How can we reconcile being sensitive with Prabhupada’s being rigid?

Answer Podcast:

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
So, the mind is the center for all our activities and often the mind is not genuine. So, how can we ensure the mind is genuine when we are doing some activities? We need vittahara niharasi, vittasopanarodase, yogo bhagyamukha.
That means we regulate vittahara in all our activities. So, in general, we live in a very passionate society. Rajasic society.
And the effect of that is our life will also become Rajasic. And it’s not entirely undesirable. First of all, it’s not avoidable entirely.
But, we need to have a framework of sattva in our life. That means if we have a broad plan that, okay, this is the time I’m going to do this, this is the time I’m going to do this, and overall we have a plan. Now, plans may not work, but planning works.
Plans means, okay, I want to do this, I want to do that. Specific things may not work out. Life is unpredictable.
But if we are really planning, that means we have an overall compass for our life. And that does give us a sense of orientation. And that helps us to check whether we are progressing in the right direction or not.
So, overall, we need to have some amount of plan in our life. And that’s how if we have a broad plan in our life, then the mind cannot toss us here and there. I’ll do this, then I’ll do this, then I’ll do this.
So, sometimes we may change certain things. But we have a plan. So, even if the mind is filled with, mind sometimes comes up with impure thoughts and desires, we don’t, if we are busy, then we won’t act on that.
If we leave blanks in our schedule, if we leave blanks, the mind will not only fill in the blank, the mind will overwrite the sentence. The mind will overwrite the sentence. So, we need to be purposefully active.
Now, Prabhupada was busy without being in a hurry. We are always in a hurry without being busy, actually. So, how is that? You know, Prabhupada would do so much.
What he achieved in the last second of the flight was astonishing. But he was not constantly running around, running here and there. How is it? Because internally he was sheltered in Krishna.
So, if we take shelter of Krishna properly via sadhana, now sadhana is not just a ritual. I chant this name number of times, I attend this class, I read this book. No, through these activities we should be able to connect our consciousness to Krishna.
So, we connect our consciousness to Krishna, we can shelter in Krishna, then that will actually connection with Krishna will take us beyond sattva to the sattva. By attaining this, it will keep us in sattva. So, we will be internally calm.
And then, that internal calmness will directly go away. And yes, by the time we will learn again somewhere else, passion comes, agitation comes, then we need to have some sort of spiritual reconnection at the end of the day also. So, every day we begin with the spiritual formation.
That will keep us ready. And if we have, if we are finding ourselves getting too carried away by the mind, then we need to have some things which can immediately bring our consciousness to the spiritual level. Maybe some, taking direction of some attractive deities, singing some christenings and verses, citing some verses, singing some song.
We can do it for a few minutes, like a pause, when we are getting carried away by the mind here and there, just pause ourselves. That will calm us. So, overall, by, the mind is going to be passionate.
That’s the, that’s because of our own past passion with living, that’s because of the outer culture being passionate. But, if we are well connected with Krishna, if we have a plan for our life, overall we do proper planning so that we have an orientation. The mind cannot take us here and there too much.
And, if we root ourselves spiritually, by taking shelter of Krishna and Sadhana, then, we will have the inner strength to resist the mind when it starts coming towards the end. And that’s how we can act purposefully. Did I answer your question? Thank you very much.