate to the spiritual world. Immigration is a big issue right now. How to emigrate from here to the spiritual world. So, basically if you want, somebody wants to come from India to America, what is required? First of all, there is a desire. Then second is the qualification. And third is the process. And then in the process, there is an attitude. You have to have confidence, you have to have faith, you have to be optimistic. You can move on like that. So, for us in our spiritual journey also, how do we get that desire? Desire is what we primarily need. Now, desire can come through other’s experiences, through our experiences. But most sustainably, it comes through our conviction. Jiva Goswami explains in the Shat Sandar verse that for those who are completely spiritually realized, those are Siddhas, those are spiritually perfected, they stay in bhakti because of their priti. They love Krishna. That’s why they are naturally practicing bhakti. But for sadhakas, he says what will keep them in bhakti is not priti, but bhunti. Intelligence. Because sometimes we feel a lot of devotion for Krishna. Sometimes we may do our japa and we may feel such peace, such strength, we feel that japa should never end. But most days, however, japa never ends. It’s going on and on and on. So, for us, the feelings will keep going up and down. So in that sense, if we consider experiences in terms of what am I experiencing right now? Well, those experiences are very fickle. If we count on those experiences, we will not be able to commit ourselves to anything in life. Or to speak of spiritual life, even in our relationships. Is it that even when we love someone, is it that we love everything that they do? We love every moment with them? Not necessarily. A mother naturally feels love for her newborn child, for a baby. But if after a long day’s work, the mother is sleeping and suddenly at night the baby starts crying. Well, love is not the first emotion the mother may feel at that time. Mother will wake up and care for the child. But that’s not just because of some loving sentiment. It is because of a loving commitment. So similarly, for us, we need to have philosophical conviction to move forward studying in our spiritual life. And then, where does our philosophical conviction come from? It will come usually from hearing the philosophy. Hearing the philosophy, hearing the pastimes. In general, there are two aspects. There is conviction and there is attraction. So we could say that the conviction comes from the philosophy. The attraction comes from the pastimes. But we need both. If we do not have the philosophy, then the attraction that comes, Today I am attracted to Krishna. There are some people who hear Bhagavata Katha or Ramayana and Mahabala Katha as pious entertainment. So they will be watching, say, on YouTube or on TV, some Bhagavata Katha and they hear about the Gopi’s separation from Krishna. They read about how Jatayu sacrificed, they watch Jatayu sacrificing his life. And they start crying tears. And then the program ends. They change the channel and the cricket match is going on. And say Virat Kohli gets out early and they start crying there also. So then, that means their emotions are not that spiritual. Yes, spiritual emotions means that So conviction is what is required and that’s why we need to study philosophy regularly. Siddhanta baliya chitte na kare alas. Iha hai te krishna lage sudhruda manas. They said that siddhanta baliya, don’t call it, this is simply philosophy, I am not interested in it. Chitte na kare alas, don’t be lazy about it. Iha hai te, by this, what will happen? Krishna lage sudhruda manas. Your mind will be fixed on Krishna. So it is the philosophical conviction that will get the impetus to move forward in our spiritual life. Thank you.