How Krishna steals our distresses

[Congregation program at Laguna Beach, USA]

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This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
Hare Krishna. Can you hear me behind? No, okay, okay fine. Maybe some of you want to come here.
You can sit here also. Let’s place here. Please come.
So thank all of you for coming here today evening and I’ll speak today on the topic of how Krishna steals away our distresses. Krishna is known as a thief and there’s a whole Ashtakam which glorifies Krishna as a thief. It is called as a Chauragra Ganya Ashtakam.
Chauragra Ganya means that one who is the greatest of thieves and normally if we say somebody is a thief, I’m not a thief. You say somebody, you’re a great thief. Is that a compliment or insult? Sometimes some people are so clever that they insult someone in such a way that the person doesn’t even understand I’m insulted.
So, but sometimes some people must be so clever that they speak an appreciation in a way that it sounds like an insult. And actually it’s not an insult. It’s a pleasure.
It’s a compliment. The words and their meanings change. So, I was at a devotee’s house recently and then they served some Prasad.
So, they asked how was the Prasad? So, I said it was sinfully delicious. So, normally the word sinful is considered to be bad, but nowadays as words have changed their meanings, actually the word sinful is used to something which is very, very delicious, very good. So, words and their meanings change.
So, I was in London and I gave a class. The difficult question answers were there. So, I answered the question.
After that the preacher was there. He said, Prabhu, you killed it. I said, what did I kill? Was I sitting on some insect and I killed that insect? What happened? Now, you killed it is actually a compliment and it comes from the context of hunting.
If somebody is a good hunter, they shoot a flying prey, a running prey and kill it. Of course, there’s harshness over there. But you killed it conveys a compliment.
Similarly, devotees sometimes glorify Krishna in ways that appear to be not glorification and that is called as Vyajastuti. Vyajastuti means that it is criticism that appears to be like praise. It is actually praise that appears to be like criticism.
So, this way of glorification actually is meant to express the devotion in an artistic, creative, eloquent way. So, there is a poet who says to Krishna that Gopala iti matvaatam prachurakshira vanchaya. He says, I heard a lot that you are Gopal and Gopal means you must have a lot of cows and if you have a lot of cows, that means you must have a lot of milk.
So, I thought I will come to you and I will take milk away from you. I thought I will get a lot of milk from you and I will either ask for some milk or I will steal some milk. But when I came to you, oh Lord, what did you do? Shrito matu stanakshiram api labdham nishaknu yaad.
But actually you stole away even my mother’s breast milk from me. Now, what does it mean you stole away mother’s breast milk? That means that when I became attracted to you, I won’t have to take birth again. If I don’t take birth again, then I won’t have to drink my mother’s breast milk again.
So, here the devotee is saying that the Lord’s attraction towards the Lord is such that actually we lose, but in losing we gain. So, similarly in the Chauragraha Ganya Ashtakam, what happens? The devotee is glorifying the Lord and he says dhanam cha manam cha. He says, you take away my wealth, you take away my honour and you make me gehahinam pathihinam.
He says, you make me without a home and without a path. Sometimes some people may just abduct someone and then they steal from that person and leave them at the street. They don’t know where to go, what to do.
But at least, okay, you can find out. Okay, this is I am here. This is the path.
I can go back home. But Krishna, you are such a person. He says that you steal away your home, steal away the home and then steal away the path also.
So, you don’t even know how to go back home. So, now what does this mean? Actually, Krishna is svarudham sarva-bhutanam. He is the well-wisher of all living beings and that is why whatever he does is for the good of everyone.
However, how it is for the good of someone, that may require time to perceive. And in the intermediate period, it may appear as if the devotee is suffering and sometimes it may appear as if the devotee is suffering because of the devotion to the Lord. So, but through what seems to be like adversity, the Lord arranges for the devotee’s glorification, for the devotee’s liberation, for the devotee’s elevation.
So, in general, when we function in the world, we don’t function based on the reality of the situation. There is a physical reality and there is a mental perception of the physical reality and we respond to situations based on the mental perception of the physical reality. That means if we are in a desert and we see a mirage.
Now, actually there is no water over there but it appears as if there is some water and then we will run towards it. Now, why do we run towards it? Because although the physical reality is there is no water, the mental perception is that there is water. That means the soul is here, the mind is here and the physical object is here.
The soul doesn’t interact with the physical object as it is. The soul interacts based on the way the mind is perceiving it. And sometimes the mind’s perception is wrong.
Like in the case of physical reality, when there is a mirage, although the mind interprets there is water, there is no water over there. Physical reality is there is no water. The perception is there is water.
So, only when we look not just at the physical reality as it is filtered through the mind but we look at it with our intelligence, then we will be protected. So, maya, that means to that which is not and maya is actually not just a illusion in perception. There is the physical objective which is pursued and it is pursued by the mind based on the conceptions that are present in the mind.
So, we all have different conceptions present in our mind. So, for example, if you are hungry, if you want delicious food. Now, say for a South Indian, as soon as in delicious food, they may think, okay, idli sambar.
For a Punjabi, they say, oh, paratha. For a Gujarati, they will say khakra or dhokla or whatever. So, now food is the same.
The principle of eating is the same but which food the mind will perceive as delicious and which the food the mind will perceive as not so delicious. That will vary from person to person. And sometimes the same food, one person will say, hey, this is wonderful.
Other person will say, okay, it’s okay. So, they may just not like it. Why? Now, it is not that the food is not delicious.
The food may be, food is what it is but it is based on the mental conceptions that are there in the person. Certain things appear delicious, certain things don’t appear delicious. So, the physical reality in the world is what it is.
In the world, there is sometimes happiness, there is sometimes distress. And as we grow through life, Krishna is telling us in the life journey, be equipoised amongst both. na praharishet priyam prapya, nodhvijet prapya cha priyam sthirabuddhir asamudho, brahma vid brahmanistha taha.
Just stay equipoised in happiness and distress both. And then you can, in this way, be spiritually situated. So, what does he mean over here? He’s saying that actually sometimes we’ll get desirable things and sometimes we’ll get undesirable things.
