How can we infuse our scriptural study with devotional emotion?

Answer Podcast

Transcript

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So, how do we, when we study Shastra, sometimes it feels like dry Gyan, so how do we infuse it with more emotional content? How can we apply the knowledge which we have, for developing our relationship with Krishna? Yes. We all have to find out what stimulates spiritual emotion within us.
And we focus on that. One of the best stimulants of spiritual emotion that I have found is Vaishnava songs. Vaishnava songs have a very beautiful blend of both philosophy and emotion.
And the philosophy absorbs us intellectually, and the emotion absorbs us mentally. Mind is a seat of emotion. And in that way, mayy arpitamano buddhir, what Krishna tells, repeated in the Bhagavad Gita, offer your mind and intelligence to me.
That can be very easily done. Now, even the Sanskrit prayers are also infused with a lot of devotion. But sometimes the verses are complex, and the mood is predominated with Aishwarya.
So, because of which the devotion may not be immediately apparent. So, we can memorise songs, and we don’t have to memorise full songs also. Even one or two lines from a song which we like very much.
One of the lines which I quoted in an earlier class, I like, but I don’t have a song. Aatma dumey dan tu aapade. Aami to tomaara, tumi to amaara, ki kaache ho para dhamane.
It’s one of my favourite lines. I am yours, you are mine. What else do I need to look? So, if we find some line from a prayer or a song or a scripture that resonates with us, we can just take that and cherish that, and recite that.
So, similarly, the Vaishnav songs are mostly in simpler language, Bengali or sometimes in Hindi, mostly Bengali in our tradition. And because the emotion is more directly evident over there, we can more easily access Krishna. Connect with Krishna even using emotions.
Along with that, we can also compose our own prayers. There are the Acharya’s prayers, there are the prayers given in scriptures we should offer. But sometimes the tendency may be to hide behind those prayers.
That means we just recite those prayers and we feel that I have done my part. No, those prayers are meant to infuse devotion. And if sometimes those prayers become mechanical, then we can try to have our own prayers which we offer to the Lord.
And if we are of a more introspective nature, then I have found journaling very helpful. So, whatever are our concerns, we write them down. And then if I journal something that is worrying me, something that is troubling me, something that is agitating me, if I write that down, my thoughts become more organized.
Then when I come in front of the deities and pray, at that time my prayer also becomes more, more concentrated. Not just in terms of concentration when I am offering prayer, but concentrated also in terms of the content. That it’s Krishna, please engage me in your service.
That’s a good prayer. But in general, emotions are evoked by specifics, not by universals. If I say, oh, an Indian has come here.
Okay, maybe if I am an Indian and I like Indians, I may have some emotion. If I say, oh, an Indian from South India has come, it’s more specific. If I am a South Indian, I will be more attracted.
But if you come to know so and so person has come here, then because it’s a specific person, if I like that person, the emotion will evoke much more. So if we offer general prayer to Krishna, Krishna, please engage me in your service. That’s a good prayer, but because it is so general, emotion may not be so evoked.
But if we say, Krishna, I am going for book distribution today. I wish to distribute this many books. Please help me.
Then the more specific the prayer, the more emotion can be invested in it. Now, we shouldn’t usually pray for Krishna. We can pray to Krishna that he gives us a particular result, but we don’t have to make the prayer like a demand.
We say, Krishna, this is what I feel will be a wonderful service to you. So I would like to do it. But whatever is yours, we’ll let it happen.
But please let me serve you enthusiastically in this particular service. So making our, I said composing our own prayers basically means making our prayers specific to our context and our concerns. That evokes emotion.
So another thing that we could do to bring bhava, emotion into our devotion is to associate more with the devotees who have the kind of emotion that we can relate with. There are different devotees who are emotional in different ways also. Now, some devotees just do kirtans and they go into ecstasy in kirtans.
And if that’s the kind of emotion we connect with, then we associate with that kind of devotees. There are other devotees who are more, there are different natures. So they are more subdued.
But still, within that subdued nature, also there is intense devotion. So basically, we have to find out like-minded association, even with respect to the specific of the intense devotion. So different devotees are basically different.
And many devotees may be very advanced, but whether we can relate with them, that is something which we’ll have to find out. So by reciting Vaishnava songs, by composing our own specific prayers, and by associating with devotees who have the kind of emotion that we can connect with, we can also infuse our bhakti with devotion. Thank you very much.
So thank you very much for your kind hospitality over the last few days and the wonderful services that all of you are doing here. At the lotus feet of Shri Radha Gopinath. Thank you very much.
And please forgive any offenses that I may have committed.