How to see the current Corona Crisis from a spiritual perspective

[ISKCON of Bergen County]

Video:

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
Thank you very much. So grateful to be here with all of you today.
And I’ll be speaking on the topic of how to see the current. Corona crisis from a spiritual perspective. Today also is Ramakrishna mentioned to me that it is the appearance day of the deities, this place, which also are the deities of one county country.
So best wishes and prayers to him and to all of you in your new blossoming community. And I’ll talk today in three parts. Talk about basically.
Science, spirituality and society, and how these three can work together in offering relief to humanity. In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna talks about perception in the three modes. Basically, Krishna is, Arjuna is facing a crisis at the start of the Gita.
And it’s a crisis where a huge war is about to be fought. And then he feels that how can I fight against my own relatives? How can I kill them? How can I cause their death? So with that thought in mind, he’s not ready to fight. Krishna answers Arjuna’s question at various levels.
But the most relevant for us is that our for our discussion right now is how Krishna talks about the three modes of material nature and how to perceive within the three modes. So Krishna talks about knowledge in the three modes and then he talks about intelligence in the three modes. So knowledge refers to how we take in things from the world and intelligence refers to how we act in the world.
So the way Krishna defines jnana and buddhi are jnana is related to the jnana indriyas, buddhi is related to the karma indriyas. So 1820 to 22 talks about the jnana indriyas and the jnana we acquire from them. And again 30 to 32 talks about the karma indriyas and how we learn from how we act in the world using our intelligence.
So let’s look at perception of the three modes and how that can shape our perception of the situation today. Now, let’s begin with 1822 which talks about perception in ignorance. Sometimes the word Prabhupada uses the word knowledge for that.
Knowledge can be a little confusing word because knowledge refers to not just what we take in. It also refers to what we know. So knowledge in ignorance can seem a little confusing.
So specifically what Krishna is talking about, how we perceive things. So perception. So he said, yathu krishna var ekasmin, that when I see one thing to be everything, that is knowledge in the mode of ignorance.
So krishna var ekasmin. So we see one problem or one one thing as everything. That means we see one side of the problem as the complete problem or one problem as the total total problem.
This is knowledge in the mode of ignorance. The knowledge in the mode of passion is. Krishna says, pruthakpe nathiyat jnanam nana bhavan pruthakvidhan vittisarveshu bhuteshu tad jnanam midhirajasam.
So he says that where we take in, where we see things, see, we equal the material to the real. We look at the physical reality and we think that is all that is that reality and there’s nothing more. That is knowledge in the mode of passion.
And beyond that knowledge and goodness is there where it is said that Krishna says that when we avibhaktam vibhakteshu, that when to sarvabhuteshu ye naikam bhavam avyayam ikshate avibhaktam vibhakteshu tad jnanam midhisatrikam. We see the imperishable spirit, one spirit underlying all the diversity of matter that pervades the world. That is knowledge in the mode of goodness.
So what does this mean? This means that in terms of our current situation, we are experiencing a lockdown, not just in America, but in many parts of the world. India is possibly preparing for a similar shutdown. And given India’s huge population, so it has to be done more voluntarily than legally imposed.
So yesterday was a trial run for that. So now when we see this crisis, it is it is revealing. It is shocking that we have a whole world being brought down by something which is microscopic and invisible.
The Bhagavatam says, padam padam vipadam natesham. So in every step there can be danger with the coronavirus, we can say sparsham sparsham vipadam. That with every touch, you might touch some surface and then touch our face.
We might touch someone and touch ourselves. So there could be danger with that. And that’s why people are being recommended.
Don’t shake hands. Instead, we can use the traditional Indian namaste to greet each other. So the idea is that there is a great danger right now.
And while this great danger is there, when we look at one thing and make it into everything, that means that we just see this danger and become paranoid about it. Then that is unhealthy. If we have when we look at the world.
We have people see things based on certain assumptions. We have certain assumptions about how things work. And then based on those assumptions, when we pursue things, we arrive at certain conclusions.
And based on those conclusions, we come up with certain explanations of what is happening. So A, C, E. We think when we work according to assumptions, come to certain conclusions and arrive at certain explanations, we think we are acing the test of life. We are aces.
A, C, E. But what happens is sometimes those foundational assumptions get challenged. That we live, you know, maybe a couple of months ago. Nobody would have conceived that the whole world could be brought down to a standstill, the extent it has been brought down just by one microbe.
