Information Satisfaction Purification Conviction – Four Benefits of Hearing

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
I did Shravan in my life was Paramahamsa Prabhu. He was the person who introduced me to Krishna Consciousness in Nasik. So, I seek his blessings that I can speak something on this topic.
So, we are having this series of seminars on the nine processes of devotional service. This is talked about in several places. The most celebrated reference is in the Srimad Bhagavatam in the response of Prahlad to Hiranyakashipu, when Hiranyakashipu asks him, what was the best thing that you learned in school? So there, he quotes this verse, which is rendered into Bengali in this Bajorayamana song also.
Now, the second part is relevant for the context of the answer. So, these nine activities, Shravana, Kirtana, Smarana, this is going on, when a human being offers these nine activities to Vishnu, then these are the nine symptoms, Lakshana of Bhakti. What happens when we do these nine activities? Attachment to the Lord increases.
This I consider to be the best education, best knowledge. So, what exactly is the best knowledge? That we should offer these nine activities to Vishnu and thereby increase our attraction to him. The fact of life is that Shravana, Kirtana, Smarana and these activities are activities that we do throughout our life.
So, right now the IPL is going on, so people are doing Shravana, Kirtana, Smarana of IPL. They hear about it, they talk about it, they remember it. And, in many ways, actually there is Vandanam and Archanam also.
There are, in Pune we have a big ISKCON temple, so it was something like quite a big temple, 30-40 crores. But there is a museum to a famous cricketer which is even more expensive, almost like 50-60 crores. So, basically this is the fact that these activities are inevitable.
We will do them naturally. But when Shravana, Kirtana, Smarana are directed towards someone other than Vishnu or other than Krishna, then that doesn’t lead to any lasting satisfaction. That may give some titillation, but it does not in any way provide lasting satisfaction and certainly it doesn’t provide liberation.
So, knowledge means, Prahlad Maharaj says, to know where to direct our propensity for Shravana, Kirtana, Smarana, Vandana. And that, when we direct it towards Vishnu, then we attain happiness in this life as well as in the next. So, we will talk about Shravana.
Now, this topic is also going to be discussed next week by His Grace Gauropal Prabhu, where he will be focussing on hearing the glories of Srimad Bhagavatam. The glories of hearing Srimad Bhagavatam. So, I will not focus so much on Bhagavatam verses.
Bhagavatam is filled with verses about the glorification of hearing. I will focus primarily on concepts. So, I will talk about four ways or four benefits of hearing or four ways in which you can tap the power of hearing.
So, these four benefits of hearing are what do we get by hearing or what should we get? So, information, satisfaction, purification and conviction. So, I will discuss these one by one and I will focus especially on the last part of conviction in detail. So, first is information.
Now, we learn by hearing. Now, actually speaking, even when we read, reading is basically the same sound vibration which you have heard, that is put in a form of a book or nowadays in the form of digital media and then we read it. So, it’s essentially the same thing.
So, we learn by hearing. Information is actually the first and quite important thing that we get by hearing. Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita 6.8 that Gyaana is knowledge.
Vigyaana is it’s a prefix. V in the prefix added to the it can be an intensifier or it can be a de-intensifier. In this case, it’s a qualifier which means a special kind of knowledge.
That is realised knowledge. So, knowledge and realisation when we get means one becomes satisfied. Now, the same point Krishna talks about in 7th chapter also wherein he says mayy asakta manah partha yogam yunjan madhashrayah samshayam samagrammam yatha ghyasthasi tachranuh tachranuh in 7.1 he states that hear now and what will happen by hearing? He is more or less saying the similar result what Prahlad Maharaj says that create a bhagavatyadha that will become attached to the Lord.
So, here he says mayy asakta manah. By the process of hearing, we will become attached to Krishna. And this, the location of this verse, 7.1 is very significant.
The 6th chapter is called Dhyan Yoga. And in the 6th chapter, Krishna describes how one should renounce the world, sit in a yogic posture and practise various asanas and turn one’s consciousness inwards. And then, this whole process which he describes of Ishtanga Yoga, he says the culmination of that is 6.47 where he states that the topmost yogi is one whose heart and soul is fixed on me.
yoginam api sarvesham madgate nantaratmana shraddhavan bhajate yomam same yuktatam omataha. Same yuktatam omataha, the person most intimately united with me. So, now after this slow ascending trajectory of how by practising yoga one can come to the perfection of fixing the mind on Krishna, now Krishna has given an alternative trajectory in 7.1 and he says that same result of what 6.47 stated that madgate nantaratmana always think of me within, that same mayya sattamana, Krishna says will come by hearing.
So, Krishna is saying by hearing, what will happen? We will asamshayam samagrammam jnasyasi, we will come to know him in truth, free from doubts. So, the information we get about transcendental subject matters by hearing is what can redirect our heart from this world to the Supreme Lord. Now, to some extent those of us who were born in India, the spiritual culture of ancient India is there, some of the spiritual information we already know.
At the same time, familiarity is not the same as understanding. We may be familiar with something but we may not really have understood it. So, sometimes especially if the information is something which we think we have heard many times, then we often don’t explore whether we have understood it or not.
When Srila Prabhupada went to the west, at that time the whole concept that we are not the body, we are the soul, this was dramatically new information. His Grace, Ravindra Swaroop Prabhu is one of the scholarly disciples of Srila Prabhupada. He writes about how in his youth he was born in an American family, he was you know, a prosperous American family.
He was enjoying life and then his brother died in an accident and then there were several difficulties that came in life and first time he went to a Sunday programme in Hare Krishna temple and there the speaker was speaking this world is a place of misery. At last, someone is speaking the truth. Everyone else is telling, oh you do this, you will become happy.
You just sit in yoga, you will become happy. Oh, you just give me some dollars, I will give you mantra and you will become God and you will become happy. Everybody is telling this.
Even in spiritual circles, I want to speak of material circles. Material circles, people are telling you buy this product, you wear this, you apply this cosmetic and you will become happy. So everyone is telling this, this idea that actually this world is a place of misery is very valuable information.
It’s not pessimism. Why? Because the point of the Bhagavad Gita, every day I write article on the Bhagavad Gita, on my side Gita Daily. So today only I wrote the article that the world is a miserable place, doesn’t mean that we have to be miserable.
They are two different things. The world is a miserable place doesn’t mean that we have to be miserable. Why is that? Because if we see the Bhagavad Gita itself is spoken to relieve Arjuna from misery.
At the start of the Bhagavad Gita अश्रुपूर्ण कुलेक्षनम् विषीदं तमिदं बाक्यम् अश्रुपूर्ण कुलेक्षनम् So the imagery is very vivid. It is अश्रुपूर्ण, he was not just crying, it is said that his eyes were brimming with tears. अश्रुपूर्ण कुलेक्षनम् That was the situation of Arjuna for a warrior to be on the verge of tears.
That is, it takes a lot. Even when Draupadi was dishonoured, even when the Pandavas were exiled, Arjuna did not cry at that time. He was furious.
But he did not cry. Right here at the start of the Bhagavad Gita, when he contemplated the prospect of shooting arrows against Bhishma and Drona, he was overwhelmed. He broke down into tears.
