How is always thinking of Krishna practical?

Answer Podcast

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
So, how does this Shoka Tasmat Sarveshu Kaaleshu, always fix your mind on me and do you prescribe beauty of fighting? How does that relate with what we have discussed about controlling and how does that multitasking work? Actually, when Krishna says, always think of me and fight, now there are two things over here.
One is the action, the other is the intention. Now, when we are doing a particular activity, that intention is what is motivating the action. But we are not necessarily always consciously aware of the intention.
Just like say, yesterday Krishna Satcharita brought me from Relic to Charlotte. So now, the intention is there to come here. But at some times, we may be so caught in the traffic.
Should I turn this? Should I turn this way? Who is coming from? Who is coming from there? Now, the intention is what is driving us. But while driving, sometimes we may be caught in the specifics of the action. It’s perfectly fine.
So similarly, when Krishna says, Is it that when Arjuna was in the thick of the battle, at every moment, it’s not that to be a bhakta means like we have to be some kind of schizophrenic. Half of the mind is thinking of Krishna, half of the mind is thinking of the work. No, rather our intention is to serve Krishna and that intention is what motivates us.
And sometimes, we may be caught in the nitty-gritties of actions. Like we say, when we are in class. Now, we are speaking about Krishna, but it is not always that we are constantly thinking about Krishna.
Sometimes we are looking at, are people understanding? What are people’s response? Now, how can I speak this in a way that people can understand? Sometimes we may be thinking more about the people and how to communicate the message to them. Then we are specifically thinking about Krishna, which is fine because our intention is to serve Krishna. So, at first level, the intention is spiritualized by our direct devotional activities.
And secondly, we work according to that intention in the mood of service to Krishna. But the later part is, What that means is that initially, Krishna is at the background of our awareness. You know, where God exists.
Many people say, God exists. He is there. I am here.
He is happy there. I am happy here. So, they feel God doesn’t matter really much.
Yes, God exists, but He is somewhere in the background of our awareness. But as we keep practicing bhakti, Krishna starts coming from the background to the foreground of our awareness. So, initially, when we are doing some activities, say, when people start public speaking for the first time, they are very self-conscious.
You know, how are people looking at me? Am I conducting myself properly? Am I pronouncing properly? They are very self-conscious. But if you keep doing public speaking regularly over a period of time, what happens is, the setting doesn’t matter so much. The substance matters.
What am I speaking? So, like that, as we keep practicing bhakti regularly, the specific activity that we are doing, we still do it well, but Krishna starts coming more and more in the foreground. So, this will happen by the practice of bhakti. So, it’s not that in order to remember Krishna, we have to be half-hearted in what we are doing.
Whatever activity we are doing, we do it responsibly. We do it diligently. We do it wholeheartedly.
At the same time, by our remembrance of Krishna exclusively during our sadhana, that Krishna will always be there at the background. By our studying the philosophy regularly, we remember Krishna is the ultimate purpose of what I am doing. And that way, Krishna is there at the background of our awareness and from there, He keeps coming towards the foreground.
So, mayi arpita mano buddhir means, the inner world, the mind and intelligence are offered to Krishna. That means, Krishna has come at the center of our inner world. So, in the external world, whatever is happening, actually Prabhupada left Vrindavan to go to America, to come to America.
But actually, that’s only in an external sense. Prabhupada did not leave Vrindavan to come to America. Prabhupada carried Vrindavan with him to America.
Because the pure devotee may leave the dham, but the dham never leaves the pure devotee. The pure devotee carries the dham. So, like that, Krishna was mayi arpita mano buddhir.
Wherever He was, He was having the same vraja mood of serving Krishna selflessly. So, that way, the process of bhakti involves not exactly multitasking. We can in certain situations do multitasking also if that’s what helps us to best focus and be productive.
But the process of bhakti is more of redirecting our intention. Initially, we are doing things for our pleasure, for our gratification, for our ego. But now we do it for Krishna.
And as Krishna becomes our intention, then that mayi maam anusmara, remember me. So, usually we start our day, end our day with remembrance of Krishna. And as we keep moving onwards, then gradually, throughout the day also, throughout the activities also, we remember Krishna more and more.
So, Krishna comes in the foreground of our awareness as we become more and more Krishna centred. Does it answer the question?