So we live with the assumption of security, of comfort, of prosperity, of strength. And then based on that, we arrive at certain conclusions. OK, this is how I’m going to live.
And within the normal course of our life, if we face some challenges, we arrive at certain explanations. Why did this challenge come and how can I deal with it? But it is like, say, if we are in the ocean and we are in a boat and there are some, the boat gets shaken a little bit. That’s OK.
We understand the boat will get shaken. But if we find the boat completely capsizing, just turning over completely, the disruption is much more. If we are staying in a staying in a house, maybe a wooden house and somewhere in a forest, I came in for some time visiting in a retreat and the wind shakes it.
It’s uncomfortable to feel our house being shaken by the wind. But if an earthquake comes from below and it just destroys the very foundation of the house and there’s nothing left. So then it is far more disorienting.
So sometimes for us, when we function in life, some of the challenges in life are like storms coming and shaking us a little bit. But some problems are like the quake coming below and the quake comes below. It just shatters all our conceptions.
So and then the disorientation can be far greater. So to the extent if people have lived with the assumption of comfort and security and prosperity and such things, then this can cause much, much greater problems. It is normally whatever situation comes in our life, the extent of the problem is caused depending on the underlying assumptions that we have.
Most of the world today is in the modes of passion and ignorance. In the world of ignorance, we perceive one thing and make it into everything. So there is there are people who are who are germophobes.
They’re so paranoid if anybody coughs near them, not even in the time of Corona, but in normal time. You just want to send that person far away. You want to anyway, because they’re afraid I’ll get a germ.
And so germophobes in today’s times are getting even even greater panic. So now if that one thing, oh, I just want to avoid germs, I just want to avoid germs, I just want to avoid germs, that becomes the sole focus of one’s consciousness. Then what happens? We humans are more biologically and psychologically.
We are geared to face visible, tangible challenges. We are souls who have lived in the previous lives, lived in animal bodies. Now we come to the human body.
So in the jungles, there is survival of the fittest. And if a deer sees a lion, it has to run. So that is we have the fight or flight response.
But when it comes to invisible challenges, then where do we be in a fight or flight kind of situation? If you can’t see a germ. But some people can become paranoid because of this. So now it’s not so much the situation alone that causes the reaction, but it is our underlying assumptions.
So based, if I have the assumption that germs are the greatest danger in the world, of course, presently they are a huge danger. But if that is the assumption, then I might arrive at a conclusion that there’s nothing I can do about this. So let me just live in complete social isolation and social distancing is required today.
But if people become paranoid, then this can’t function. So we need to be, if you have a pendulum, you could say one extreme would be constant fear and paranoia. Paranoia is basically a persecution complex.
But paranoia is the idea that somebody is constantly afraid. Somebody is out to chase me. Somebody is out to get me.
And people are in perpetual fear. So one extreme would be paranoia, if you consider pendulum. And the other extreme would be nonchalance.
It is a big ado, much ado about nothing. There’s no problem at all. We are just making unnecessary ado about things.
So that would be the second extreme. We need a balanced response. So what I’m talking about is that based on the three modes, how our responses might go haywire.
So in general, whatever situation we are in life, there are some things in our control and some things not in our control. In the mode of ignorance, in Tamoguna, we underestimate our capacity to control things. In the mode of passion, we overestimate our capacity to control things.
In goodness, we estimate rightly. And in transcendence, we not only estimate rightly, but we also see spiritually. So now with respect to the coronavirus situation, if we are in the mode of ignorance, we underestimate our capacity to do things.
That means we just go into paranoia. Everything is filled with danger. And just person lives in, in say, fear consciousness, in Corona consciousness.
Now, of course, with the daily news cycle dominated by news about Corona, it’s natural that that will be in our consciousness. But if that is all that fills our consciousness, we might end up fearful, so fearful that we can’t do anything at all. So that is one extreme where just that Corona completely consumes our consciousness.
Then that is unhealthy. See, we may have to live with fear, but we don’t have to live in fear. To live with fear means to acknowledge that there is danger and I have to be aware of it.
But live in fear means that we are aware of nothing except the danger. And if we try to live for too long in this fight or flight response kind of state, we’ll get completely exhausted. That’s perception in the mode of ignorance, the perception, the mode of goodness.