In fact, misery can be simply defined in two ways. If somebody says, oh, I’m happy. Actually, we can challenge people that nobody can be happy in this world.
This doesn’t mean to say that they are that this, they’re not being optimistic or we are not being, sorry, we’re not being pessimistic. It’s just that if we consider misery means that if we get the things that we don’t want and we don’t get the things we want. The simple two-point definition of misery.
yasmat priya priyaviyoga sanyoga janma, shokagnina sakalayoni shuddhah yamana, dukha ushadham tadapi dukkham atadhyaham, bhumandramami vadhame tava dasya yogam. Prahlad Maharaj, in his prayers to Narasimhadeva says that there are priya and apriya objects in this world. There’s a desirable and undesirable and we want sanyoga with the priya and viyoga with the apriya.
We want to unite with that which is desirable and separate from that which is undesirable. But instead what happens in this world is we unite with the undesirable and we separate from the desirable. And because of this shokagnina sakalayoni shuddhah yamana.
We go through great distress, constant distress. Every time something undesirable comes, oh, this is so bad and something desirable goes away. Oh, this is so bad.
So Krishna is telling become distanced from these things. Don’t be elated when the desirable comes. Don’t be dejected when the undesirable comes.
Now, how is this possible? He says this is by spiritual understanding. na praharshet priyam prapya no dvijet prapya ca priyam sthira buddhir asam mudho When the intelligence becomes fixed. So, there are three things over here.
There is the external situation that is coming upon us. And some situations seem desirable, some situations seem undesirable. So, there is the physical situation, there is a mental conception and there is the intellectual conviction.
So, the physical situation is what it is. Our mind has certain conceptions of what is good and what is bad. But beyond that there is an intellectual conviction.
So, the whole process of bhakti yoga is about changing our inner response to outer situations. And this will help us to respond best to the outer situations. So, when distresses come in our life, when distressful situations come, how do we respond to them? Normally, we try to avoid them, we try to get rid of them and this shouldn’t be happening.
If I get some disease, if I get some cough, say I am speaking and I get some cough, then I will try to restrain, repress the cough. I don’t want to cough, I don’t want to disrupt my class if I am speaking. But then the cough keeps coming, keeps coming.
So, first when the problem comes, we just try to wish it away, try to thrust it aside. But if the cough keeps persisting, persisting, then what happens is that we try to get rid, we try to suppress it first, or we try to get rid of it. We go to a doctor, take medicine or sometimes we just take some medicine for throat, at least calm the problem now, I will deal with it later.
And then, if that doesn’t work, then we start feeling frustrated. What is this happening? Why is this thing coming in my way? It is not allowing me to move forwards. So, if we consider that Krishna is ultimately in control of everything, now that doesn’t necessarily mean that everything that happens is good.
There are bad things that happen in life. There is a commonly quoted Gita Saar, which says that, Jo Hua, Ho Achha Hua. So, whatever happened is good, whatever is happening is good, whatever will happen is good.
However, I have read the Bhagavad Gita hundreds of times, I have not found a single verse anywhere like this. The Bhagavad Gita is not about what is happening to us. The Bhagavad Gita is about how we are responding.
Krishna has asked Arjuna, what is my duty? What is the right course of action for me? And bad things do happen in life. It is not that when Abhimanyu is killed, Krishna goes to Arjuna and says, whatever happened is good. No, he doesn’t do that.
He acknowledges that bad things have happened, but he says the wise people do not lament the way foolish people lament amidst adversity. He says wise people rise above adversity by their sense of duty. He says that you have a duty to your brothers, you have a duty to your citizens.
Persevere in that duty and do not let this adversity down you. So, bad things can happen. Now, I am talking about two different things over here, but leading to the same conclusion.
One is that I said that our mental conception determines how we perceive the situation. Second I said is, some situations can be genuinely bad. Sometimes the problem may not be there, but our mind may perceive it as a problem.
Or the mind’s conception itself may be the problem. Like there is, I am going along a road, I may get to an oasis and I may drink water over there. But I go off towards a mirage.
Then there is the problem which is created by the mental conception itself. But other is, actually there is a problem. I have been going in a desert for a long time, I have not found water and I don’t know what to do.
The physical situation is also a problem. But either situation, it is how we respond internally that matters. So, when it is said that Krishna you steal away everything from a devotee.
What does it mean? That means that actually Krishna steals the things that steal our consciousness away from Him. Krishna steals away from us the things that steal our consciousness away from Him. So, in this world there are many things which attract us.
And they give us shelter. And the shelter that we get is fine from these things. But if we think of these as the ultimate shelter, then we don’t go towards Krishna.
We need food. And there is food is provided, we eat food, we get nourishment. But if somebody starts thinking food is the ultimate goal of life.
Food is the important goal of life, but food is not the ultimate goal. So, they will get distracted by food. Suppose a student gets into a top university, like say Ivy League college.
And after getting into the Ivy League college, they are constantly thinking, where can I get good food to eat? And throughout their four years in college, the main concern is, oh, where is there a good hotel, good canteen? Where can I get good food to eat? Well, you could have got good food anywhere in the world. If you are in Ivy League college, then you are meant to do something much better. Look for good food, but don’t make that the primary goal.
The primary goal should be to look for good education. To look for the education that will launch a great career in future. So, there are problems and we need solutions for the problems.
Everybody, whether they are in Ivy League university or whether they are in ordinary college or whether they are illiterate, everybody needs food. And need for food has to be addressed. But if when a person is in Ivy League college, the need for food becomes their driving, defining activity.
Then they are missing out on something much higher. So, similarly for us, when we face problems, at that time, Why is this problem here? I want to get rid of this problem. That becomes the driving focus of our consciousness.
And sometimes we may be able to get rid of the problem, sometimes we may just not be able to get rid of the problem. And if we let our consciousness get bogged down into the problem, Why is this happening? Why is this problem here? Why is this problem here? Then, problems have a peculiar quality that the more we obsess over them, the bigger they become. What does it mean? The problem is what it is.
Say, I have got some disease. Say, I have lost my job. I have got some relationship conflict with someone.