So this was the extent of the misery that Arjuna was in. And after hearing the Bhagavad Gita, what happened is described in 18.73, नश्टो मोहस्म तिलब्धा तत्प्रसादान्मयाचुत सितोस्मिगत सन्देह करिषेवचिनम् तव सितोस्मिगत सन्देह I have become well situated, my doubts have gone. So he regained his composure.
Essentially, Arjuna’s misery went away. So the point is that this world is like a hospital. So when scripture says that this world is like a place of misery, it simply means that we should not have unrealistic expectations that everything will work according to our plans for enjoyment in this world.
Just like if a person is in a hospital and expects that I will get 5 star menus of food for eating. 5 star hotel menus. A person is going to set oneself up for frustration.
But that does not mean, yes, hospital misery is there. But also there is a system where there are doctors, where there are treatments by which the misery can be minimised and removed. Similarly, Krishna gives the knowledge of Dharma by which our misery can be minimised and it can be removed.
That’s why that the world is a miserable place does not mean we have to be miserable. And the information that Shastra gives us is not pessimism because it gives us a realistic depiction of the problem and it gives us a realisable solution. It also gives an applicable solution.
So when we talk about the information from scripture, there can be a wide variety of information that we can hear from scripture. But we have to focus on the essentials. When Srila Prabhupada was manifest on the planet, at that time there is a popular book by Graham Hancock who is a controversial but popular historian.
He wrote a book called The Fingerprint of the Gods and his idea was that there have been ancient and advanced civilisations on the earth and he gave various postulates about where those advanced civilisations had come from. So Suhatra Maharaj asked Srila Prabhupada that what do you think about this book Srila Prabhupada? Prabhupada asked what are the contents of the book and then, is this describing Vedic technology? For example, there are the pyramids in Egypt. Now they are architectural wonder.
So are these examples of Vedic technology? So Prabhupada said Vedic technology means Guru-Shishya Parampara. Vedic technology means Guru-Shishya Parampara. Yes, there can be historical research done about ancient advanced civilisations and we can find information out.
But that need not necessarily be relevant to everyone. But the knowledge that we get from scripture is that which is meant for our own application and our own purification. For us to gain satisfaction.
So if we have a special interest in a specific subject, we can study that subject under senior devotees who have specialised in the subject. But in general, the most important information that we get in scripture is that the information about how we can heal ourselves. How we can become happy in life.
So that’s information. And after that there is satisfaction. the scriptural knowledge is knowledge about the all-attractive Supreme Lord.
And because Krishna is all-attractive. He is the source of all happiness. When we hear about him, then that brings great happiness.
There are many verses from the Bhagavatam. I will leave that to Gopal I will speak everything from the Bhagavad Gita right now. That devotees delight in speaking about Krishna with each other.
This verse comes right in the middle of the Chatushloki Bhagavad Gita. 10.9. So Krishna says that devotees delight in enlightening each other about me. One gets great satisfaction.
The word Ramanti the Dhamma of Radha Ramandeva was done over here. The word Ramana means enjoyment. And specifically Vishwanathji Ghatakur explains that Ramana is the word that is the spiritual equivalent of the sense of enjoyment that is associated with sex in this world.
Sex is considered the highest form of enjoyment in this world. And to convey the intensity of the happiness in the spiritual realm, sometimes the terminology that is similar to the terminology used for sexual enjoyment is used in the scriptural circle. In spiritual discussions also.
So Ramanti is intense delight. And this we see that when Arjuna is hearing the Bhagavad Gita, so he also in the 10th chapter, after Krishna finishes the description of Chatushloki, in one sense, the Bhagavad Gita ends the Chatushloki. At 10.8 to 11, Ramacharya called this the Chatushloki Bhagavad Gita.
And subsequent Acharyas have accepted that designation. These four verses give the essence of the Gita. And after that Arjuna gives his understanding.
So different people say that Bhagavad Gita talks about some impersonal God, Bhagavad Gita talks about, people think that Bhagavad Gita is open for many interpretations. Yes, it can be interpreted in many ways, but then those are not the meaning that Krishna wanted. How can we know what Krishna wanted? What Krishna intended? We can see what Arjuna understood.
If a person gives a class and then you ask somebody, what did you understand? And then if that person speaks, this is my understanding. If the speaker, if the audience understanding was incorrect, the speaker would have corrected it. The speaker doesn’t correct it, that means that was the audience understanding and that audience understanding is correct.
So if you want to know what is the import of the Gita, we have to look at what is the understanding of the original student. And Arjuna gives his understanding in two ways. In words, in the middle of the Gita, from 10.12 to around 10.18, and then in action after the Bhagavad Gita.
In action, after hearing the Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna doesn’t go into the Himalayas to meditate on some impersonal Brahman. You know, he focusses on practising bhakti, on serving Krishna in the mood of devotion, in his duty as a Kshatriya. But here, he gives it in words.
And what does he say? Krishna, first he acclaims Krishna as the Supreme Lord. Parambrahma, Parambhavaan, like that he glorifies Krishna and then he states, Krishna, I want to hear more and more about you. Speak in detail.
Why? He says, I am not satisfied. I don’t get satiated. I want to hear more and more.
So this satisfaction comes when we hear about Krishna because Krishna is the supreme source of all happiness. Just like if there is an electric socket and if someone puts a hand in the electric socket, then that person becomes electrified with the current that is going through it. So Krishna is the source of all happiness.
When we connect with him, then we become electrified with happiness. So, now, what Arjuna is saying is, as I am hearing about you, as I am meditating on you, I am getting so much joy that I want to hear more and more and more. Now this satisfaction is in multiple phases.
The satisfaction will increase as our attraction to Krishna increases. Now when we have affection for someone, naturally we want to hear more and more about that person. But then, what about when we don’t have so much attraction for Krishna? So at that time we may feel, oh, hearing about Krishna doesn’t give me much satisfaction.
That brings us to third point. Third is purification. So information, satisfaction, purification.
So hearing about Krishna is not only meant to tell us how to serve Krishna. Hearing is not only for application, hearing itself is also the application. Hearing itself is the application of the process of bhakti because in hearing we are remembering Krishna.
Now purification. The word purification refers to removal of the artificial. Just like when we say pure water, that means the impurities from the water are removed.
So purification means that that which is artificial, that which is unnatural, that which has been added, that is removed. So what is removed is anartha. The word artha has many meanings.
One meaning is meaning. Artha, one meaning is meaning, another is purpose, another is value. If you have Artha Mantri, the finance minister, so artha has many meanings.
Anartha means that which has no meaning, that which has no value, that which serves no purpose. So anartha, so what happens, because of the anarthas, we cannot experience happiness. So our mind misdirects us as long as we are impure.
So, even those of you who use computers, in many word processing software, there is an autocorrect function. So if you type some word wrong, then the autocorrect function corrects the word. But if the software programme is not familiar with the word, then it sometimes, we type the right word, but it makes it wrong.
So like, this actually happened when I was writing an article, I just typed Satchitananda, and then I have a text-to-speech software which reads out the software, which reads out the text, which I use for doing proofreading. So it was Satchitananda, thus Atma is Satchitananda, so the autocorrect did it, the Atma is Saturday Chitananda. So, this is an example of incorrect autocorrect.