So in the mode of passion is characterised by overconfidence, overestimation of one’s ability to control things. And the situation, what happens? We think that we can do whatever we want. We think that we have the capacity to deal with situations and we become overconfident.
So at this stage, nothing will happen to me. All this is just exaggeration. And people just go on nonchalantly with their lives without taking any precautions at all.
So people party and now, of course, some parts of the world it is legally not allowed, but other parts where it is legally advised, but not mandated. There are many people who just go about their lives as if nothing is a problem. So that is the other unhealthy response where the nonchalance, there is no danger at all.
The nature of the world is that there are dangers at all times. But at the same time, in certain times, certain dangers can be more. And if those dangers are more, then one has to be more cautious.
So when Ram was in the Ram was sentenced to the Lanka, so he was sentenced to the forest exile. At that time, Ram gives an elaborate description of the when Sita insists that I want to come with you. Ram elaborately describes how dangerous life in the forest is.
And his purpose is to deter her from coming. He says you will be much safer in the city. Now, of course, in Ayodhya also, the Pandavas, the Rama had experienced danger in the sense that they had been betrayed by Kaikeyi and Mantra.
But still, from a physical perspective, the danger was much more in the forest. And when they were in the forest, Ram and Lakshman would always be both cautious to take care of Sita. They would never leave her alone as much as would be possible.
And when Ram was fighting with the demons in Janasthan, then he or the demons in Janasthan came to attack him. And Ram said that you stay with Sita, Lakshman, you stay with Sita in the forest and I will take care of, I’ll deal with the demons. So the idea is that there are situations in the world when dangers are more.
And depending on the particular kind of danger that is more, particular kind of caution is required. So when Sita was in Ayodhya, that specific kind of danger of say some demons coming or some, some predators, some carnivores, animals coming and attacking, that would not be there so much in the city. So intelligence, Prabhupada says in the 10th chapter Purport, intelligence means to see things in their proper perspective.
So there are certain times when certain dangers are heightened and we cannot go, we cannot just be nonchalant and think that, OK, this is how it is. I don’t care. This is all just a big, big exaggeration.
There is a danger. So now if you consider these two extremes, paranoia and nonchalance, in between is we could say caution. Now, to be cautious, we have to be conscious.
It’s like when we are driving, OK, if I’m cautious, should I speed now? Should I go slowly? Should I try to overtake the next person? Now, if to make all these decisions cautiously, first of all, I have to be conscious. And while we are driving on a road, you know, it’s there are multiple aspects to our consciousness. First of all, we have to be conscious of what is immediately ahead of us.
But that’s not all. We have to look further ahead and be aware. If we had we see a signal coming and there are many cars which have been standing over there, then although we are sitting for distance, we will start breaking right away.
Or we also have to be conscious of, say, what are the lanes on the side? Is anybody coming to come in from the lanes? So when we are conscious, we are conscious. Our consciousness is capable of taking in many, many stimuli. And while we focus on one particular stimuli.
So now we’re going to talk about consciousness. To be cautious, we need to be conscious. And now what do we need to be conscious of? That brings us to the mode of goodness.
In the mode of goodness, it is said that. It is said that Sarva Bhuteshu Yenaikam Bhavam Avvayam Ikshate. Avibhaktam Vibhakteshu Tajjyanam Vidyasatrikam.
Sarva Bhuteshu Yenaikam. That in all living beings, there is an imperishable spirit. Avibhaktam Vibhakteshu.
In that sense, although all living beings are different individually, but still they are, they have a shared spirituality. So this means that our bodies are virus prone. Our souls are virus proof.
And understanding this dynamic, our bodies are virus prone and we have to deal with them. We have to be aware of the danger to them. But at the same time, our souls are virus proof.
We have a core that is indestructible. So I talked earlier about our assumptions, conclusions and explanations. So when we have the assumption that the material level of reality is only reality, that either we think that everything is in my control, nothing is in my control, impassion or ignorance.
But when our assumptions are more aligned with reality, reality is multilevel. There is there is material and there is spiritual and the spiritual is indestructible. Then that gives us a foundation of security that yes, this danger has come.
I have to deal with the danger. But at my core, I’m indestructible. My loved ones are indestructible.