Now, this is a problem that is out there. But when the mind obsesses on it, oh, this is the problem, this is the problem, this is the problem. Why is this person doing like this? Why is this happening? As we keep resenting the problem, what happens is, the problem seems to become bigger and bigger and bigger and bigger in our consciousness.
There is a survey done in America itself. Children were born in wealthy families and children were born in poor families. They were all asked to draw a one dollar note.
And they found that almost throughout, all children who were born in wealthy families, they drew the one dollar note smaller. And those who were poor, they drew the one dollar note bigger. Why was that? Because for those poor kids, that one dollar dominated their consciousness much more.
So, the one dollar note is what it is. But for them, because the lack of money was a much more acutely felt problem, so the mental image of that was much bigger. And that came out as the physical representation being bigger.
So, the problem is what it is. We all have problems in life. But our mental conception can make the problem much bigger than what it needs to be.
Last year when I had come to America, I had gone to a temple and I was giving a programme. And just before that programme, one devotee from India had written an outrageous mail. And I was so angry with that devotee.
I was just thinking, how could he have written like this? How could he have said this? This is going on and on and on in my mind. So, before the programme I was quite annoyed. And then after the programme, people sometimes ask questions.
Some people ask questions publicly. Some people want to talk privately and ask questions. And some people want to ask questions to gain knowledge.
And some people want to ask questions to show knowledge. And the question goes on for a long time. So now, after having interacted with many people for many years, we can make out, this person is actually going to take a lot of time and they are not really interested in learning.
So, then there was one person like that. I was just trying to end the interaction politely and move on to others who had some questions. And as I was trying to end that interaction, it just struck me, this person is right here next to me and I don’t want to, I am trying so much, I am trying so much to not give this person more time than what is necessary.
But there is that person thousands of miles away in India and I am thinking so much of that person. Why is this person doing like this? Why is this person doing like that? So, I am not ready to give my time to someone who is physically in front of me and yet I am giving so much of my time to a person who is far away from me. Sometimes when you don’t like someone, you say, I don’t want to talk with you.
We may say like that, I don’t want to talk with you. But then inside our mind is talking at them, you know. How did you do like this? You are so, so foolish.
You are this, you are that, you are that. Our mind is just going on and on and we are giving them our mind. We are giving them our time.
So, now that person’s behaviour is what it is. And okay, when I get to interact with them, I will deal with them. Deal with it.
But if I keep dwelling on it, if I keep resenting it, getting agitated over it, then that will become a bigger problem than what it needs to be. So, it is the way our mind functions which can create problems where none exist and it can also make problems bigger than what they need to be. Now, when we try to practise Bhakti, also problems come in our life.
And when these problems come, how we respond to them, that is what is meant to be reshaped by the practise of Bhakti. So, the practise of Bhakti is meant to give us a fresh perspective of things. So, if you look at scriptures, I just now, we had Ram Navami and I was in Phoenix, so I spoke elaborately on the Sundarkand of how Hanuman’s adventurous service in his devotion to Ram.
So, there we see this principle that whatever, like say Hanuman went into Lanka and initially Ravana didn’t offer him any seat. So, what did he do? He made his tail so big that he was sitting on a seat higher than Ravana. And this was not to insult Ravana, he said that I am a representative, I am representing Ram.
And he is a great prince, he is a member of the dynasty of the Raghus, so he deserves honour. And when that honour was not provided, he sought that honour. That honour was not for himself, it was for Lord Ram.
And then what happened? That very gesture made Ravana so angry that Ravana decided to burn his tail. At this point, Hanuman could have felt, I did this for the sake of honouring Ram. And that very thing has aggravated my situation.
Now, his own tail was going to be burnt. And it was not that when Hanuman went into Lanka, he had a complete blueprint of what he was going to do. No, he just went there with his determination to serve the Lord and he just acted at that time according to situation.
So, when they started burning his tail, the tail is a part of the body and there is sensation in it. It is like if our hair is burnt, because the hair may not have that much sensation, when the fire starts touching the body, then we start feeling its burn. Like somebody cuts the hair, we don’t feel it because the hair itself doesn’t have sensation.
When somebody pulls out the hair, we feel it. But the tail is not a part of the body like that. Tail has sensation.
So, he was just ready to gird himself and tolerate the pain. And as this was happening, actually his tail was so big. And the tail is like the parts of the body which are meant for our proper functioning.
The tail is not made of easily inflammable material. So, they had to put some cloth, they had to put some oil, they had to put some ghee and lot of it. And they put it so that they could cause the tail to catch fire.
And they did that and started burning. And Hanuman was ready to tolerate the pain. But as he was ready to tolerate the pain, there was whole of Lanka which was eager to know what is happening.
Because this was the most exciting event that had happened inside Lanka. All of Ravana’s exploits had been outside. He would go here and conquer there, he would go there and conquer there.
Nobody would have dared to attack Lanka. And here, there was one monkey which had come and it created havoc. So, all the Vanaras were eager, all the Rakshasas and everybody was eager to know.
So, whatever was happening inside, the code was being reported outside. And there was Vibhishana’s wife. She was there with Sita and she had her messengers.
And she kept reporting what is happening. So, Sita felt so worried, so concerned when she came to know that Hanuman has been caught. And then when she heard that Hanuman’s tail was going to be burnt, at that time, she started praying, praying, praying.
She says, O Agni, O Agnideva, if I have ever done any punya, please don’t let Hanuman feel any pain. Don’t burn his tongue. And at one moment, Hanuman was feeling that heat, painful sensation.
And next moment, it disappeared because of Sita’s prayer. And he thought, what happened? And he understood. Oh, this must be mother Sita praying for me.
It is her blessings that I am protected. Now, the Rakshasas were thinking that actually they are burning his tongue. And burning his tongue, they were wondering, why is he not screaming in pain? What is happening? They thought maybe he is just concealing his pain.
They kept lighting the fire. And more and more of his tail was burning. Now, little did they know that the tail that they were burning was going to burn all of them.
So, now, after the tail was fully lit on fire, what did Hanuman do? Jai Shri Ram! He just yelled, called out loudly and jumped up. And they were all so taken aback. They thought he is going to be humiliated, be tormented, even die.