So the autocorrect is making the correct incorrect. So like that, when we are impure, the mind does an incorrect autocorrect of everything. That means the mind is just not familiar with the concept of spiritual happiness.
And when it is not familiar with the concept of spiritual happiness, even when one comes in contact with Krishna, at that time, the only conception of happiness that the mind has is of material happiness. So, what the mind does is, even when we are doing spiritual activities, it tries to reduce the spiritual activities down to material activities. It tries to minimise the spiritual and bring it down to the material level.
And by this incorrect autocorrect, even when we are doing devotional activities, we end up with material consciousness. And because of this material consciousness, we don’t connect with Krishna. Just like, you know, there is a magnet and there are iron filings.
So Prahlad Maharaj used the example. Just as iron filings are naturally attracted to a magnet, similarly, my conscious is attracted to you, O Lord. So, now if the iron filings are rusted, then they will not become attractive.
There, there is something which is artificial, which prevents the natural from occurring. So like that, the soul has a natural attraction towards Krishna. But, when the soul is covered over by impurities, then that natural attraction to Krishna doesn’t manifest.
But, the solution is to keep hearing. Just by hearing about Krishna, what are we doing? We are forcing the mind and the soul to connect with Krishna. Some vibration about Krishna, it will become purified.
There is purification. Purification essentially means that the lust, anger, greed, envy, they start decreasing. … … … So, Krishna describes in the 13th chapter of the Bhagavad Gita, in 13.24, 25, 26, he describes the various processes of yoga.
So, first he describes the three other processes, karma yoga, jnana yoga, and then he says, there are some other people, … They don’t know about any of these processes of yoga. … They hear from others. … And by hearing, they start worshipping.
… They will also go beyond material existence. … They will go beyond … … The parayana means to be dedicated. So, Narayana parayana means one who is dedicated to Narayana.
Here Krishna uses the interesting phrase, Shruti parayana, compound word he is using over here. So, that means, before we can become Narayana parayana, we actually need to become Shruti parayana. We become devoted to hearing and through that hearing, the Lord will manifest in our heart and that Lord will raise us above the cycle of birth and death.
So, the hearing, if we keep doing, it will purify us. And when we become purified, then, the attraction to Krishna, which is natural for the soul, will manifest. And as it manifests, then, we will get the satisfaction also.
Now, this brings us to the fourth point, that is conviction. … Conviction, there is information, there is so much information that we hear, but often, we just hear it and don’t take it very seriously. If we are to follow a process, we need conviction.
And how does hearing lead to conviction? Hearing, we can say, okay, I hear something, I understand it. I get some information about it. I may even get some understanding about it.
But how does it, that understanding transform into conviction? So, there are the three processes. When something enters into our ears, it is information. When something enters into our head, it is comprehension.
When something enters into the heart, that is conviction. So, when we first hear, it enters into our, through our ears. So, it’s just information at that time.
It’s just practically like data, which may be unorganised and we have not even understood it. But when we ask to deliberate on it, contemplate on it, … Do vimarshan, deliberate on that. Then that leads to comprehension.
And after that, when that knowledge enters into the heart, that leads to conviction. So, how does information transform into conviction? This requires us to actually experience for ourselves the reality of the knowledge. Now, we often use the word realisation.
Now, the contemporary equivalent of that word is epiphany. Epiphany means a deep, sudden insight that someone gets. So, actually, realisation, how do we get realisations? Realisation happens when that which is a reality, we accept it to be a reality.
Realisation means that which is a reality, we accept it as a reality. So, for example, that, going back to the earlier point, this world is a place of misery. This is a scriptural statement.
But, if we look at the world, Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita, … The movies, they say, and they lived happily ever after. Exact opposite. … So, … … … So, what exactly happens? The world’s propaganda is that we can be happy in the here and now.
And, so, though we may hear from scripture that this world is a place of misery, but we all secretly disbelieve it. We think, yeah, maybe, it may be for everyone, but I’ll be an exception. You know, if you are to get realisations, we have to take exception to the hope for an exception.
Now, there are no exceptions. There are no exceptions. It’s a universal truth.
So, for example, now, scripture says that this world is a place of misery. Now, all of us have our own pet notions of what is or what will make us happy. Although there are certain broad conceptions of happiness, but all of us have our ideas.
Oh, if I just get this, this, this, I’ll become happy. So, what we have to do is, we have to examine in the light of scripture our definition of happiness. And then, for example, my main service is writing.
So, I write for Krishna. But, writing itself can be so so sattvically seductive, so seductive in the sense of word of goodness that one may think that just by writing, I’ll become happy. Now, if you look at the history of the writers of just the last century, out of the ten people who are considered the topmost writers in the last century, five of them committed suicide.
Now, each of them may have had their individual problems because of which they committed suicide. But the point is that, when I first read this, I was shocked. I used to think that I like writing so much and if somebody is a better writer, such a world celebrated writer, that person must be enjoying writing so much.
Wouldn’t that person be happy? Yes, there is. Surely, if somebody is a good writer, that person will get happiness in that activity. But happiness in a particular activity does not make a happy person.
We may be good at when, about a year or so ago, a famous American comedian committed suicide. So, at that time, I had written an article called, After the Laughter. After the Laughter.
So, on the TV, on the comedy shows, on the movies, that person will be laughing and inducing others to laugh. But, normally, we equate laughter with happiness. If somebody is laughing, somebody is making others laugh, that means that person is happy.
But, here, here is a comedian, not just a comedian, a world celebrated comedian and he was so frustrated with his life that he committed suicide. So, how is that? That’s because laughter is not happiness. That person will be proficient in a particular activity and, yes, that skill can be appreciated.
That skill is there, that skill has come as a result of hard work and dedication. Yes, we appreciate that skill. But we shouldn’t equate that with happiness.
Because, basically, comedy and jokes, these are simply nothing more than mental tickling. You know, there are small children and if you tickle them physically, they will start laughing. They will start laughing.
Now, they may laugh, but is that laughter happiness? Yes, if the happiness, if the sort of sensation we get, if the pleasure that we get from laughing, from tickling, where happiness, then all of us can have our own perpetual tickling machines. And we can be happy for the rest of our lives. No.
So, that is external to our core priorities, our core values, who we really are. So, just as there can be physical tickling, which can lead to the external equivalent of happiness. That means, people laugh.
But, just as the laughter that comes from tickling is not happiness, so, similarly, the laughter from comedy is not happiness. It is comedy, basically, jokes and comedy and all that is, basically, mental tickling. There is physical tickling and there is subtle, at the level of subtle body there is tickling.
That is mental tickling. So, this mental tickling is not equivalent to happiness. So, the point which I am making over here is that I give two examples.
One of a writer and second of a comedian. So, all of us have to find out using Shastra and applying that Shastric knowledge to the real world what is my pet definition of happiness and is it really true? It’s not that as devotees we cannot write or we cannot be humorous or we cannot do various activities which involves skill and expertise. No, we can.
But the idea is these things, if they are disconnected from Krishna, they will not make us happy. These things need to be connected with Krishna. So, realisation, as I said, means that that which is a reality, we accept it as a reality.