And we have faced many dangers in the past and we will face this danger also. So avibhaktam vibhakteshu taj jnanam viddhi sattvikam. So what does this mean? I talked about the mode of goodness.
We understand, we are able to estimate rightly what is in our control and what is not in our control. So we understand that the soul is and the spiritual level of reality is indestructible. The body is destructible.
So with respect to the body’s dangers, we need to be aware of those dangers and deal with them. So. So now what does it mean dealing with those dangers? I said I’ll talk about science, spirituality and society.
Now, there are now this is largely a crisis that. At the level of science, medicine, we are looking for medicines that can minimise the effects of the infection while it is there. And look for medicine that can cure or vaccinate us.
So we could say it is in the arena of science. So now it’s in the arena of science, but everybody can use any particular situation to prop up their own ideology. So recently somebody sent me on WhatsApp.
A photo which said that. Now, when every year people give this much donation to churches, to mosques, to temples, millions of dollars. But as soon as the coronavirus comes, the temples close down and the hospitals stay open.
They said if we had given that much money to the hospitals instead of the temples, it would have been much better. Well, whenever any two things are compared. Comparison can often be a tool for emotional manipulation.
Why compare hospitals with temples? You could compare hospitals with, say, sports. The amount of money that is spent on IPL, if all that money had, if instead of spending all that money on cricket, then we could have made some scientific advancement. Or why IPL, we have Bollywood.
If all that money had not been spent. So every movie that is made, millions and millions of dollars spent on it. So why spend that money over there? So the idea is that there are different problems and there are different solutions for those problems.
And it’s not that one is in competition or comparison with other. In the Bhagavad Gita itself, we see this, we can call it as distinctive magisteria, distinctive areas of influence. Before the Bhagavad Gita was spoken, Arjuna was there on the battlefield ready to fight.
But then he became confused. He heard the Bhagavad Gita and then he fought and he won the war. So when he won the war, did he win because of the knowledge of the Bhagavad Gita or did he win because of the knowledge of archery that he had learned from Drona and had mastered thereafter? The two are not in competition.
The two are not in competition. The archery knowledge was what he practically used for fighting and the Bhagavad Gita knowledge was what he used to direct his life’s understanding of why he is fighting. So broadly speaking, spirituality tells us science is a tool for operating in the world.
And whereas spirituality gives us the reason for our existing and operating in the world. So we could say, with a generalised sense, science answers the questions of how, spirituality answers the questions of why. And in our tradition, there is no necessary competition between the two.
We have Ayurveda as an ancient and extreme body of knowledge. And Ayurveda, although it is portrayed, it is practised in a theistic context. Ayurveda doesn’t say that you just go to a temple and your problems will be healed.
Ayurveda is itself a science and says, OK, this is the imbalance in the body. This is the medication that is required. There is research for that.
So the material and the spiritual are not seen as in competition with each other. And everything has its own place. Understanding this is important.
So is it that the hospitals today are, there is a particular kind of crisis. And for this crisis, it’s a medical crisis. Naturally, the place where the medical crisis was healed is the hospital.
Now, when Arjuna had to learn archery, that was not the time he heard the Bhagavad Gita. It’s a place for everything. And this kind of false equivalency or misleading comparison, they’re simply tools for emotional manipulation.
So now, again, with respect to science and medicine specifically, we could perceive it in the world of ignorance, in the world of passion, in the world of goodness. So, of course, science and scientific study is a product of knowledge. It’s only scientific knowledge.
It’s a product because we have studied and we acquired knowledge. But how we view something, we can view knowledge through the world of ignorance. So if somebody starts thinking that science and medical research and medicine is the only solution.
That is, we make in the world of ignorance, we make one thing into everything. So we make science as the sole solution to all problems. Well, is it really? If you consider today that the government is, even if you don’t bring anything spiritual, still the government itself is adopting a multi-pronged approach.
It’s not just science alone. There is the economic, there is politics. The countries are being sealed down.
Boundaries are being sealed. This is more of a political measure than a scientific measure. It might be guided by science, but science is one part of human society.
One reason why the virus has spread so fast, so rapidly, so extensively and so rapidly, is because through science, we have come to live in a very interconnected world, very rapidly interconnected world. And there is trade, there is tourism, there is immigration, because of which national boundaries have become very porous in many ways. And that’s why the two countries which have been hit the most, apart from China, are Iran and Italy.