He just jumped up and he bent on top of a building and his long tail went all over the building. And set the building on fire. And then one building, second building, third building.
Now, what was Hanuman doing by burning Lanka like this? He wanted to send a message to Ravana as well as the other Rakshasas over there that the opponents are very powerful. Generally, war can be avoided in multiple ways. Either you both come to an agreement.
This is what you want, this is what I want. We come to an agreement. And as long as one person feels that this other person is not a big threat for me.
This first person may not at all be ready for any discussion or reconciliation. What can you do to me? I will do what I want, you can’t do anything to me. But when this person A understands this person B is also very powerful.
Then, person A comes to senses. I can’t just take this person for a ride. I have to do something serious.
I have to consider what to do. So, sometimes exhibiting one’s power, having powerful weapons and exhibiting that power is a way to deter the other person from a destructive course of action, from a confrontationalist course of action. If you see that in the 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, there were many many wars.
But once nuclear weapons were developed, then what happened? Nuclear weapons started acting as a deterrent. In India, Pakistan also, India, China also, this tension is always there. But there has been no full out war.
Of course, below the radar war can always be happening. But full out war doesn’t happen because both parties know they have got nuclear weapons. They will destroy us or they will destroy us.
So, deterrence is not the healthiest way to maintain peace. Better that we have cordial relationship. But sometimes that is not possible.
Deterrence is what is required. So, what was Hanuman doing by this? He was actually, by devastating Lanka with his burning tongue, burning tail, he was conveying a message to the Rakshasas, to Ravana. And if not to Ravana, at least to the other Rakshasas.
That Ram’s forces are formidable. In fact, when he had set half of Lanka practically on fire, then he went and stood on the border wall of Lanka, and from there in his huge form he proclaimed to all the Rakshasas, he said, I am the smallest of the servants of Ram. And many soldiers bigger than me will come and they will destroy you unless you return Sita.
So, that was his point. But of course, that is a different story. Our point in the discussion was that, the same tail which Hanuman had used to honour Ram, to get a position for honouring Ram, that very tail seemed to have become the cause of his trouble.
Because that was set to fire. But the very thing which had become the cause of his trouble, that eventually became the cause of not only his release from trouble, but he, that which would have been his cause of suffering, became the source of his victory. And how did that happen? Nobody would have planned that.
It just worked. There is a higher plan going on. The Lord’s plan was there.
So, in a sense, initially it appeared as if, Ravana thought that monkeys are very proud of their tails, and this monkey is very proud of his tail. He made a big seat for himself. I will burn his tail.
So, it appeared as if Hanuman’s service to Ram was going to cause terrible pain to Hanuman, that his tail was going to be burnt. But actually, through the burning of the tail, the Lord was arranging for releasing Hanuman. So, when sometimes distresses come in our life, when problems come in our life, if we just get caught in the problem, if Hanuman had simply got caught in the problem, Oh, you know, why is my tail burning? Why is my tail burning? I got into trouble.
Oh, I came here to serve Ram. I am in this trouble. Now, if he had got caught in that, then he would have missed the opportunity.
But his purpose always remained, how can I serve the Lord? Similarly for us, sometimes there is a problem in our life and we get caught in the problem. Why is this here? Why is this here? Why is this here? And if we get caught in the problem, then we feel less and less capable of dealing with the problem. The problem seems to become bigger and bigger and bigger and we feel powerless.
We feel disempowered. We get disheartened. But if instead of letting our consciousness be caught in the problem, we raise our consciousness above, to Krishna.
Problem or no problem? I am the servant of Krishna. Krishna, please guide me. How can I serve you in this situation? Then that service attitude helps us find a way ahead from the problem.
So Krishna, he sometimes comes to steal away a bigger problem from our life. But for that, he comes and seems to be giving a smaller problem. Of course, it’s not Krishna who is giving the problem.
It is our own karma which is causing the problem. But it is Krishna who is orchestrating that karma to help free us from some bigger problem. So we may not be able to see what that problem is that Krishna is protecting us from.
And that’s why for us as devotees, if we understand that Krishna can work in inconceivable ways, that the very thing which seems to be the cause of our problem, that can very well become the source of release from our problem. Vipattau tatsya sampatti. That, actually that which is adversity, that will become a prosperity.
So that understanding is what helps a devotee to persevere in the practise of bhakti when problems come up. So when difficulties come, it’s not that we can always be positive in terms of everything is good. No, everything may not be good.
As I said, bad things happen. Even if we can’t be grateful for all situations, we can be grateful in all situations. Grateful for all situations means whatever is happening is so wonderful, I am grateful for that.
But that’s not possible. Sometimes bad things do happen. But we can be grateful in all situations.
How? Say for example, if I get a disease. Now it’s difficult for me to be grateful for the disease. It’s causing me pain, it’s causing me expenses, it is disrupting my plans.
But even at that time I can be grateful that at least there is a treatment for this disease. I am having competent doctors, I am having supportive family members, I am supporting community, I am having health insurance or whatever. In every situation, we can either look at the problem and feel sorry for ourselves.
There are bad things that happen. If we keep looking at the bad things, we will become negative. But even in that negative, we can look at the other positive things that are there in our life.
And not only can we look at the other positive things that are there in our life, we can also deal with this negative thing. This negative thing is there, but there are positive things which will help you to deal with the negative things. And thirdly, if we perceive in the service of Krishna, it may turn out that that negative thing was for a positive purpose.
I will understand. Parikshit Maharaj was a responsible king. And what happened to him was just a small mistake.
Sometimes karma works in mysterious ways. Normally we say the law of karma means to every action there is an equal reaction. So if I do A, I will get the reaction B. But Krishna also says Gahana Karmanogati.
Gahana Karmanogati in 4.17 says that the ways of the working of karma are very complex. Now why are they complex? Because the action A doesn’t necessarily lead to reaction B in a linear sense. Yes, action A will have a reaction.
But the connection between A and B will be determined by many factors. Primarily that person’s own past karma, their own destiny. And that’s why A may not lead to B. Like a simple example we can take say, normally when we eat food, we get strength.