How does that happen? We hear something from scripture. So, I earlier said that how? From scripture we hear, that is from Shravana. You know, there are three ways of acquiring knowledge.
That is Pratyaksha, Anuman and Shabda. So, Shabda is from scripture. So, from scripture we hear that there is, this world is Dukhalaya Shashu.
But from Pratyaksha, from our senses, we say, oh so many people are enjoying. Happily ever after. And then Anuman, you know, we see something and then we imagine that it is much greater in actual life.
And what happens is, when there is this, what psychologists call cognitive dissonance. Don’t get into the technical terms. But what cognitive dissonance means is, there are two contradictory ideas in the head.
And the person doesn’t know which is right. So, this is what happens in a sadhaka’s life, that from Shastra, we are hearing one thing. That actually this world is a place of misery and the more we try to enjoy in this world, we will become miserable.
But from Pratyaksha and Anuman, what we are seeing is, oh, there is so much enjoyment in this world. Do this more and we will enjoy more. I was going to Kolkata once.
I was at the airport. At that time I saw one advertisement of a Bollywood star. So, there was this, there was this young man who was just looking at some group of young beautiful girls who were walking along.
And those girls were not even noticing him. And then suddenly this Bollywood star came along. And they all squealed and laughed and ran towards him and hugged him and started kissing him.
And this person was just watching in envy. And then that Bollywood star comes to him and he says, you want to know my secret? And then he gives him some cosmetic cream. Some fair and handsome or something.
Now, then apparently this person applies this cream and goes. And next time those women are walking along and they see him and they also start squealing and running to him and hugging him and kissing him. So now, such an advertisement is an insult to both male and female intelligence.
You know, that some woman will fall for a man just because he has applied some cosmetic. Isn’t it such an insult to female intelligence? And on top of that, that a man will believe such fairytales. That is an insult to male intelligence also.
So, people claim that what is told in scripture is fairytales. But actually what is shown in the advertisement is fairytales. It’s fairytales.
That just by purchasing this, by acquiring this, by getting that one will enjoy life. No, it is all just illusion. It is, it is very attractively and aggressively marketed illusion.
But still it is illusion. So, the point is that there is this conflict which is there in our consciousness that from shabda we hear one thing, from pratiksha anuman we get some other knowledge. So, as long as we give more weightage to what we get from pratiksha anuman, then our conviction will not strengthen.
Our conviction will stay shaky. But, we cannot go around in this world with closed eyes. We have to have our eyes open.
So, what do we do then? The idea is that it’s not that pratiksha has to be rejected. Pratiksha has to be harmonised with shabda. So, Krishna describes to Uddhava in the Uddhava Gita that shruti, what we hear from shruti, he says, the same thing we can also learn from pratiksha.
shruti, pratiksham, aitih aitih is related with itihas, the historical records. You know, all of us, whichever culture we are from, there are some good sayings from that culture, whether Prabhupada would quote by saying from Bengali culture, he was from Bengal. But, it’s your culture, Gujarati culture, Marathi culture, Tamil culture.
They all have some traditional wisdom, which all makes a lot of sense in many ways. So, aitiha is also there, and anumana, pramane chatushtam, these four pramanas, I mean, all these four pramanas, what can we understand? Anvasthanat, that this world is insubstantial. And, vikalpat savirajyate.
Vikalpat means, there is so much alternative. Oh, if you can’t get this, get this, get this, get this, and then you will become happy. So, but, virajyate, one can become detached.
So, the point which I am making over here is, I’ll come to it again, that when will we get conviction, when our pratiksha will confirm what we are hearing from shabda. And this realisation means, that which is a reality, we accept it as a reality. Now, when will we accept it as a reality? It is, we have heard from scripture, and even if we have faith in whoever is speaking, in our spiritual master, in the Vaishnavas, still, just by hearing, our conviction may not deepen.
Now, it’s not necessary that we have to experience that thing to understand its futility. Even if we observe, by observing also, we can learn. So, we need to direct our pratiksha in such a way, that whatever we are hearing from shabda becomes confirmed.
So, that’s why we have to see with the eyes of shastra. We hear from scripture, and then while we are looking around in the world, the classic example of this is in the eleventh canto, what is called as the Bhikshu Gita. Bhikshu Gita is the Avadhoot Brahmana.
He learns from 24 gurus. And what is he doing? He is observing nature, and what he has learned from his guru, he is confirming that. So, what do we need to do to get realisation? We need that, we need to take what we are receiving from scripture, and try to see in the world how it is true.
That means we harmonise our pratiksha and anuman with shabda. So, going back to the example of writing I had given. So, I have the notion that writing will make me happy.
But then I look at some of the top writers in the world, and I find that their personal lives were often quite frustrated. So, this is something which I, this is knowledge I got from pratiksha. And then, I can infer from that.
I can do anuman, this is true for the top authors, it will be true for others also. And in that way, we can infer. So, each of us, we need certain realisations, certain convictions according to what our individual imprisoning illusions are.
All of us have our own imprisoning illusions. Certain things captivate us, certain things trap us. So, by seeing those things in the light of shastra, we can get realisation.
I’ll give a couple more examples for this. But I’ll emphasise one point now. This will be the last point.
We can have some question answers. So, one of the best ways to get conviction is to move from shravana to kirtana. When we hear, that is good, very good.
But when we want to speak that, we are forced to internalise what we are hearing. When we have to speak about Krishna, we may have heard many things, but we’ll find that to present it in a coherent way is not very easy. And to present it in a coherent way, we have to internalise it ourselves.
And one of the best ways we can internalise is by starting to speak. And once we start speaking, then we start thinking more seriously, we start hearing more deeply, and we start realising things. Things become deeper, they become internalised, they become convictions.
So, as was mentioned in the introduction, I do quite a bit of online outreach. So, the way I started online outreach was serendipity. It was a pleasant accident.
So, I was once sick in Bakhtiyanth Hospital. I was giving a class on Skype to some devotees. So, I had my computer, the devotees were in Bangalore, they had their computer.
And then they were assembled there. So, while I was giving the class, somehow the internet was not very good. So, we switched off the video.
And I was just speaking. And then, while speaking, I just… I was speaking about the six opulences of Lord Chaitanya. So, I just closed my eyes.
I spoke for almost 15-20 minutes. And then suddenly, I heard a phone call. And I realised that for the last 15-20 minutes, the internet connection had gone off.
So, for a moment, I was annoyed. I just wasted my time speaking for almost 15-20 minutes, and there was no one here. But then, while I was speaking with closed eyes, I was so absorbed.
The next moment, it struck me that I don’t need an audience for speaking about Krishna. So, from that point onwards, I just decided that I started answering questions on the internet. So, where there is no audience, people ask questions on my website.
I record the answers, and then devotees and others hear them at their own convenience. So, again, the point which I am making over here is that the… I told about how speaking about Krishna, hearing about Krishna, contemplating on Krishna, all this brings happiness. So, the Pratyaksha needs to be harmonised with Shabda.
So, in this particular case, the default reaction was, hey, I wasted my time. That was irritation. But somehow, by Krishna’s grace, at that time, the way I thought, it’s so wonderful that I can speak about Krishna, even if there is no audience.