And both of them over the last two, three years, last few years, they have chosen to enter into close pacts with China. And there is a huge amount of travel. And there’s a significant amount of interaction between the two countries.
And that’s why all the leader of those countries are right next to next to China. But both of them have been severely affected. So it’s not just science alone.
There is geopolitics, there is economics, so many other factors involved. And there are multi-pronged approaches required for dealing with the issue. So we need to, so one extreme is to think that spirituality can do nothing.
Again, going back to the pendulum, that this particular sceptical message that, you know, what is the use of spirituality? Science alone will solve the problems. Well, even at the material level, we are not depending on science alone. We are looking at political measures, legal measures, economic measures.
There are so many things which are being looked at. So one is to think that science alone is the answer. The other extreme would be to think that spirituality alone is the answer.
So this is an ongoing debate within various religious communities. That should the religious community services be shut down? Should we just have faith in God and faith in God? If we are doing our devotional activities, God will protect us. Yes, God will protect us.
But one way God protects us is also by giving us intelligence. By giving us intelligence, it is. But that’s not it.
Yeah, I’m a poet. I’m sure. But there would be my Thomas.
He just says I’m the intelligence of the intelligence. I give knowledge and knowledge, forgetfulness and remembrance. So one way Krishna protects is by giving us intelligence.
So when Prabhupada had come to Africa at that time, there was a desert. Before entering that country, we did a flu inoculation. And Prabhupada’s assistant said, Prabhupada’s servants had not told him about that.
And Prabhupada came and Prabhupada had to stay for almost 10 days in quarantine. And Prabhupada was annoyed, even angry by that. He said, why didn’t you? He told his disciples over there, why didn’t you tell me about this? This 10 days was wasted for me.
So the point is that we have to be aware of practical realities and we have to act accordingly. In Japan, there was a particular, in other words, temple is used generically, not necessarily the Hindu or a Buddhist shrine. This place.
But there’s a temple and there they had the whole community. They kept coming, kept coming. In South Korea, something similar happened and people got infected over there.
So then the point here is that there is when Krishna was fighting, when Arjuna was fighting in the Kurukshetra war, he did not think that Krishna will protect me and I don’t have to fight. He used his archery knowledge. So there is an understanding that, OK, that the spiritual does not replace the material.
And the spiritual does not replace the material. Then what does the spiritual actually do? The spiritual, I conclude this talk with two, three points, and then we can have some question answers. So what does the spiritual do for us? Basically, the spiritual, spiritual knowledge expands our vision of reality by which we can pursue things properly.
This I’ll explain in terms of an acronym. ACT, A-C-T, Accept, Commit and Trust. Accept, Commit and Trust.
So the idea is that whatever happens in our life, there are certain things in our control, certain things which are not in our control. So for what is not in our control, we need to accept. OK, this is how the things are right now.
And then what is not in our control, what is our control, that keeps changing. Sometimes we are in situations where it’s 99 percent in our control and one percent out of our control. So if somebody has somebody has two job offers and said, which job am I going to take? Now, it’s largely their decision.
So but sometimes it’s almost less than one percent in our control, 99 percent out of our control. So, like, say, there’s a lockdown now and what we can do is very limited. So dynamically, there are times when some things are in our control, some things are not in our control, and we need to accept that this is the situation right now.
And once we accept that, then we can move forward. I think last last time when I spoke there in the Sunday feast, I’d spoken about this. We had discussed about karma and the principle of karma.
So whatever happens in our life, there is karma, daiva and kala, which leads to the phala. Suppose somebody wants, somebody’s farming and they want to harvest. So there is karma is that they sow the seeds and flow the land.
Then daiva is the rains come in the right time, the right quantity and kala is the season changes to the harvesting season. So karma, daiva and kala lead to phala. Karma, daiva, kala lead to phala, all three together.
So now with respect to this thing, karma, daiva and kala. So with respect to daiva, so karma refers to that which is in our control, that which we need to do. Daiva refers to that which is not in our control and that we have to live with.
So I talk about this acronym ACT. So with respect to daiva, what is not in our control, what is destiny, we need to accept it. Then what is in our control, karma, that we need to commit to it.
So accept what is not in our control, commit to what is in our control and trust that this too will pass. The kala in the material world, nothing is permanent. And that means that even the greatest of danger, the greatest of calamities, they’re not permanent.