If we overeat, we become obese. So nowadays obesity is a big concern for many people. But if you see there are some people who may just eat a little and doctors say they are genetically disposed towards obesity.
They just eat a little and their body seems to balloon up. And there are others who treat their tongue like a conveyor belt. They just keep eating but they still remain slim and thin.
Now what is happening over here? Some people may say that, some people start smoking and say that. I met one person, he says, 40 years everyday I have been smoking but no health problem. He told me that and 6 months he had lung cancer later.
But the point is there is action A and there is reaction B. But our past karma determines the time lag between A and B. That means, some people by their past karma may be destined to have a healthy body. And even if they eat too much, even if they eat inappropriately, even if they have some bad habits such as smoking, still their body may stay healthy. Still their body may stay thin and slim.
Some people by destiny may be meant to have a sickly body. And then a little improper eating, it leads to a lot of problems. So actions lead to reactions.
But which action will lead to what reaction, that is something which we can’t predict. Because the connection, the specific connection between one action and another action and its reaction are determined by past karma. That’s why some people, they may just, while driving they do a lot of things.
They sometimes look at their phones, they do this, do that and nothing happens. But recently there is one devotee who is a police cop and he told me that he was a young boy, a young boy who was driving his car and while driving the car some sports match was going on. And something happened, he started looking at the update on the phone and it was something so unexpected.
The upper team had hit a home run, it was a baseball match. So the opponent team had suddenly hit a home run or something. And he lost awareness.
And then what happened is his car just veered off and at that time there was a passerby walking on the road. Just rammed into him. And it was not fatal but still it was a serious crime.
There was just one moment of inattention. But in this case what happened that one moment of inattention had a very severe consequence. Some people, they may just sleep while driving also.
But then what happens is their car just hits the side and they wake up and they come back. So sometimes our small mistakes may lead to big reactions and sometimes big mistakes may also apparently give no reactions. I am talking about this for what purpose? Parikshit Maharaj, for him it was a small indiscretion.
He felt tormented by thirst and because of that thirst when the sage did not give him water, did not even offer him basic hospitality, we all go through, we all have our weak moments. Sometimes some people just nag us too much and when they nag us what happens is that we may be able to tolerate it. Tolerate this much, that much, that much, that much.
But sometimes the tolerance just exceeds its limit and then we explode. And among the different anarthas, there is lust, there is anger, there is greed, there is envy and anger has a distinctive characteristic. If I have greed, it is for a particular object.
I want this phone, I want this car, I want this house, I want this gadget, whatever it is. So the object of the, whatever is the object that is stimulating the desire that also becomes our target. I want this object.
In lust also it is like that. But in anger, quite often the source of anger and the target of anger are two different things. When greed is there, the source of that greed and the target of the greed are the same.
I want this gadget, I want this new dress, I want this, I want that. But in anger, this person irritates me, this person irritates me, this person irritates me. And then the fourth person says a small thing and all the accumulated anger from the past three people just comes out on this person.
Hey, what did I do? You didn’t do anything but it was something which carried over from the other three people. So what happened? This person’s small little complaint or small little issue that caught us at a weak moment. And that’s how we hit out.
So similarly, at that time Parikshit Maharaj was at a weak moment. He was tormented by thirst and he got irritated and he lived to honour the Brahmanas. He lived to protect Brahminical culture.
But at that time he just got agitated and he put a snake over there on this sage’s neck. And what happened? When he did that to Shyamakrishi, then Shyamakrishi was not angry but Shrinji got angry and he cursed him. So what is this? He was cursed to die.
Punishment, if wrongdoing is there, punishment has to be there. But one principle in justice is proportionality. If somebody has done something wrong, the punishment should be proportionate to the crime.
It should not be excessive. Right now there is this whole, in cricket there is this ball tampering scandal that is going on. And then the cricketers have been sentenced.
Now some people are saying, oh this punishment is right. Others are saying, no this is disproportionate. So many people have done ball tampering in the past.
Why are they being targeted so much? So the principle is that whenever there is a problem, whenever some wrongdoing is there, the justice has to be proportionate. The punishment has to be proportionate. That is the first honour.
But he was cursed to die. Now what did Parishad Maharaj do at that time? A bad thing happened to him. He, rather than resenting, why has this happened? He just took shelter of Krishna.
One good thing in my life is that I had the shelter of Krishna. And he saw that that bad thing that has happened, that has happened so that I can take more shelter of Krishna. And he absorbed himself in Krishna and thus the supreme good happened.
He attained supreme devotion to Krishna and he attained Krishna. So, at one level we could say that Parishad Maharaj is a pure devotee and everything that happens to him is arranged by the Lord. That’s fine.
That’s one way. Another way of looking at it is if you want to learn some lessons for ourselves is that sometimes in our weak movements we may do certain things which we would normally never do and sometimes for some small indiscretion there might be a big consequence. But even in that situation if we don’t get caught in the mistake why did this happen? Why did I do that? Why did they do that? Rather we try to direct our consciousness towards Krishna.
Sometimes we can find many good things in our life even at the material level. Even if I have some sickness at least I have some health insurance. I have people around me who will help me.
And then beyond that we can look at what is spiritually right in our life. Everybody is going to grow old. Everybody will get diseased.
Everybody will have to face death. But we have the opportunity to take shelter of Krishna. We have the knowledge of some reality that is bigger than death.
We have the knowledge of life that will continue beyond the destruction of this temporary body. And when we focus on that then we will find that Krishna can bring good even out of the bad. So we can’t be expected to as I said be grateful for every situation.
Sometimes bad things do happen. But we can be grateful in all situations by directing our consciousness towards Krishna. By focussing on Krishna and seeing the good that our Krishna connection offers to us.
machittah sarva-durgani mat-prasadah tarisyase If we become conscious of Krishna by his grace we will pass over all obstacles. And if we focus none of us want bad things to happen. And that’s perfectly reasonable expectation.
That’s perfectly natural expectation. But if we make bad things not happening as a precondition for our devotion then our devotion will be interrupted by the bad things happening. But if we say that whatever happens I will try to serve Krishna.