I get satisfaction about speaking about Krishna. So, when we can harmonise our Pratyaksha with Shabda, then our conviction in the process of Bhakti will increase. The whole process of Bhakti, according to Shastra, is essentially a devotional reinterpretation of reality.
A devotional reinterpretation of reality. That means that, when in this world, we face problems. So, somebody may say that, no, I am practising Bhakti and still there are problems.
Now, what is the use of practising Bhakti? This could be one approach, and by this approach, we may say that, hey, this process of Bhakti doesn’t work. I’ll give it up. But, another way of looking at the same thing is, that when we face problems in life, then we say, yes, Krishna says this world is Dukkhalaya, and I am experiencing Dukkha.
So, therefore, what scripture says is true. Now, scripture doesn’t only say that this world is Dukkhalaya. Scripture also says that, that practising Bhakti is joyful.
So, I have experienced one truth of scripture as real, as true. Now, let me try to experience the other truth of scripture also as real. The scriptural truth has two parts.
One is that this world is a place of misery. The other is, by practising Bhakti, we can transcend the misery of this world. See, Krishna says in 18.58, that if you become conscious of me, you’ll cross over all obstacles by my grace.
So, for a devotee who can harmonise Pratyaksha with Shabda, even when misery comes, misery, rather than disproving scripture, confirms scripture. And that experience of misery becomes a further impetus for realising the truth of scripture further. So, scripture has said that, yes, this world is a place of misery.
I found its place of misery. But scripture also said that remembrance of Krishna, absorption in Krishna is a source of happiness. Now, let me experience that also.
And that way, we can become more and more committed to the practise of Bhakti. And whatever situation we are put in, if we can stay committed to the practise of Bhakti, we can experience a non-material enrichment that does not depend on our circumstance. That does not depend on our externals.
In this world, what happens to us is not as important as what happens in us. What happens to us is in many ways not under our control. People will behave irrationally, things will go wrong.
What happens to us is not so much in our control. But what happens in us, how we respond to that, that is in our control. And that can be changed by hearing.
By hearing, we will learn to see whatever happens as we will be able to reinterpret it as an opportunity to go closer to Krishna. We will reinterpret it as an opportunity to realise Krishna’s supreme shelter giving potency. And in that way, we will move forward steadily with deepened conviction in our bhakti.
So I will summarise. I started by talking about how shravanam, kirtanam, smaranam is done by everyone. But the intelligence means to do it, to direct this propensity towards Krishna.
And then we discussed the four benefits of hearing. Information, satisfaction, purification and conviction. So information, scripture has a vast amount of information.
But the central information that we should be looking for is how I can apply in my life. Vedic technology means Guru Shishya Parampara Prabhupada said. Then satisfaction means that because Krishna is the all attractive source of happiness, when we connect with him through hearing, we become electrified with happiness.
And if that is not happening, that means the contact with Krishna is not happening because there are impurities. And that brings us to the third part, that is purification. So purification means that which is obstructing our contact with Krishna, that gradually goes out.
So the incorrect, autocorrect that happens in this world, that our mind goes from the pure to the impure, that stops when we keep hearing about Krishna. And the last is conviction. So when something enters the ears, it is information.
When it enters the head, it is comprehension. When it enters the heart, it is conviction. So how do we get things to enter into the heart? One is of course we apply those things.
But what does applying mean? Applying means that we direct our Pratyaksha so that it harmonises with Shabda. So I gave examples of how the Pratyaksha and Shabda contradict happily ever after and versus there is cognitive dissonance which results because of that. But if we examine what is being shown to us by Pratyaksha critically, we will find that it is fairy tales.
Advertisements are actually fairy tales. So rather than believing them, we direct our Pratyaksha so that it harmonises with Shabda. Then we will get conviction.
And by that conviction, we can march steadily in the process of Bhakti. And the greatest conviction that we can get is that yes, on one side scripture says that the world is a place of misery and I am experiencing misery. But scripture also says that by becoming absorbed in Krishna, we can transcend misery.
And when we get realisation of that, then nothing in this world can shake us. We can march steadily onwards through this life, onwards to Krishna. So by scripture, what happens to us, even if we can’t control, what happens in us, we can change so that it will always be positive.
Thank you very much. Are there any questions? Till the present era. Okay.
So when the Bhagavatam gives the most expansive narrative about history, why do Westerners consider it a mythology? Primarily because of an overconfidence in Pratyaksha and Hanuman. Because by our inference, by our observation inference, we have acquired a certain amount of knowledge. And that knowledge is valuable.
Now we have so much technology that we are using today. So that is acquired using Pratyaksha and Hanuman. Science largely operates on that.
So that knowledge is valid. But there is often, as I said, overconfidence. When there is non-scientific extrapolation of scientific knowledge.
There is non-scientific extrapolation of scientific knowledge. What I mean by that is that suppose an alien came to the earth and that alien he is on the earth, he has been sent from some other planet to observe earth and find out what is the population of earth. What is the nature of the inhabitants of the earth.
And say that person comes to Radha Gopinath temple while we are sitting. So from 1.30 to 2.30, alien is hovering in the background observing. And then after staying here for one hour the alien goes back to his planet and reports the population of earth is mostly Indian males and females who are largely interested in God.
Now is that true? The observation is true, the extrapolation is wrong. The observation is true but it cannot be extrapolated to all of earth. So what has happened is science has a certain level of observational capacity and what science infers is that whatever we observe, that is the way all of reality is.
And when something doesn’t fit into our conceptions, we say that it is impossible. And that is how it leads to the notion of mythology. The notion of something which cannot which does not agree with our experience, which does not agree with our conceptions, we tend to call it as mythology.
But actually speaking, if science has taught humanity anything, science has taught us humility. Because what is considered as a rock solid scientific knowledge today, you know, at the start of the 20th century, the scientists who said Kelvin and others said that actually all the scientific knowledge that has to be acquired has been acquired. In the future generations of physicists, they will have no work to do except refine the details of what we have now.
And just 20 years later, quantum physics came and then Einstein brought relativity and classical Newtonian physics was in shambles. And now the famous physicist Stephen Hawking, he said I am confident, I am happy to announce that humanity’s quest for knowledge will never end. So when the London Times published it he says, even he says even he gives up.
What he is saying is that I am happy to say that humanity’s quest for knowledge will never end. That means I am happy to say that humanity will be forever ignorant. Is that something to be happy about? The point which I am making is scientific knowledge is valid, but there is invalid extrapolation.
So scripture gives us many things which are not comprehensible by our experience which do not agree with our current observation. And that’s why they are deemed as mythology. But if we really adopt the scientific spirit and see how our scientific knowledge is mutable, then we will be open to higher avenues of knowledge also.
So the part that Bhagavatam offers us is a higher dimensional science. Does that answer your question? Any other questions? Yes, bro. Which is the longest history in the entire history of the mankind.
Like we can say Matsya, Kurma, Varaha, Narsimha. So why westerners say it as mythology? In fact it is the history of the entire cosmic creation till now. Okay.
Yeah, you can ask till then. When the mic comes to you, you can ask. Thank you, bro, for the wonderful class.