So we need to trust that not only will this end, but through this, something good can come out. If we, if we move to, if we strive to stay connected with Krishna, try to move closer to Krishna, then something good can come out of it. So what does spirituality offer us in such a situation? Spirituality offers us a whole picture of reality.
Science is a tool. It’s at this stage a very important tool for dealing with the situation. And we need to use that tool.
So, for example, the role of science would largely come in commit. Commit means those researchers who are actually doing research, they do that in a committed way to find out some vaccine or cure for it. Those medical health care providers are there.
They work in a committed way. We as ordinary citizens, we work in a committed way to take precautions so that we don’t, we don’t unnecessarily become infected or become agents of infection for others. That’s with respect to the commit part.
But that’s only one part of the solution. Why one part? Because we have to look at the whole picture of life and how do we deal with that? So we need to accept the biggest benefit that spirituality offers us to help us get a sense of the big picture. And within the big picture, we see our place and our purpose.
So all of the specifics of this danger that has befallen us are unprecedented, at least in recent historical memory. But the principles are still universal. The principles is that there is karma, daiva, kala in every situation that we face in our life.
So whatever is our karma, we commit ourselves to it. Whatever is the daiva, whatever the destiny, we accept that. And then with respect to kala, we trust.
So how do we trust? We trust based on understanding that, that ultimately everything is within Krishna’s plan. We don’t say that everything is Krishna’s plan because sometimes bad things happen and sometimes some people, because of their carelessness or maliciousness, may do some terrible things. And when they do that, that is not necessarily Krishna’s plan.
In the Bhagavatam, the first canto, in the ninth chapter, when Bhishma is trying to make sense of the suffering that the Pandavas have gone through, he says, Tasyanuvihito Rajan. Tasyanuvihito. That means it is, if you read the translation carefully, Prabhupada says everything is within his plan.
Everything is within the Lord’s plan. So Prabhupada doesn’t say everything is the Lord’s plan. Within means that no matter how catastrophic a particular situation seems to be, we understand that God is still in control and his plan is still operational.
And he will guide us through whatever dangers we might face in our life. And we do the best that we can in such a situation. And we move onwards.
So everything is within the Lord’s plan and that’s why we can trust. So we, whatever scientific resources are there available, we use them to commit ourselves. And the philosophical understanding that we have that enables us to accept things.
Yes. We accept not necessarily out of resentment or helplessness, but philosophical pragmatism. And then with a devotional disposition, we trust.
So when we accept, commit and trust, then we can face whatever situation comes in our way. And when we see a problem in this way, then what is our, at a physical level, we might decide that we will not, we may not go to the temples. Why? Because the danger is too much.
That is what if you see during the times of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu asked the Goswamis to build temples in Vrindavan. And although his stronghold, his base, most of his followers were in Mayapur, were in Bengal.
He did not ask any of his followers in Bengal to build temples. We don’t have major Gaudiya Vaishnava temples in Bengal per se. There are holy places, but they are more like home shrines or small temples.
Why? Because at that time, the Islamic ruler who was there, Nawab Hussain Shah, he was very brutal. So what they did was, Harinam Sankirtan was the way they connected with the Lord. Because at that time, that is most pragmatically available.
So the principle of devotion is never to be abandoned. But the forms of devotion can be adapted according to time, place, circumstance. When Chaitanya Mahaprabhu sent Rupesh Nadan Goswami to Vrindavan, at that time Akbar was ruling over there.
And Akbar was a relatively liberal ruler. And thus, at that time, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu encouraged them to build temples over there. So Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was also very pragmatic.
And in terms of, he was very, very firm in his devotion. But at the same time, he was practical, pragmatic in his implementation. So if a particular form of devotion leads to certain dangers, certain excessive dangers, then we might not necessarily practise that form of devotion.
But we don’t abandon the principle of devotion. The principle is that, yena kena prakarena manah krishna niveshe. Somehow or the other, fix the mind on Krishna.
So what we are doing right now, having online class, this is, we are finding a principle, we’re finding a way to implement the principle of devotion while accepting or accommodating the restriction on particular forms of devotion. This is not a lack of faith, but this is the presence and utilisation of intelligence. So devotees have to be faithful, but devotees also have to be resourceful.