I will try to use my best intelligence to avoid bad things from happening. If some bad thing is happening I will take the preventive measures or the corrective measures to minimise the effect. But beyond that I will stay connected with Krishna.
I will take shelter of Krishna. To the extent we make this connection with Krishna as our primary purpose in life. That doesn’t necessarily mean that we have to give the maximum time to it.
We have many other duties. But we understand that my life’s ultimate purpose is loving Krishna, serving Krishna, connecting with Krishna. To the extent we do that to that extent we will find that through the problems that come in our life Krishna will make us stronger.
And ultimately the problems of life will save us There are problems of life. There is this relationship misunderstanding. There is this disease.
There is this professional upheaval. There is this job loss. These are all problems of life.
But more fundamentally material existence itself is a problem. The problem that is life where we are prone to one problem after another, after another. If we focus on connecting with Krishna in all situations then we will become free from this problem ultimately.
I’ll conclude with one quote and one example. The Prabhupada writes in the 7th Canto Purport that one must always be healthy and stout in mind and intelligence to distinguish the purpose of life from a life full of problems. To distinguish the purpose of life from a life full of problems.
What does this mean? When problems come we think that tackling that problem is the purpose of my life. I got this disease or curing the disease is the problem of my life. I lost my job.
Getting that job is the problem of my life. It’s the purpose of my life. Yes, we have to get a job.
We have to cure the disease. The relationship issue is there. We have to deal with the issue.
But that is not our life’s defining purpose. Our life’s defining purpose is to serve Krishna. But we don’t let our mind get obsessed with that issue.
An example for this, if we are in the ocean and suddenly some stormy waves start coming. Now everybody when they are in the ocean they would like to have a smooth, comfortable travel. And naturally if stormy waves start coming we will get a little disoriented by that.
We will get disturbed by that. So if some person says, the stormy waves are coming over here. That part of the ocean looks comfortable, looks peaceful.
Let me go over there. And we go over there, again stormy waves come over there. And then we go over there.
Oh, but stormy waves are coming there also. So like that, if when we are in the ocean if our purpose is to just avoid stormy waves, we will stay forever in the ocean. And eventually, our ship’s fuel will run out and we will sink.
So my purpose is I have to get to the land. If some stormy waves are very very strong, I may have to change course a little bit. But otherwise, even if the stormy waves are there, I will persevere.
If my purpose is to get to the land, then my trajectory is determined not simply by avoiding storms. My trajectory is determined by how I can get to the land. Similarly for us in life, if we define our life’s trajectory by simply trying to avoid problems.
Oh, I don’t want this issue, I don’t want this issue, yes, a stormy wave has come, we have to deal with it. But we don’t let that consume our consciousness. We focus on trying to serve Krishna.
And while trying to serve Krishna, whatever is required, we do to deal with that situation. In that way, we’ll find that not only we’ll be able to deal with the stormy waves and the consciousness absorbed in Krishna, but actually we will be moving towards Krishna. And whereas in the case of stormy waves, the storm is simply obstructing us.
But in the case of the storms that come in our life, there is Krishna’s plan behind it. And we’ll find in due course that the very stormy waves that were obstructing our way, we find that those very waves, if we persevere, they will turn and they will push us on the way. They will become our strengths.
They will be what will inspire us to become stronger and they will help us to move towards Krishna. So this is the way in which Krishna, through the problems that he sends in our life, actually he sends those problems to free us from the problem that is life. To free us from the obsession in material consciousness.
That is what entangles us in this world. And he enables us to ultimately attain him, the obsession in him, by which we can become even more equipoised while facing the situations of life. That is how Krishna frees us from, he steals away our distresses.
By sending some distresses, he steals our attachments away from the worldly things. He makes us more attached to him and thus he steals away our distresses. So he is Hari, the lord who steals.
But he doesn’t steal things that are going to give us pleasure and he takes away our pleasure. Rather he steals away the things that are taking us away from the supreme pleasure which is he himself. So Krishna is Krishna’s greatest blessing.
Krishna himself is Krishna’s greatest blessing. And to the extent we can stay connected with Krishna, we will find that through all the situations that come in our life, this supreme blessing is becoming more and more manifest in our heart. And thus we will become supremely enriched by pure devotion to Krishna, by complete absorption in Krishna, by transcendence to life’s ups and downs because of our steady connection with him.
So I will summarise what I spoke today and then we can have a few questions. I started by speaking about how we, how Krishna is known as, Krishna is sometimes glorified in indirect ways. Vyajastuti.
That through criticism he is glorified. So one criticism is that Krishna you are a thief. I came to you to take milk to remove my hunger but then you took away my mother’s milk from me.
That means you took away my material existence itself. Krishna is a person who steals, is a person who steals our house but then he steals away from us the knowledge of how to go back to the house also. He is the greatest of thieves.
That means, so how is he a thief? Something which gives shelter and comfort, he takes them away and thus we feel as if I am losing this but through it Krishna gives us a bigger shelter. The shelter of himself. So I talked about Hanuman and how the same tail which he had used to serve Lord Ram and honour Ram, that seemed to have become the cause of his distress.
That was going to cause him pain but by the Lord’s arrangement, firstly by Sita’s arrangement, he did not feel the pain but by the fire itself, by the burning of the tail, he was able to actually use it to serve the Lord. He used it to demonstrate in a fearsome way the power of Ram and thereby try to deter Ravana and Rakshasas from their destructive course. Similarly for us when problems come in life, it is not that we are supposed to imagine that the problem is not there but sometimes bad things can happen in life.
Krishna says don’t be elated when there is good or don’t be dejected when there is bad. How do we do that? For that I discussed that there is the physical situation, there is the mental conception and we respond not just based on the physical situation but on the mental conception. Sometimes there may be no problem and our mind creates a problem.
Like there is no water but we see a mirage and we go after it and that’s how we get diverted. We magnify the problem. Like somebody who is far away they have done something wrong but we keep munching on it, we keep resenting it.
Then we make the problem bigger than it needs to be. So the process of bhakti is about changing the mental conception by which we can respond to the physical situation in a more healthy way. And for that we need to look at the good beyond the bad situation.
