How can we balance scriptural study and practical service?

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So when we practice bhakti, how can we balance the many services that we have to do with cultivating philosophical understanding? Generally, it is not so easy to study philosophy constantly. Unless a person is very intellectual, which we may fancy ourselves to be, but most of us are not. But actually, the mind always grumbles.
No, I don’t get enough time to study Shastra. But then, if you’re told next one week, you have nothing to do, just study Shastra. You may study for one hour, two hours, three hours, four hours, then you say, what else can I do? You will not be able to study.
So when we are talking about philosophical understanding, it does not necessarily have to mean huge quantity of time. It is more of the quality of time which we put in. We do hear classes regularly, we read books regularly, we have some sadhana program.
And we should get proper understanding through those channels. And the important thing is that we do not neglect this. Bhakti is just about bhav, bhavna, emotions.
No, I don’t care about this philosophy. No, we should hear the classes so that we get clear understanding. So it’s usually not so easy to study constantly.
So services are also a very important part of our spiritual growth. In fact, our primary connection with Krishna is through service. And over a period of time, we should also be able to see our Shastric study also as a service.
So I’m studying Shastra as a service to Krishna. In 18.17, the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna says that, अधिष्यते चयेमां धर्म्यं सम्वादमामयो ज्यान यद्गेन तेनाहं इष्टस्यामिति नेमति Krishna says that those who worship, those who study the sacred conversation of ours, they are worshipping me with their intentions. It means study is not just an intellectual activity.
Yes, it’s involving our intelligence, but just as we perform Aarti with a Diya, with flowers, with incense, like that Krishna says, when we are studying Shastra, we are performing Aarti with our intelligence. So even our study of Shastra, our philosophical understanding can also be done in the mode of service. But sometimes when we study, we feel that I know so much, that I create a sense of intellectual superiority over others.
So it’s not so easy to see study as a service. And that’s why we do other services also. Now, over a period of time, initially, we try to follow whatever guidelines devotees provide us.
Okay, you do this, this much service you do, this time you do service, this time you do studies and move on. But over a period of time, we also understand our inclinations, we understand our capacities. And if we find that studying is what gives us most conviction, and through studying also we can do good services.
So through study, we can share Krishna’s message, we can write articles, we can give deeper understanding of different issues, then study itself may become a major service for us. And that is also good. So we shouldn’t see study and service as two separate things.
Study is also part of service. And service also gives us deeper realization of what we study. This knowledge is not just intellectual.
Intellectual is important. But the intellectual understanding has to seep within. So when we hear, at that time things enter our ears.
When we contemplate, things enter our head. When we apply, things enter our heart. And applying essentially means serving.
Because the essential message of Krishna is that we are servants of Krishna. We are meant to serve. So we can see study as a service.
And we can see service also as a part of study. Because by serving, the knowledge that we have got which has come to our head will enter into our heart. So just as when we eat food, the food is not just to be eaten, it needs to be digested so that it becomes usable energy for us.
So like that, now for digesting that food, we need the proper digestive enzymes in the stomach. So similarly, when we hear, when we contemplate, it’s like food entering the stomach. Knowledge enters our head.
But our service attitude is the enzyme that digests spiritual knowledge. And that takes that knowledge from the head to the heart. That transforms that knowledge from just intellectual understanding to spiritual determination.
What we need for growing in our spiritual life is spiritual determination. Yes, this is Maya and I am going to say no to it. This is Krishna and I am going to say yes to it.
This can come by intellectual understanding, but doesn’t come by intellectual understanding alone. When we apply what we know and try to serve, then through that service we move towards Krishna. So in that way, we can initially do whatever services we are told to do.
And whatever time we get for studying and hearing, we do that diligently. And over a period of time, if our nature is very intellectual and we want to study more and that becomes our service, then we can study more also. So this is not just intellectual accumulation of information.
It is the intellectual assimilation that will lead to spiritual conviction. That is what we are talking about when we say practicing philosophical bhakti to rise to the spiritual level of bhakti. Does that answer the question? Yes.