How can we help others to not see problems at the bodily level?

Answer Podcast

Transcript

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And second point you made was about the problems which we face. We don’t, we act at the bodily conception.
We act at the level of ahankar, ego, because of which we face the problems. Yes, that is true. At the same time, it is also important that we have certain roles in this world and we can’t deny those roles.
Krishna tells Arjuna in 2.13 of Bhagavad Gita that you are not the body or the soul. But right in the next verse, he tells Arjuna, He refers to Arjuna as Kaunteya, son of Kunti and Bharata, descendant of the Bharata dynasty. Now both these names are related with the body.
Just now Krishna told Arjuna you are not the body and then he is referring to Arjuna by the body names. Why is that? Prabhupada writes in that that belonging to a great family or a great dynasty brings responsibility with it. So we have a fundamental identity as souls.
Along with that, in this world we have functional identities. I may be a mother, I may be a husband, I may be an engineer, I may be an IT professional, whatever it is. And we do have to function at the level of functional identity.
So if the functional identity can inspire us to bring out our best, then that is favourable to our bhakti. So if I am a mother and as a mother I have to mature by helping my child to grow. If that maternal response, identifying myself as a mother can help me to become more responsible, then that is favourable for our bhakti.
So our bodily identification is an obstacle if it blinds us to our spiritual identification. But if our bodily identification inspires us to follow the path of dharma, by which we can rise towards the spiritual level of reality, then it can be favourable also. So especially if somebody is facing a problem and at that time we tell them, this is because of your bodily identification, it can come up as very insensitive.
So at that time, if somebody is concerned about their family situation, we tell them, why are you identifying with your bodily identity? We can come up as very heartless at that time. So at that time, philosophically it is true. When Krishna tells Arjuna, you are not the body, you are the soul.
Krishna tells Arjuna that people in knowledge are not attached to their family. They are not attached to their children. But then when Abhimanyu passes away, Krishna doesn’t tell Arjuna, you have forgotten the Bhagavad Gita.
Krishna is actually very sensitive when Arjuna passes away. So the philosophy, we have to present it in a way, sometimes people’s emotions can bring them towards Krishna. Sometimes people’s emotions can take them away from Krishna.
So we have to be careful that we don’t insensitively speak or do things in such a way that their emotions push them away from Krishna. So by being appropriately sensitive, we can make sure that even amidst their emotions. So I’ll give a simple example for this.
Say somebody has passed away in somebody’s family. At that time, preaching means to comfort the afflicted and to afflict the comforted. So afflict the comforted means somebody is saying, I am very happy in my life.
Prabhupada would say, what are you happy? They are going to old age, they are deceased, there is death. So if somebody is very troubled, somebody’s loved one has passed away, they need to comfort the afflicted. Now actually Krishna is our eternal shelter and Krishna is with your loved one also wherever they are.
Krishna is your Krishna’s guide. Take shelter of Krishna, pray to Krishna so that you can help them. Now that is compassion.
But instead, instead of comforting the afflicted, if we afflict the comforted, then this loved one has passed away, everyone else will pass away like this. All relationships are temporary. We will come off as terribly insensitive and we won’t help people.
So it is true that at one level our relationships are, there is bodily identification that is there. And at the same time, how to elevate people from the bodily consciousness to spiritual consciousness, that is, that requires maturity and sensitivity. Any other questions or comments? Or should we