We can’t be grateful for all situations but we can be grateful in all situations. When something bad happens our mind tends to obsess over the bad and make us feel sorry for ourselves. But if we look at all the things that are good in our life we can be grateful for that.
We can look specifically for the good things that are helping us to deal with this bad thing. Then we can be grateful for that also. We can find out that this bad thing was also for a good purpose.
And that way we can be grateful. So if we focus on changing the mind’s conception rather than resenting but rather, Krishna I am your servant please guide me how I can serve you. So misery will come upon everyone because everyone will have things which they don’t want happening to them likes and dislikes.
We focus on our purpose of connecting with Krishna. Then that purpose will become our guiding force. So with the intellectual conviction that whatever is happening my purpose is to connect with Krishna.
And we will be able to not get overwhelmed by life’s problems. I discussed that sometimes the nature of past karma or destiny somebody has some minor wrong and a big reaction comes. Like Parishad Maharaj was a minor wrong and he was sentenced to death for that.
Or somebody may just look away from the car towards the phone for a moment and they may meet with a big accident. So when this happens just understand that there is not just this action leading to reaction but past karma is contributing. So rather than resenting why this is happening what we can focus on is how can I serve Krishna in this situation.
And through that we will move purposefully forward. And Krishna will reveal how good can come even out of that. So sometimes the problems of life are sent in our life to free us from the problem that is life.
That means life at the material level of consciousness itself is a problem. And Krishna may send some problems in our life so that we are forced to take shelter of him. Krishna steals away the things that give us shelter so that we can take shelter of him.
He steals away the things that steal our consciousness away from him. That way he is Hari. So Prabhupada says we should keep our intelligence, mind and intelligence strong so that we can focus on the purpose of life in a life filled with problems.
That means when we are in ocean rather than trying to find out just where is the ocean peaceful we focus on going to where the land is. So even if the storm is there we do what it takes to deal with the stormy waves. But we don’t let avoiding the stormy wave determine the direction of our ship.
We determine the direction based on where land is. So when there are problems we try to deal with them but we don’t let the problems consume our consciousness and we don’t make removing the problem the goal of our life. Just like a student who is in IIT or an Ivy League college getting education is the main purpose.
So for us connecting with Krishna is life’s main purpose. And if we connect with Krishna then by our consciousness becoming absorbed in him we will ultimately rise beyond life’s various problems. Thank you very much.
Hare Krishna. Are there any questions or comments? Yes. Do we have to analyse Krishna’s plan or just drop it.
He is good for us. He is our father. He is doing good for us.
You have to analyse his plan. Good question. Do we have to analyse Krishna’s plan? It is sometimes not a matter of choice for us because in different situations we may sometimes understand how best to serve Krishna.
Sometimes we may not be exactly able to understand. So the point is we can move forward. And sometimes finding the best way to move forward means using our intelligence.
And sometimes finding the best way forward means using our intelligence to understand that my intelligence will not work over here. So it can work both ways. There are two broad ways of surrendering to Krishna.
We normally think of surrender means she raised her hands independence on Krishna. Krishna, I can’t do anything. You do whatever you want.
That is one mode of surrender. But Bhagavad Gita concludes by telling Arjuna surrender to me. Arjuna says yes I will surrender to you.
18.73 says I will surrender to you. But then 18.78 which concludes the Gita, what does it show? Does it show that Arjuna raises his hands in surrender? No. Arjuna’s way of surrendering is he picks up his bow in readiness to fight for Krishna.
So surrender to Krishna can be in two ways. There is dependence on Krishna and there is diligence for Krishna. Dependence on Krishna means Krishna, you do whatever you want.
I am your servant. Diligence for Krishna means I will do the best that I can. So broadly speaking in our life in every situation there are some things in our control and some things not in our control.
And how much is in our control and how much is out of our control that will vary also from situation to situation. So for the things that are out of our control there is dependence on Krishna. And for the things that are in our control there is diligence for Krishna.
So sometimes if a problem is there in our life if by our analysis we can understand this is what probably Krishna is trying to do and we analyse not to try to figure out Krishna’s mind we analyse so that we can find out how best we can serve Krishna. So we analyse enough so that we can serve Krishna better. So that’s fine.
But sometimes our analysis just doesn’t lead to anywhere. Then still we focus on serving Krishna. Krishna, whatever is your plan so we can use our intelligence in the mood of dependence Krishna, I can’t understand this.
You please guide me. I just keep serving you. Or sometimes it may be diligence.
This is what I am going to do. This is what I am meant to do. So we see in Srila Prabhupada’s life sometimes when he found that Indians were not responding to him when he was trying to preach in India he thought you know Indians they are imitating Americans.
So let me go to America. So there he used his intelligence. His vision was I want to preach to Indians but because they are imitating Americans let me go to America.
So he used his intelligence over there. When he came to America he just didn’t know anyone over there practically speaking. And especially when he left Butler Pennsylvania and he came to New York he just didn’t know anyone.
So there was dependence. So whatever comes, what kind of people come, how I will answer questions what kind of questions they will ask, that will vary. So depending on situation our mood is to connect with Krishna.
Sometimes we use it in a mood of dependence and sometimes in a mood of diligence. So when I started giving classes first time 20-25 years ago I was given a set of guidelines by a senior devotee and the last guideline was depend on Krishna. But in bracket but only after you have prepared.
If I come for a class and if I don’t prepare anything and I say I am dependent on Krishna. Well it is good to be dependent on Krishna but a part of our service to Krishna is also to be responsible for Krishna. So if I don’t do my part that is not dependence, that is irresponsibility.
So we can’t figure out Krishna’s plan in full ever. But we can try to figure out enough so that we can understand how best I am to serve Krishna in this situation. So we use our intelligence not to try to figure out or conquer Krishna with our intelligence but try to use our intelligence to serve Krishna.
So it is said that we surrender do we surrender with intelligence to Krishna or do we surrender our intelligence to Krishna. That is I use my intelligence to surrender to Krishna or do I just surrender my intelligence, I can’t figure it out. So it can work both ways.
