How can we convert our work in office into yajna?

From Pandurang Charan P

Could you please explain in detail how can I do yagna as grahasta working in office, where in we are so absorbed in our work. Also moment to moment where in I dont remember Krishna atall. How can we have the right consciousness to make it a yagna.

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
Hare Krishna question from Panduranga Charan Prabhu how can we convert our office work into a yajna when we are absorbed in our professional work in our office and we don’t remember Krishna on a moment to moment basis at that time how can we convert our work into yajna answer the important point is not so much moment to moment remembrance of Krishna as overall direction of our life towards Krishna as overall intention of our life to serve Krishna so what we focus on is at different levels first and foremost is that we understand the philosophy and then we do the sadhana so we hear the philosophy, read scriptures and do our sadhana in the mornings and regularly at other times as per our schedule so by that at least we are intellectually convinced that Krishna is the goal of my life and not just intellectually convinced when we are doing our sadhana well then also we get some emotional devotional experience of how life with Krishna is a far deeper richer sweeter reality that should be the ultimate pursuit for us so once we are convinced like that then we can bring that spiritual consciousness that spiritual directedness towards our work in our life other fields of life also now specifically when we are working we live in a competitive world where we have deadlines and often our work may go into the mode of passion we don’t have to be unduly anxious about that yes we don’t want to be in the mode of passion but when it is when the work pressure is such that it requires a mode of passion we understand that even Arjuna when he was fighting the war especially in the heat of the fight it was not that he was striving for goodness over there he was striving primarily for success not success for his own sake but success for Krishna’s sake so as devotees we can see that our work is in many ways connected to Krishna first of all now whatever we are earning from that we are using it a part of it to give contributions to Krishna’s mission a major part of it for raising our family and we are also trying to bring them to devotional service if they are already devotees then our earning is almost like a fundraising campaign for our home temple so in that sense we can see it as a devotional activity and another point is whatever work we are doing we do it with some talent some resources some intelligence some skills that we have and those skills are given by Krishna to us in fact not only are those skills given by Krishna Krishna says I am those skills I am ability in man Krishna says so here the reference to man is generic it is not gender specific I am ability in all human beings so now when we understand this point then we understand that actually the whatever excellence we achieve in our work that is an opportunity for us to manifest Krishna to experience Krishna and to demonstrate Krishna to others also so because Krishna is the ability in all of us so we can see that also as as opportunity to be Krishna conscious now when at material level people perform well they say that they are in a zone sometimes some players or some whatever sometimes some artists are there some computer programmers are there so they are especially if we talk about sports because sports is very much in the minds of everyone so certain players get into a zone at particular times when a batsman can just bat effortlessly and flawlessly or a bowler can bowl very superbly so that now they themselves get exhilarated and they may not understand at that time that the ability to perform like that is a manifestation of the divine in this world but that is what it is so we as devotees can see such situations when we perform well not just as something we have to do because there are deadlines or something where we show our virtuoso skills to others no we see them as opportunities to manifest the divine in this world so Prabhupada once when he was travelling on a plane he saw a Charlie Chaplin movie and he laughed and he said Prabhupada isn’t this mundane Prabhupada said no you know his humour is very original and that originality the intelligence behind that originality is a manifestation of Krishna’s intelligence so Paurusham Prabhupada saw the ability for comedy in Charlie Chaplin as a manifestation of Krishna’s ability so that way we can strive for excellence in our work also and do it for glorifying Krishna because as devotees if we do well in our jobs then not only does it make our career stabler and other things but also whatever reputation we get you know as devotees of Krishna if they are seen as competent performers that adds to the positive perception of people about Krishna and also within our work so it may be difficult for us to remember Krishna during the work and in such situations what we can focus on is before and after we try to remember that means before we started any particular activity in the morning we are praying to Krishna Krishna let me work in this in this day as a service to you at the end of the day whatever happens good and bad we offer it to Krishna this was what service I was able to do please accept it and this is the mood in which Krishna talks about in 9.27 so here whatever you do you offer it to me and here Krishna does not insist that you have to do it with devotion that he talked about offering even a simple thing like a fruit or flower or a water or a some water with devotion that he talked about in 9.26 but in 9.27 he says whatever you do just offer it to me and also what he here the significant thing he is saying after the activity you do it after you