​How can we prevent our past conditionings from disturbing our present?

Answer Podcast

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
So, our thoughts are not just choices, but tendencies. Bhakti helps us to make the right choices now, but the past tendencies still trouble us.
Yes, that is true. And the way to deal with them is by not letting the past intrude in the present. That means that there is thoughts, there are desires, there are intentions and then there are actions.
So, thinking, feeling, willing and acting. Now, based on the past impressions, certain thoughts may pop up. If I dwell on them, they will become desires.
If I dwell on them further, they will become intentions. If I dwell on them further, they will become actions. Say, in the past, somebody has done particular activity, you know.
Somebody, say, in the past had a particular habit. And then the thoughts of that habit again come up, even when we are practicing bhakti. And when the thoughts come, when I dwell on it, I want to do it.
But when I further dwell on it, it says, somebody has been alcoholic and that person is recovering from alcohol now. Because of the past alcoholism, the thoughts are going to come. And if I dwell on it, I can just take one drink.
One drink is not a problem. Desire comes up. There is a bar closed by me.
Then it becomes an intention. That person goes in and drinks. So, we have to know that the mind can only propose.
It cannot impose. No matter how strong the impressions are, those impressions are only propositions. They are not impositions.
That means a proposition pops up in the mind. It’s like, say, if I am browsing a particular page and a pop-up window comes up. Now, when the pop-up window comes up right where I am watching, the tendency might be to click it.
But I don’t have to click it. The past impressions are like aggressive pop-up windows. Like sometimes in some computer programs, it says, do you want to install this program? Normally, the default choice is no.
And if you have to click yes, then the choice is yes. But in the case when our conditioning is very strong, the default choice is yes. So, what happens is, if you don’t click no, it’ll automatically happen.
But still, we have that choice. So, it’s not that the program is going to entirely run automatically. Program pops up and if we don’t say no, it’ll just go on and it’ll act.
So, what we need to do is be vigilant enough to not say yes or to say no, whatever it takes. And it is very difficult to empty the mind of illusion. To empty the mind of illusion.
The best way is to crowd illusion out of the mind. To crowd illusion out of the mind means try to have many engaging things to do constructively in life. Maybe we have material responsibilities, maybe we have devotional inspiration, whatever it is.
Fill the life with Krishna. And then the more we fill the mind with Krishna, even when the propositions come up. Okay, I don’t have time for this.
I have to do this, I have to do this, I have to do this. And in that way, we will have greater impetus to neglect those propositions. But even if the impressions come and even if we sometimes succumb to them, the important thing is to not let the relapse discourage us.
Because this is a important point that see, by our past impressions, certain desires may come up. But the desires are like spikes. Like it is, I talked about fear earlier, or the problem.
Similarly, desire also. It is not that desire troubles us 24 hours early. Okay, it might be there mildly 24 hours, but the desires spike up at certain times.
Depending on our particular condition, maybe daily, it may be weekly, it may be monthly, whatever it is. Whatever it may be. The desires spike up at certain times.
So now, when the desires spike up, sometimes they may be irresistible and we might succumb. But after the spike has come and gone, what do we do? We don’t have to lament, why did I do that? Why did I do that? Why did I do that? No, let me start practicing bhakti. By practicing bhakti wholeheartedly, I’ll become purified and next time when the spike comes, I’ll be better equipped to deal with it.
So, the past impressions can create spikes and the spikes may seem irresistible. But the present, when the spikes are not there, what we do, that is very consequential. So, if we do make the right choices and practice bhakti wholeheartedly during the intermediate phases, then we will be able to resist those spikes also.
So, three parts I said. First is that, we recognize that the past impressions they can only create propositions, not impositions and we can say no to them. We can avoid saying yes, we can say no to them.
And the best way to do that is by saying yes to Krishna and filling our consciousness with Krishna. Third part is that even if we succumb to them, what we do after that is important. You know, we may not, we may fall down but we don’t have to fall away.
Fall down means I’m going along and I fall down. Fall away means I just give up the practice of bhakti. So, maya can make us do something wrong.
Maya cannot make us give up practicing bhakti. The right temporary force, it may drag us and make us do something wrong. But after that, we have the choice to come back.
That’s why we should always stay connected with Krishna, no matter what happens. No matter what the past conditionings are, we always stay connected with Krishna. And by the connection with Krishna, we become purified.
Answer your question? So, do we have time to move?