So if certain forms of devotion are restricted, we accept that. But if certain forms of devotion can be, whatever can be done, we commit ourselves to that. And we may long for certain things.
Devotees long to build temples for the Lord in his birthplace also. But now that longing took more than 500 years. Now we have beautiful temple in Mayapur and a more beautiful temple is going to come up.
So devotees trusted and waited. And in due course, things will become better. So if we stay connected with Krishna, then Krishna will give us the inner calmness, the inner clarity, the inner confidence by which you can face the situation and do the needful, emerge stronger through it.
I summarise. I spoke today on the topic of how to face the corona crisis. I talk about science, spirituality and society.
I talk broadly in three main parts. First, I talk about the three modes of nature and especially perception within three modes and how that can affect our perception of the current crisis. In the mode of ignorance, we might have paranoia, thinking nothing is in our control and we live in fear.
In the mode of passion, we might have nonchalance and think that there’s no problem at all. So in ignorance, we over in ignorance, we underestimate our capacity to control and passion. We overestimate our capacity to control.
Beyond that is goodness that we perceive properly. And then it also in between the two extremes of paranoia and nonchalance is caution. And to be cautious, we need to be conscious.
I talk about how to drive cautiously means to be conscious, not just of the immediate road ahead, but to see the full picture of the road and to adjust our driving accordingly. So similarly for us, I talk about how spirituality provides us the big picture. And then within that, we drive properly.
So with respect to science, there can be two extremes. One is science is the only solution. And the other is we just practise spirituality and don’t bother about any other things.
So science is the only solution when some some sceptics or atheists propagate that. It’s if you compare the donation to a temple and funding scientific research, then the two are not in competition. Arjuna is Gandhi, but archery training and Arjuna is studying Bhagavad Gita, the two are complementary, not contradictory.
When two things are compared, often that comparison is for emotional manipulation. To this, why don’t we compare, say, funds spent on hospitals, funds spent on sports or movies? So the point is, science is a valuable tool. But even at the material level, we’re not just using the scientific approach to deal with solutions.
We’re in a multi-pronged approach. Political, economic, social. So we respect the science and its place.
But at the same time, one extreme is to think that science alone is the solution. The other is that science is a matter, we just do our bhakti. And that itself is a solution.
We don’t neglect the material. I talk about how there was greater danger for Sita in the forest. There was greater precautions.
And that’s just a matter of common sense. Krishna protects. And one way he protects is by giving us the intelligence to protect ourselves.
And so then I conclude. So what exactly does, if we have to give science its place, then what is the place for spirituality in this? Spirituality helps us understand the big picture. I talked about karma, daiva and kala.
And I talk about accept, accept what is unchangeable. Commit to what is changeable or accept what is not in our control. Commit to what is in our control and trust that this too shall pass and we will emerge better through this.
So in such situations, that commitment is also part of our devotion. But acceptance is also a part of our devotion. And we do both.
And then trust. I talk about concluded by saying that as devotees, we understand. That in life there have been problems and the principle of devotion is never to be abandoned.
But the practises of devotion can be adapted according to time, place, circumstances. Just as Lord Chaitanya did not emphasise on building temples in Bengal because of the hostile rule over there. Similarly, we might have to adjust.
We might not be able to congregate together in temples at particular times. But we trust the Lord and we stay connected with him in whatever way we can. And he will guide us through whatever dangers come in our life.
Thank you very much, Krishna. Are there any questions or comments? Yes, science and the comment here by Satish Kalyan, science and spirituality are complementary. Yes, they are.
It’s a question mark. So I presume it’s a question. Science and spirituality are complementary in the sense that I have a whole other class on this topic where I talk about how there is two things.
One is that everything has multiple levels of causation and science helps us to deal with things at a particular level of causation. So now if you consider, say, alcoholism or smoking. So then now science may tell us, OK, if you eat, this is how your body will get damaged.
And if you if you consume this particular thing, then you have to take this medication. So science can tell us. But then sometimes people keep doing the same things again and again.
So science cannot change, cannot really change people internally. That is where spirituality comes into the picture. So in the project of human improvement or in the project of human happiness, science can offer a certain certain kind of resources.
But even the wisdom to use those resources properly, people often don’t have it and that can come through spirituality. So one way I put it is science can make things better. Spirituality can make people better.
And when we have better things and better people, then that is a holistically progressive society. Otherwise, you have only better things, but not better people. Then often that can lead to unnecessary problems.
