​How to deal with the feeling that the class is meant for others?

Answer Podcast

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
Sometimes when I hear a lecture, I feel that these points are meant for others, not for me. So, what should I do? Actually, that is what happens most of the times with me. Because I speak, I write, and actually all the wonderful points I remember when I give classes.
But when I am faced with my mind, my senses, my temptations, my anarthas, I just forget most of those points. I just don’t remember those points. But sometimes I wonder whether I am being hypocritical.
I am speaking so much, but I am not practicing it. Not only I am not practicing it, I am not even remembering it. It’s amazing that I remember all those points about humility, about self-control, about tolerance.
As soon as the class starts, I remember all these things. But afterwards, I just don’t remember them. So then, I asked a senior devotee about this.
They told me that actually, when we are giving a class, at that time, it is Krishna who is using us to guide those who are often more sincere than us. Laughter So, I may be using that point simply to impress others. So actually, bhakti is so subtle that sometimes, the audience who is hearing the class may make more advancement by hearing the class than the speaker who is speaking the class.
It all depends on one’s consciousness. So what happens is, when I am speaking also, I may think these points are very nice for speaking to others, but I may not apply them. But still, if we just keep hearing them, if we just keep hearing them, if we keep speaking them, if we speak them with a holier-than-thou attitude, then that is a problem.
But if we speak them in a mood of humbly sharing with others, then at least that time we are remembering. And gradually, something will carry over. So even if, ultimately, the mind is very tricky.
And then we have to find some tricks by which we can out-trip the mind. Laughter So, it’s ultimately a game. And we have to play this game better than the mind.
Laughter So that means if the mind says, these points are not for me, they are for others. Then we can out-trip the mind. Yes, these points are for others, but even to tell them to others, I need to remember them.
Laughter So rather than thinking these points are for others who are there in this class, I can think, yes, these points are for others, but I should tell them. And therefore, let me remember, let me hear these points, let me understand these points. And then I can tell them to others.
And the more we hear them, the more we understand them, the more we will actually internalize them. So, there is always this feeling, somehow or the other, the mind will try to deflect instruction away from itself. The mind will try to deflect instruction away from itself.
This instruction is good, but it is meant for this person, this person, this person. It’s not for me. But then what we have to do is, we have to find some means by which we can deflect the instruction back to us.
And one way is repetition. So, if we feel that it is for others, that is fine. Still, we maybe note it down.
And then later on, when we note it down, sometimes it will strike to us. We read it and say, this applies for me also. So, this is just one trick.
But the mind often finds tricks to deflect instructions away from itself. And we have to become aware of those tricks. And then we have to find some way to outtrick the mind.
So, one time, one devotee asked me, we give classes and we find the audience is not very interested. You know, the audience is just waiting for the class to get over. So, we also lose enthusiasm to speak.
So, what should we do at that time? So, actually, somebody had asked Bhaktivedit Maharaj this question. So, Bhaktivedit Maharaj gave a superb reply. He said that when the audience is not enthusiastic, you should think that your preaching is practice for future classes when the audience will be enthusiastic.
Laughter So, basically, we have to outtrick the mind. My mind is basically finding some reason to become unenthusiastic in serving Krishna. So, rather than giving into that trick, even if the audience is not, this is not the only time I am going to speak about future.
I am going to speak in future and in future there will be people who will be enthusiastic. So, we outtrick the mind. So, we have to find out what trick the mind is using to decrease our enthusiasm.
And we turn that around some way and we try to maintain our enthusiasm.