Mainly the statement of what happens to us is not more important than what happens to us. What happens to us is more important. So just to extend further at a sadhaka level, how we understand the problems coming in our life rather than playing a blame game, understanding that it is my own karma and understanding that it is the mercy of the Lord which is coming to me and which is just a portion of it which I am receiving and so rather than, mainly important is rather than playing a blame game, understanding how it is my own karma, reminding ourselves that this is what it is, it is my own karma which is coming up and the other things from whom it is coming it is just a kind of their instruments.
Okay. So if we face problems in our life, what is the right way in which we can deal with them? See, first of all, it is not that as devotees we are meant to become masochists and subject ourselves to misery. If misery is there, we do try to counter it in whatever way practically is possible.
But the way we counter misery is not by fighting harder but by rising higher. It’s not that we are meant to stay miserable but when we fight harder means all this problem is coming I just fight back harder. But often that doesn’t lead to a solution because the problem often gets more complicated.
When we try to fight other person tries to fight, just fighting harder makes the problem worse. But by rising higher, rising higher means raising our consciousness. So essentially the process of bhakti is not meant to be a replacement for material problem solving.
It is meant to be a complement. It is not a replacement. Yes, if there are certain material problems, if somebody falls sick, we have to go to a doctor to take medicine.
But in the process while we are taking medicine and while we are getting healed, what happens inside us is important. Some people can get so broken down because of the sickness that it’s that they just lose the spirit of living. Why did this happen to me? So as devotees that does not have to happen to us.
How can we avoid that? Now the two points which we have said, intellectually they are true but emotionally it’s quite difficult to accept. I may say that oh I am suffering because of my karma. Was I such a bad person? What all I could have done? We may get that question.
So the point is that there are two ways in which we can move forward in life. When something happens, something bad happens, if we ask this question, why this? The question why this ultimately has no answer. We don’t, yes, in principle we understand that it is because of past karma but usually speaking that is not the focus of anyone.
Even in Shastra, those who are suffering, that is one statement they understand, yes, it’s because of past karma. The focus is not on why this. The focus is on how now? If ask not why this, ask how now? How can I serve Krishna now? What can I do now? That itself redirects our energies.
And when we try to focus on this, okay, this situation has come, why it has come, I don’t know. But it is there, what can I do now? Once we focus on this, it’s actually liberating. Liberating because all that choked up resentment that is there, generally speaking, our response, as we talk about blame game, we can blame in three directions.
One is that we can blame others. Because of you, you, you, you, this problem came up. Now we can blame others.
The other way is that we can blame ourselves. Now blaming ourselves can also become self-pity. And self-pity is not humility.
Self-pity is actually just a negative form of self-centredness. It is not really a solution. So, I am so bad, I am so bad, I am so bad.
Ultimately, the focus shifts from bad to I. And there is no solution that comes up. So, either we can blame others, we can blame ourselves or we can blame God. God is so cruel.
And, but none of these offer any solutions to us. So, the important point for a devotee is, okay, this has happened, what can I do now? So, if you focus on that particular, okay, what can I do now? Then विदामि बुद्धियोगं तम एनमा मुपयान्तिते? Krishna gives us the intelligence about how we can move forward in our spiritual life. Not just in our spiritual life, in every walk of our life.
So, this mental choking, you know, like sometimes the engine of a vehicle chokes and the engine of a machine chokes, the machine just can’t move. So, like that, when problems come, there is a mental choking that happens. And that paralyses us.
So, we have to find out which way our mental choking happens. Is it happening because I am blaming someone? Am I blaming myself? Am I blaming God? So, the point is that none of these are solutions. And if we are blaming someone else, then it is good if we could pray for that person.
We may feel that this person is a child, he is causing so much problems so why should I pray for that person? That prayer, even if that person we don’t feel like praying for that person, by praying for someone we start seeing that person as a partner and not an opponent. Because we understand, yes, this person also is having conditioning, is having anarthas and because of that all those problems are, that person is creating trouble for me. So, what happens is when we can, praying essentially means we see that person’s connection with Krishna.
Even if that person is not a devotee also, but still that person has a connection with Krishna. So, by that we can remove the mental choking. So, if we have some trusted devotees with whom we can talk and express ourselves.
Now, we don’t have to be judgemental. If we feel that someone is to be blamed, we express that and then get things clarified and remove the mental choking so that we can move onwards in our life. So, as a focus, we may not be able to understand why some things are happening, but if we focus on Krishna, how can I serve you? Then, we will always find some way in which we can move onwards.
And the wonderful thing about bhakti is that there are two things. One is getting over with things, getting over things and the other is getting on with things. Getting over things means, oh, some big problem has come up and I am overwhelmed by it.
To get over it is often difficult. But, we can still get on with it. We can start doing some activity when we are mentally choked and then we try to deal with a particular issue.
We just can’t because the mind doesn’t allow us. So, we find out how can we get on. Now, do some activity, do some link of bhakti by which you can connect with Krishna.
Maybe it is hearing kirtans, maybe it is coming and praying to the deities, singing bhajans, taking guidance from some senior devotee or whatever. We get on with things and once we start getting on with things, that mental choking goes off. And gradually our mental energy also gets re-channelised.
And over a period of time, we will not only be able to go through that situation but we will grow through that situation. Because we will realise that no matter how big a problem is, Krishna is bigger. And in that sense, every problem can become an opportunity for us to realise the shelter giving potency of Krishna.
And that way, we can go beyond that problem. Does that answer your question? Thank you. Yes.
So, I mentioned you committed suicide. Does that mean that we should not smile or laugh? No, not at all. What it means is that we should not think that smiling and laughing alone is happiness.
The whole point of bhakti is not rejection but connection. It’s not that we reject there is music, there is dance, there is humour, there are various kinds of cultural, social, intellectual skills and abilities. They are not to be rejected.
They are to be connected. So, in the Bhagavatam, it is said what is illusion? rte artham yat pratiyet na pratiyet chaatmani tabhyad atmano mayam yatha bhasu yatha tamah So, in the Chatur Shloki Bhagavatam, there it is said that when we consider something which has no connection with Krishna as meaningful, that is maya. So, applied to our context, what this verse means is that when we think that something in and of itself is a source of happiness, then that is an illusion.
So, money is not an illusion thinking that money will make me happy, that will be illusion. But when we use money for the service of Krishna, then that money becomes a very valuable resource for serving Krishna. Similarly, humour is a very valuable resource for serving Krishna.
Now, Srila Prabhupada, he was so brilliant, he was often humorous and he was quite creative in his presentation of bhakti. So, humour attains its perfection when it is used in Krishna’s service. So, as devotees, should we be smiling? Yes, definitely.
We should be smiling, but we should not think that everyone who is smiling is happy. You know, how a person is living is more important than whether the person is smiling or not. One of my books I wrote, it was titled as Smiling Faces, Crying Hearts.
You know, people do that. I wrote a poem there. People, you know, in CBC movies, people are having parties and they are enjoying.
So, they are having maybe some drinks and they sing cheers. So, their hearts are filled with fears. Their hearts are filled with fears.
