How can we differentiate between the voices of the mind the intelligence and the Supersoul?

Answer Podcast

Transcript

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One last question. So, how can we know the direction of the Lord when we are facing problems? Is mind speaking, intelligence speaking, super soul speaking? See, the important thing is not to get caught in terms. We can get actually the philosophy which is meant to clarify things, can confuse things.
If we get too much caught in technicalities. So, we have to understand the principles. There is something inside us which drags us down.
There is something inside us which also inspires us to rise up. So, the part of us which drags us down is the mind. It is called as the mind.
The part which guides us up is the intelligence. And Krishna can speak to us as the intelligence also. The dhami buddhi yogam tam.
I give you the intelligence by which you can come to me. So, if we see the chariot body metaphor. The chariot is like the body.
The horses are like the senses. The mind is like the brains. And who is the charioteer? Charioteer is like the? Charioteer.
Intelligence. And if we see in the Bhagavad Gita setting, who is Arjuna’s charioteer? Krishna. Specially Prabhupada in a lecture, initiation lecture, he says that now you have made Krishna the charioteer of your life.
When we surrender to Krishna, when we take initiation, basically when we accept guidance, then we are making Krishna our charioteer. So, the important thing is that instead of bothering too much, where is this voice coming from? Where is this voice coming from? We focus on where is this voice taking me? If I listen to this, what is going to happen? And how do we know where which voice is going to take me? That is from Shastra study. So, if you study Shastra, Shastra basically, scripture helps us to understand which actions have which consequences.
तस्मात् शास्त्रं प्रमाणं दे कार्या कार्य विवस्तितों यात्वा शास्त्र विधानोक्तं कर्म कर्तुं इहारसी Therefore, act according to Shastra. By Shastra, we know what is right and what is to be done and what is not to be done. So, broadly, there are things in our life where what is to be done and what is to be done is not clear.
But there are things in our life where it is clear. To the extent, we do the right thing when it is clear what is the right thing. By that, we are showing Krishna that we want to be guided.
And to that extent, he will guide us about how to decide when things are fuzzy, when things are uncleared. So, that’s the first thing. We do the devotional activities nicely, diligently, that itself will create clarity within us.
And regular scriptural study also sharpens our, not just our intellectual understanding, it also actually sharpens our moral compass. Because we understand, okay, this is what should be done, this is what should not be done. And of course, it’s important to consult.
If there are major decisions in our life, we should consult senior devotees, consult our spiritual guides. And usually when some voice comes from within, the best thing to do is to not act immediately. Neither say yes nor no, just say pause.
Because what happens, an idea comes up, at that time, because the idea has come up, it has a force of newness in it. And at that time, we just can’t evaluate this objectivity. Or just, okay, note it down and put it in, as they put it in the park, keep it waiting.
And come back to it after a day, come back to it after a week. This is a good idea, let me do it. Because at that time what happens, when a new idea comes up, quite often it’s in the mode of passion.
We are creating something. But when we are later in the mode of goodness, sattva guna, there is more objectivity, we can evaluate. And then that also helps us to decide.
So broadly by studying scripture, to sharpen our moral compass, to do the right, by doing the right thing, when we know what is the right thing to do, by taking guidance from others, and by not acting impulsively, we can discern where, which voice will take us. And then we can decide whether to follow a voice or not to follow that voice. Does that answer your question? Thank you.
Great.