If we give up our controlling tendency completely won’t we lose our individuality and become like trees who don’t do anything differently?
Transcript
This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
If we leave our hope of controlling, is it not that we will become like trees which only does its duty and doesn’t think anything differently? No. We have an individuality. And our individuality is irreducible.
If you look at the five Pandavas, all of them are different. All of them are devotees. But every one of them has their own character.
It’s not that in the name of becoming devotees, they all became passers-by, that individuality is there. And Krishna acknowledges that. Krishna allows you to study, as Dharma does.
Krishna allows Bhima, and he glorifies him. He takes him and he says, you kill yourself. Krishna allows everybody else, but I will not take that word Bhima.
And Krishna allows Arjuna. So actually, all of us, there are two aspects to it. There are certain conditionings and coverings that have come because of lust, anger, greed, every kind of emotion.
Those conditionings will go away. But beyond that, we have our individuality. And that individuality, we have it.
So it’s not that we can’t think differently. There’s one clear thing, that my life is meant to serve Krishna. But within that decision, within that regulation, how I can serve Krishna, there’s a new understanding.
There’s room for individuality. As you will advance, you will meet many devotees, and you will see all senior devotees are different. Every one of them is an individual.
If you meet someone, you will see the leader who is smaller, 30-40 years. They are all individuals. As I said, Pandavas were all individuals.
So, if at all there is a loss of freedom, there is lack of control, it is with respect to what is the goal of life. The goal of life is to glorify Krishna. But how I glorify Krishna, my talents are different, my mentality is different, my situation is different.
So according to my talent-based circumstances, I will serve Krishna. My individuality will actually flourish. It will not perish unless I serve Krishna.
Rather it is materialism which causes our individuality to perish. What happens? One superstar wears a cap and tie, everybody starts becoming Zoroastrian. Everybody starts wearing caps like that.
So our individuality will be taken up by devotion,