Their minds are pierced by desires. They are on the verge of tears and they say cheers. So, their hearts are filled with fears.
Their minds are pierced by desires. They are on the verge of tears and they say cheers. Any other questions? Yes.
We have two questions. First question regarding the cognitive disorder. Cognitive dissonance.
Disorder is a different thing. Cognitive dissonance. Cognitive disorder means that a person is not able to perceive properly.
It is a disorder in cognition. There is resonance and there is dissonance. Resonance means when two things agree with each other.
Dissonance means when two things disagree with each other. So, I was talking about cognitive dissonance. In sadhakas mind, every time, two things are spiritual things and material things.
Many times or sometimes, we are attracted to material things. How can we transfer from material to spiritual? That is one question. Next question is regarding effect of hearing.
Let’s answer this question first. There are material and spiritual things in our mind. How do we deal with them? The process of bhakti is not just rejection of material but as I said again, connection of material with the spiritual.
In general, often we classify as material and spiritual. But within material also, there can be further classification. There are material things which are pro-devotional.
There are material things which are non-devotional. There are material things which are anti-devotional. So, material things are pro-devotional means, roughly we could say sattva guna.
There are many sattvic activities which can be connected with Krishna, very easily connected with Krishna. Let’s say somebody has singing ability, musical ability, writing ability, speaking ability, managing ability. These are various things.
These are material things but they can be connected with Krishna. So, when they can be connected with Krishna, they are pro-devotional. So, we don’t have to necessarily reject everything material.
The pro-devotional, we try to train ourselves so that we connect with Krishna more and more. So, it’s good if we can get the association of those devotees who are also good at these things, who are interested in those very things. Then in that sangha, our whole spiritual life will blossom.
Because again if you see the whole principle of varanashram, is varanashram, the principle is that we do what we are good at doing for the cause of dharma. A brahmana is good at intellectual work and a brahmana does that, he does intellectual work for the cause of dharma. A kshatriya is good at managing and delegating and planning and things like that.
Brahmana does it for Krishna. Sorry, a kshatriya does that for Krishna. So, there are many, even with the material, that which is pro-devotional, we connect with Krishna.
Then there is non-devotional. At one level, we could say everything can be connected with Krishna. But from practical functional point of view, we may not be able to immediately connect everything with Krishna.
For example, we have a job and the job we are working with non-devotees. Then, there may not be anything directly devotional within it. So, yes, the purpose is devotional.
We are doing that job because our whole life is devoted to Krishna, so our job is devoted to Krishna. But specific activities within that may not necessarily be devotional. But just the non-devotional is not necessarily anti-devotional.
Non-devotional means if we are working in a company or an office, wherever, then basically we are doing our profession over there. Others are doing their profession. If we are good at it, we move forward in our life.
So, we don’t have to, it’s not that for the sake of bhakti, we have to reject that. Whatever a devotee does, our intention will be doing it for Krishna. So, if a devotee is doing a job, the devotee does the job well for Krishna’s sake.
And the connection in that case is in the intention. There is no direct connection. Now, we see Maharaja Yudhishthira was a king and what did he do? He performed the Rajasuya Yagna wherein he glorified Krishna.
So, that was his ultimate intention to glorify Krishna by performing Rajasuya Yagna. But he had to do so much effort for that. Sending his brothers all over the world to conquer the world was no easy task.
But he did that. So, his intention was devotional and ultimately that manifested. So, the point is that a devotee can bring a devotional intention even in non-devotional activities.
And that way, non-devotional in the sense that they may not have any explicit visible devotional connection. But our intention can spiritualise them also. And within the material, there are certain which are anti-devotional.
So, for example, if there are people, there are colleagues who break the four regulatory principles, there are parties where sinful activities happen, then we have to find an intelligent way by which we can avoid those activities. And according to time and circumstances, we can find out how best to do that. So, in general, if we maximise the pro-devotional and then we manage the non-devotional, then we don’t have to worry so much.
So, the most important thing is if our direct devotional connection with Krishna, our sadhana, our hearing, our seva, if they are strong, then we will be able to connect other things with Krishna also. So, in our sadhana, we offer our heart to Krishna. Once our heart is offered to Krishna, then whatever we are doing in the world, that also we offer to Krishna, because our heart is offered to Krishna.
But, if our sadhana is not very strong, then our heart is not offered to Krishna, then our heart is attracted to Maya. Then whatever we do, that is not offered to Krishna, that is offered to our own ego. And I want to prove how great I am.
So, that means, there are four different things. There are direct devotional activities, which we try to do as seriously as possible to solidify our devotional connection. Then there are pro-devotional activities within the material activities, but by material I mean in which there is no direct visible devotional connection.
The pro-devotional, we try to get a sangha in which we can make, use those activities in devotional service. The non-devotional, we do as much as is required. So, if it is required for our profession or whatever.
And the anti-devotional, we skilfully avoid those activities. And that way, we can move onwards to study in our spiritual life. That answer your question? Okay.
Yeah. Devotionalists have any questions? One last question? Yeah. Yes.
Second question, can I ask? Yeah. The effect of hearing, many times, effect of hearing till not last for many days. It’s like, we hear sentence of Shri Prabhupada, millions of lifetimes you serve Maya, give this one lifetime to Krishna.
But after some time, after some days, we lost that enthusiasm of the sentences. Yes. Then how can we remain same theme? Okay.
So, we hear, but the effect doesn’t seem to last. How can we make the effect of hearing last? There are two different things here. First is that, hearing is like food.
So, it’s not that, we don’t even expect, because I ate yesterday, I should have energy today. Yes, yesterday I ate, I got energy yesterday. If I want energy today, I have to eat today.
Isn’t it? So, hearing is like food and we need to hear regularly. That’s one point. There is no substitute for regular hearing.
By regular hearing, we get spiritual nourishment. Second point is, that by regular hearing, when we properly eat nourishing food, it’s not just that our hunger is satisfied, but our body itself gets built. So, we become overall healthier.
So, like that, by the process of hearing, even if it seems that I am hearing and I am forgetting, I am hearing and I am forgetting, but still each time we are hearing, at least during the process of hearing, we are connected with Krishna. And that connection with Krishna purifies us. And that purification will have a cumulative effect.
And that cumulative effect will come in the form of changed responses. Consider the example of, say, a firefighter. You know, the young firefighter is trained and then goes with the firefighting van first time.
And then, the person is trained, jumps out of the firefighting van and takes up the hose and then looks at her, such a huge blaze, just drops the fire. Drops the fire hose in horror. What has happened? All the training is forgotten.
In the face of that blazing fire and the panic created by that, everything is forgotten. But, when a firefighter is trained, then what happens? Yes, still the shock at the sight of that huge fire is there, but the reflexes are trained. And the more trained the firefighter, the quicker are the reflexes.
Yes, there might be a default panic, but immediately there is a switch back to the professional mode where one starts operating the hose and extinguishing the fire. So, as the firefighter becomes more and more trained, there is the right reaction which becomes faster and faster. Similarly, when the fire of desire, it starts burning in our consciousness.
Initially, I’ve got such desires, what can I do? What is the use of my chanting? I can just forget it. We just become panicky. I’ve got desires, that means now I’ve fallen.