do it offer it to me so in general even if we don’t remember Krishna while we are doing the activity we can remember him after doing the activity at least and then Krishna says in 9.28 that if one works like this then also one will attain me one will attain him in future without getting bound in the good and bad results of work so now regarding while doing our work we can wherever it is possible try to create some devotional stimuli around us and try to take some devotional breaks so that means depending on the environment we are in and many companies if people are working they are allowed to use earphones and as long as they do their work competently what they are hearing doesn’t matter so people may hear mundane music devotees can hear devotional music or sometimes the work is not intellectually demanding then they can even hear some classes and things like that so and we can have some wallpapers of devotional images we can take darshan of the deities occasionally when we have opportunities through the internet with different temple deities so each of us can find out primarily what is it that attracts us to Krishna and cherish that activity and then try to create facilities by which we can do that activity again and again more and more and that way it will be easy to remember Krishna so first I said is that we can try to take devotional breaks within that activity also so devotional breaks could mean suppose I find that I like to memorize verses then I can just memorize some verses not that I have to memorize one verse everyday but often we memorize the verse and then we leave the verse no but after memorizing we can keep it in our card or nowadays we can just keep it in our cell phone or even we can just ourselves recite the verse and keep the recording in the cell phone and keep hearing it keep repeating it or if you have some favorite darshan then we can keep that darshan picture with us and keep seeing them again and again so this is my circle of work and this is the circle of Krishna then these two have some intersections and we find out which are the areas of highest intersection that means where what we like to do now we don’t have to use the word like always in a sanskritificatory sense like can also be indicative of our devotional interests and when we like something in bhakti we can see that as Krishna manifesting his mercy to us through that particular limb of devotional service or through that particular devotional manifestation so if you like to take darshan or we like a particular deity’s particular dress whichever way it is so whether it is a particular limb of devotional service or a particular devotional manifestation both ways when we like something we can see that yes Krishna, Rupa Goswami has already said somehow or the other fix the mind on Krishna so we can see this as an opportunity as a blessing given by Krishna for us to fix the mind on him and we can cherish that so we can try to find out as many area things as possible in the intersection of our interest in Krishna and devotional service and try to create facilities to frequently or at least periodically keep going to those areas so that we can rejuvenate our Krishna consciousness so many times devotees even when they are working if there are some other devotees in our office place then we can take lunch together if that is not practical then we can take lunch in a secluded place where we can hear some class or something like that if that is not possible then at least before we return back to work maybe we can just do some devotional activity recite some verse or take some take some darshan or something like that or hear some kirtan or whatever so in general this is the place where we can use our individuality and our creativity so when we show Krishna that I want to remember you even in these situations then Krishna will give us intelligence about how to do that that will be at our level the practical manifestation of the dhami buddhi yogam tam yena mam upayantite so rather than aiming for moment to moment which is of course our goal but which is quite lofty for us and which may not be practical we can focus on making sure that we reorient ourselves towards Krishna regularly so when a plane takes off from Mumbai to Calcutta it is not that it is going in a straight line to Calcutta because of wind and so many other pressures wind and clouds and other atmospheric conditions the plane keeps steering off course what gets it back on course is the pilot’s vigilant attention, vigilant reorientation of the plane similarly we can reorient ourselves at one level daily through our sadhana at another level through breaks during the day whenever we can we remind ourselves of Krishna and reconnect ourselves with Krishna and at a broader level we have our weekend visits to the temple or we have our regular yathras to holy places or we have other weekly satsangas or whatever so we keep reorienting ourselves that way and as we keep doing it this reorientation more and more it will become more and more habitual and eventually we will come to the level of constant remembrance of Krishna now as far as yajna is concerned the essence of yajna is not lighting a fire but it is actually offering sacrifice so if we are doing our work in a mood of offering it to Krishna that is also sacrifice that is also actually so I am doing my work not just for my own glory but for Krishna’s glory I am not just doing a work to increase my bank account I am going to work so that I can help share Krishna’s message so if we do that then that also and overall if we think whatever I am doing it is for Krishna’s pleasure not my pleasure and you may not be able to think of this all the time but if we do think about it whenever possible with whatever frequency is possible then definitely we will move onwards towards Krishna and our work will become yajna. Thank you. Hare Krishna