So that’s how science and spirituality are complementary. Now, how should devotees not become judgemental about the fellow devotees responses to calamities? It depends. We have to understand that.
Everybody has a particularised assumptions, conclusions, explanations. Everybody comes with certain set of assumptions. And when we come with those assumptions, they perceive things accordingly.
In general, people who are judgemental, they perceive everything in terms of black and white. Now, in between black and white, there are many shades of green, but they don’t perceive that. Now, why is that? It could be because there is some people are just trained.
Some people just their vision is such that they can only see things in black and white. If they are told to see the shades of grey, they may not be able to see the black and white and they may end up with complete confusion. So in that situation, if you have to be truly nonjudgmental, then we have to be nonjudgmental about even about those who are judgemental.
So just as we understand that. Some people might be very afraid of particular things. So some people might be very afraid of flights.
Why? If we come to know that, oh, you know, in their childhood, some of their family members, they died in a plane crash. And this person is paranoid about flight. Then we understand from their background that this is why they think like this.
So similarly, some people, if we understand their backgrounds, we understand why they are so judgemental. If they came from a culture of complete confusion or chaos or they came from a religious background where their idea was black and white completely, then the only way they can negotiate reality is by dividing it into black and white. And they just can’t see shades of grey.
So then what do we do? Krishna and Krishna Bhakti is big enough that Krishna can accommodate different kinds of people. Basically, the way I define narrow minded and broad minded is that narrow minded people narrow reality so that it fits into the conceptions of their mind. Broad minded people understand that reality is broader than the conceptions of their mind.
But some people just have to function in a particular way. And in general, people are in today’s world, people are often more intelligent than what we give them credit. So even if there are some people who are offering some unhealthy responses to calamities and they might alienate some people.
But that’s how it is. People are people understand that, you know, in an international movement, there’ll be people of different dispositions. That’s why we need it.
We didn’t get too worried if one particular devotee offers a especially unhealthy response, especially insensitive kind of response. So that’s one level. That’s one level of answer to it.
Now, how do we recognise the difference between Daiva and Kala at times when it’s difficult to differentiate? Well, we can’t really get into that kind of micro analysis. Basically, we have to use our God given intelligence. And the Dhami Buddhi Yogantam Enama Mukayanti Te Krishna says, I’ll give you the intelligence by which you can come to me.
That means that he will provide us if we if we are prayerful, basically in any situation in our life. I just don’t want to continue from the black and white. There are certain things which we know we should do, certain things we know we should not do.
In between these two things, there can be there can be other things, what we can do or what we need not do. So that is the situation. Then at least start with doing what we should do and not doing what we should not do.
And when we show by our actions that we want guidance, then Krishna will give us that guidance. Maybe internally as a Chaitanya Guru, as a super soul, externally through some some like minded devotee, friends and guides or through other sources of knowledge, which makes sense to us. That’s why we can’t.
Shastra gives us principles and we need to use our intelligence to apply those principles. Even in the times of even in the Bhagavatam itself, we don’t see anyone just quoting scripture alone and taking a decision based on that. When Ashwathama is to be punished in the first chant of the Bhagavatam, there are different opinions.
Yudhishthira and Draupadi have one opinion. Bhima has another opinion. And it is not that Krishna or Arjuna just quote one verse and they make a final decision based on that.
They read things and based on that they make a decision and Krishna is pleased by Arjuna’s decision. So scripture is more of a broad compass. It provides us a direction, not necessarily a specific path that we should follow.
So we basically try out. That means, OK, by the daiva, this much is not in my control now. So just like if a person is sick, somebody is in fracture, then initially they have to put their arm in a sling and not move at all.
And then after that, they have to start moving. Now, when exactly do they accept the daiva that now I should not move my hand at all. And then they just start considering.
Now the kala is over and start exercising. There is no rigid formula. Doctors might say, OK, three weeks or six weeks or one week, depending on the kind of fracture.
But then after that, initially there is pain in staying over, keeping the hand motionless. And after that, there is discomfort and pain in moving the hands. But we try it out and see what works.
And based on that, we decide what to do and what not to do. Does that answer the question? Any other questions? So thank you very much. Prabhupada Ki Jai.
Gaur Bhakta Vrinda Ki Jai. Gaur Premanand.