How can we differentiate between emotional experiences and transcendental experiences?

Answer Podcast

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
So is there any way to differentiate between emotional experiences and transcendental experiences? It’s difficult because even transcendental experiences involve emotions.
So largely speaking, two things we could say. One is that whether the experience is in accordance with Shastra. There is that pastime when one devotee came to Prabhupada and said, Prabhupada, you came in my dream and you told me to take LSD.
So Prabhupada said, it is not me, it is Maya in my dress. So actually here if we are getting some experience which are actually not in accordance with Shastra, then that is one way to understand that this is questionable. And then another thing is that if the effect of it is that it actually doesn’t take us closer to Krishna, it takes us away from Krishna, then we can keep it at a little distance.
But overall, if there is a devotional experience which we have had, then rather than worrying too much about the nature of the experience itself, we can focus on whether it can be seen in a way and I can go closer towards Krishna. So sometimes I participate in a Kirtan and I just get tears in my eyes. Now are the tears coming because I am experiencing Krishna or it might just be because I love music very much and if the music is so nice that causes me tears.
Sometimes it may just become too hyper analytical to go into that. As long as it is in the ambit of Krishna Bhakti and it inspires me to go deeper in my relationship with Krishna and that is fine. Largely it is whether it is according to Shastra or not.
That is the main parameter. And ultimately when we are in the sadhaka stage, even the transcendental will be experienced through the mind only. Because the mind is the tool by which we think, we feel.
So just like whether I am speaking mundane sound or I am speaking spiritual sound, at the material level that sound is going to manifest through the throat. The throat is the tool for the speech whether it is mundane or it is spiritual. So like that for all emotions, the mind is the tool in the condition stage.
So whether the emotions are material or they are spiritual, they are actually going to come through the mind. So if what I am speaking, how do I decide whether it is spiritual or it is material? It is based on whether it is according to Shastra, then I understand it is spiritual. If it is not according to Shastra, then I understand it is material.
So like that, once the emotions or the experiences come to us, whether they are in harmony with scripture, then we accept that they are spiritual. Or whether they take us closer to Krishna, then we can say they are spiritual. Does it address your question? Yes.