We use our intelligence as much as possible so we surrender with intelligence but when our intelligence doesn’t make sense can’t make sense out of things, we surrender our intelligence. Krishna whatever is your plan I accept that. Hari, you had a question? Second part can you repeat? Does Krishna give us free will or do we follow his plan without free will? I can say that I have no free will to answer this question.
It doesn’t work like that. All of us do have some free will. Baldevidya Bhushan, one of our prominent Acharyas in his commentary on the Vedanta Sutra says that scriptures tell us do this and don’t do this.
The scriptures would be meaningless if we had no free will. If we are just programmed robots controlled by material nature, controlled by modes, controlled by whatever then what is the point of telling do this and don’t do this. We are just going to do whatever our conditioning is.
So yes, our conditioning does shape certain aspects of our behaviour. So we could say rather than talking about free will in absolute terms we can talk about two things free will and the scope of the free will. In the 9th chapter, 6th verse Krishna gives an example So he says just as the sky as the wind moves in the sky similarly all living beings move within me.
Now if you consider sky to be like an upside down bowl then the sky doesn’t limit the movement of the air. The sky limits the area of the movement of the air. Within that area the air can move this way, that way, this way, all ways it can move but the area is limited.
So similarly for us our free will is always there but the scope of our free will is determined by our destiny, our past karma. So a simple example suppose there are two people who are going, there is home here, office here and they are going to office. Along the way there is a bar.
Now one person has never drunk so they don’t feel any desire to drink at all. They just pass by, it doesn’t even register that there is a bar over there. But some person has drunk repeatedly.
As they go by the bar Oh, maybe I can go and take a drink. No, I’ll just take one drink. No, no, one drink won’t stay one.
No, I want to go. There is so much tug of war will go on. And sometimes some people when they become addicted the scope of their free will becomes much, much, much lesser.
So that means that if somebody keeps drinking, drinking, drinking then the scope of their free will is getting decreasing, decreasing, decreasing. Somebody who has never drunk and has no inclination towards drinking this free will with respect to that is much, much bigger. So all of us have free will and the way we use it or abuse it determines its scope.
Now as far as Krishna’s plan is concerned it’s two different things. Sometimes we say not a blade of grass moves without God’s will. Now that’s a way of saying it but the more precise way is that Upadrashta Anumantacha.
Krishna says I am the overseer and I am the permitter. Krishna doesn’t say I am the desirer of everything. When Dushasan tried to strobe Draupadi it was not that Krishna was acting through Dushasan.
It was Dushasan’s own free will which was doing it. He abused that even for his own good. That means that people have free will and sometimes they can abuse their free will.
And when they abuse their free will and do terrible things it is not that Krishna wants those things to happen. It is rather he as the Paramatma is present even in their hearts and he has prompted them don’t do these things. But they have repeatedly cultivated an ungodly mentality so much that they have now deadened themselves to Krishna’s voice.
And that’s why they may do the wrong thing. So when people do wrong things then that doesn’t mean that it is God who is doing it through them. So basically there are three factors.
There is God’s will, there is free will and there is evil. Now evil is not some evil being like Satan out there. Evil simply means it is the accumulated conditioning of our past actions.
So to the extent there is evil within us in the sense that we have done a particular activity again and again then that can limit our free will. But we always have free will and the little free will that we have if we use it more and more the scope will increase. Did I answer your question? Thank you.
Any other questions? Yes. So when we are facing problems how do we actively connect with Krishna? That may vary from person to person. Because ultimately every one of us is an individual.
So we have an individual relationship with Krishna and we have our individual inclinations. In this life we have our individual we could say inclinations of body and mind which will shape the direction of our consciousness. So some of us may be very musically inclined.
Then at that time if we have a problem we just take shelter of Krishna through music. We sing or we hear music, spiritual devotional music that may give us shelter. Some of us may have more of an intellectual nature.
So then we study some philosophy, we memorise some verses, we recite some prayers that may absorb our consciousness in Krishna. Some of us may have a more we could say aesthetic nature. So we go into the temple and decorate the deities, do something beautiful.
No matter how many problems are there, Krishna is still so beautiful. He is my Lord, I surrender to Him. So we have to find out which is the channel that is that is most easily connecting us to Krishna.
And then we focus on that channel. Sometimes by the nature of life’s upheavals some channels in our life will get blocked. And sometimes some channels may just we may not be able to connect with Krishna at that time.
So sometimes as I said, if there are so many problems, we go for a class, nothing seems to make sense only. We are intellectually deadened by that time. But then the kirtans happen and we feel peaceful.
Sometimes we are so agitated that the kirtans, you know, I am seeing big problem. What all of you are chanting and laughing and clapping. You know, do something.
I am seeing big problem. But then we hear the philosophy and then something penetrates. Okay, okay, it’s like this.
So, we have to at one level try to observe and analyse which channel will take our consciousness towards Krishna and try to develop that channel more and more. And at another level we also be open to Krishna. Sometimes Krishna may act in unexpected way and give us a channel to connect with Him.
Thank you. Hare Krishna. Any other questions, comments? Can I make a comment, please? Yes, please.
Prabhupada, your whole lecture gives so detailed for each and every individual how situations happen and how we deal with it very nicely. One time, Prabhupada, with Prabhupada, he mentioned that difference between a devotee and a non-devotee is not saying, he said everybody is devotee but one is not devotee. It’s like there is a big fire pit, material world is fire pit and devotee is also walking on it and one who is not aware of Krishna is also walking on it.
But the one who is walking on it without Krishna consciousness is burning his feet, he is jumping up and down. Meanwhile, the devotee has worn the shoes of knowledge and Krishna’s protection and he is walking very freely through that fire without being touched by the fire. Beautiful.
Thank you. This is very similar to how Sita arranged for Hanuman’s tail to be protected. So like that for us, if we are remembering Krishna, if we are taking shelter of Krishna, they act with the shoes.
Thank you. What were the three vows you said? God’s will, Nurture sexually, everything he covers he is a nurse. He will, ok.
Any other question? Thank you very much. Thank you so much Prabhu for an amazing class, and also especially the point when you said that when we persevere, when we are facing problems, we persevere and we keep thinking how we can serve them.