How can we serve according to our nature when knowing our nature takes time?

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
Often, we have said that we should start according to our nature.
But then our nature takes time to manifest. How do we stay inspired as a bhakti till then? In general, there are two important points to connect. Most of us, initially when we come to bhakti, we are largely in the mode of passion.
Society around us is passionate. Passion makes clear perception very difficult. Understanding our own nature is quite difficult when we are in passion.
More importantly, in passion, the grass always seems greener on the other side. So, whatever service I am doing, any service we try to do in this world, no service is going to be easy. There are going to be challenges in whichever service we do.
And when we run into challenges, our mind will tell us, this is not your nature. Do some other service. That will be much more easier.
So, the mind is not really concerned with what is our nature. The mind is simply concerned with a shortcut. What is the way of least trouble, the path of least resistance.
So, that’s why in the initial stages of our bhakti, we didn’t bother too much about our nature. We can just do whatever services senior devotees tell us to do. And that way, that also helps us to learn the culture of obedience and discipline.
And by doing services, whatever we are told to do, as we become purified by doing services as well as by practicing sadhana bhakti, then the sattva guna emerges within us. And once the sattva guna emerges, then we can understand ourselves also better. So, then we can differentiate between these two things.
One is the habitual dissatisfaction of the mind because of the difficulties that we face in living. And the long-lasting dissatisfaction or dissatisfaction caused by innate incompatibility. So, that difference, so if while doing a service, continuously we feel dissatisfied, then we may on a much safer ground infer that this may not be my nature.
So, more importantly, we can also observe what we like to do. Because in the Mahabharata itself, when Yaksha and Yudhishthira were discussing, so, Yaksha asked Yudhishthira, no not Yaksha, there are many conversations between Yudhishthira. There is a conversation between Nausha and Yudhishthira.
So, Nausha is a king who has gone into a snake’s body. So, Nausha asked, how do we know the varna of a person? So, he said at that time, 5000 years ago, he said that because there has been intermixing between various varnas, so, people’s varna has become confused. And that’s why we have to observe the individual, look at the qualities and attributes of the person and then determine the varna.
So, that’s why in our case, for many of us, it’s not that our subhava will be crystal clear. Many of us may have multiple talents and multiple interests. So, it’s not that we may be able to crystallize or understand that I have this particular subhava.
So, therefore, it’s better that we observe ourselves and find out which are the things we should feel inspired to do. In general, guna and karma, if we want to understand it in contemporary language, that means we feel comfortable doing a particular activity and that is guna. And karma means we are competent doing that activity.
We like to do it and we are good at doing it. So, we can observe which are those activities. And gradually, we can strive towards doing those services more and more.
And also, another point with respect to serving according to nature, it’s important to know that we are not isolated individuals living in isolation. We are living in a community. And sometimes the community’s needs may be such that even if a particular service is not according to our nature, that is what is required.
Then we should also have that surrender, a sense of responsibility to be willing to do that. But, this is from the individual’s perspective. From the community leader’s perspective, the community leader should also have the maturity to know that ultimately if we want individuals to stably go on in bhakti, they need to be engaged according to their nature.
And gradually, the community should evolve in such a way that devotees can be engaged according to their nature. So, it is best if this is done by our individual observation as well as by consultation of senior devotees who are also observing us and who know us. And over a period of time, it will happen because ultimately beyond our own capacity to perceive, beyond the capacity of our seniors to understand our nature, beyond all this is Krishna.
And Krishna will guide us eventually so that we can serve him in a way that we can continue serving happily throughout our life. So, better not to be hasty about understanding our nature. Let us focus on whatever services we get in the initial stages and also observe so that we can learn what is our nature.
And gradually, in consultation with senior devotees and Krishna’s arrangement, we can come to a level where we can serve according to our nature.