Temptations will come, we don’t have to welcome. So, as we become trained in the process of bhakti, then what happens? By the practise of bhakti, our response becomes sharper. Yes, the desire has come.
This desire has come. Yes, this has simply come because of my past conditionings and I don’t have to accept this desire. Krishna uses a beautiful word in 2.17 of the Bhagavad Gita.
He says, Kama Kami. Kama is desire and Kami is desire. Natu Kama Kami, Krishna says.
He says, that verse goes on. But the essential point, Natu Kama Kami. Do not be a desirer of desire.
What it means is, desire may come, but we don’t have to accept that desire. It’s like, say, as an example of advertisements. Sometimes, people sit and daydream in front of advertisements, when I’ll get this car, when I’ll get this, when I’ll get that, when I’ll get that.
Now, whatever things are there, the advertisements often promises happiness. Now, when we become devotees, is it that we may understand, okay, these things are not going to make me happy. So, we may understand that, but is it that the advertising agencies are going to stop advertising because of that? No, their job is to keep advertising.
Our job is not to pay attention to them. Isn’t it? So, just as there are outer advertising agencies who will keep advertising, the mind is Maya’s internal advertising agent. And, the mind is going to keep advertising Maya.
Come on, enjoy this, eat this, go this, do that. The point is, when we practise bhakti, we no longer, advertisers may keep glamorising, but just as we stop believing those advertisements, so like that, the mind may still keep propositioning and glamorising material enjoyment, but we don’t believe it. Nathukamakami, that means, train firefighter sees the fire, but there is a quick right response.
Similarly, as we keep hearing regularly, our default response will change to right. Yes, the desire comes, initially we will be agitated, hey, why is this desire come? We will get tempted also, but then no, okay, the desire has come, just because of a past condition, I don’t have to, I don’t have to succumb to that desire, I don’t have to indulge in that desire. If I just absorb myself in Krishna, I take the fire hose of the holy name, Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Ram, Hare Ram, Ram Ram, Hare Hare.
So, with the fire hose of the holy name, we extinguish that fire of desire, and the quicker we do this, the purer our life will become. So, by hearing, the effect is cumulative. Okay, last question behind, yes, from, yeah, this is mine, right? Hare Krishna, Prabhuji, Prabhuji, after having come to Krishna consciousness, and after having spent some years, gradually we find that, you know, over a period of time, we don’t have sufficient time on a regular basis to give for hearing, and sometimes we tend to, you know, get confused whether, and also when we, you know, read sometimes, or we check with devotees, it is said that, chanting is most important.
You know, you have to chant daily 16 hours, of course, you have to chant daily 16 hours, etc. So, if we have to do a sort of a comparative study of chanting and hearing, as to what, whether, you know, both are equally important in terms of regularity, how does one understand this? Because even, I think, Lord Chaitanya also says that, out of all the nine processes, chanting is most important. And we also understand, at least intellectually, that hearing also is very important, like the way you explained today.
So, how does one, you know, make it a point to hear regularly or daily or… Okay. So, we have limited time, and then we also have to chant, and chanting is considered the most important limb of bhakti. So, how do we distribute our time between hearing and chanting? The essence of bhakti is neither hearing nor chanting.
It is remembering Krishna. That is, smartau viha satatam vishnu, smartau vena jatujit, sarva viddhi nishedasu etayor eva kim karam. The purpose of all rules and regulations is to always remember Krishna and never forget Krishna.
So, both hearing and chanting are meant to help us remember Krishna. Yes, chanting is the yuga dharma, and we definitely have our prescribed rounds of chanting. At the same time, chanting can very easily become mechanical if there is not adequate intellectual conviction for doing chanting.
Intellectual conviction or spiritual inspiration for doing chanting. And that is two things. Intellectual conviction and spiritual inspiration, they come largely by hearing.
So, generally speaking, it is not that we have to reduce bhakti to chanting alone. Bhakti is actually a whole culture. Bhakti is a whole culture in which there are so many activities we have done for Krishna’s sake.
Chanting is important, but we don’t have to reduce bhakti to chanting alone. So, there is room for individuality in bhakti. And there may be some devotees who may decide that, you know, every festival I’ll chant 64 rounds or whatever, more rounds I’ll chant and that’s good.
But there is no need for that to be universalised. We have prescribed rounds, we do that. But each of us has to take up individual responsibility to find out how best we can connect with Krishna and do that.
Some devotees may find chanting very inspiring, they can chant. If others find hearing more inspiring, that’s okay, they can do that more. Some other devotees may find deity worship more inspiring, they can do deity worship.
Some others may like preaching more, book distribution more. So there is a prescribed minimum that we do, but just because some devotees do something more, that doesn’t mean everybody has to do that more only. Each of us has to find out how we can best connect with Krishna.
Once Sri Prabhupada was in London, and at that time, London was at that time in the European headquarters and devotees from various parts of Europe had come there. And all the devotees from different projects, Germany, France, they were coming and reporting there, how the outreach is going on over there. So there was one devotee, Ishana Prabhu, he felt everybody has something to do with Sri Prabhupada.
But I don’t have anything, nothing to report to you also. So he went to Sri Prabhupada and asked, Prabhupada, what can I do for you? And Prabhupada said, what do you want to do for me? Prabhupada, whatever you tell me, I will do. He said, no, what do you want to do for Krishna? So he thought, no, no, maybe Prabhupada is testing me.
Whatever you tell me, I will do, Prabhupada. Prabhupada said, understand our philosophy. Our philosophy means to find out what you want to do and to do it for Krishna.
So then he thought about it, what should I do, what should I do? He said, Prabhupada, I never thought like this. I will think about it and get back to you. The next day he came and he said, Prabhupada, I am thinking that we have these Mridangas.
We bring them from India, from Mayapur. Often they fall and they break and getting new Mridangas is very difficult. So I am thinking that we can make Mridangas here in the West itself using some other materials and they will be sturdier and they will not break.
So Prabhupada said, Prabhupada is very happy, very good. He said, your Western Godbrothers are very passionate. Make them so strong that even if they throw them down, it will not break.
So, the point is that we say at one level, we have to follow the instruction of the spiritual master. That is true. But then, one instruction of the spiritual master is to always remember Krishna.
So we have to find out how we can always remember Krishna. And, in general, there are many limbs of bhakti. And, we cannot connect with Krishna equally, with equal intensity through all the limbs.
But the important thing is, connect with Krishna. Somehow or the other, fix the mind on Krishna. So, if we can find one limb of bhakti by which we can intensely connect with Krishna, then through that, our purification will rapidly happen.
And through that, as we experience Krishna more and more, we will be able to connect with Krishna more through the other limbs of bhakti also. So, in general, hearing, as I said, it gives us two things. Intellectual conviction and spiritual inspiration for chanting.
Even if before chanting, we just take five minutes out to read some relevant scriptural words about chanting. Maybe we read some holy name meditation or whatever. Then, chanting becomes much better.
So, we shouldn’t reduce bhakti down to some externals. Either it can be hearing or chanting or whatever. Bhakti essentially is remembrance of Krishna.
And hearing, chanting, deity worship, all these are meant to help us remember Krishna. So, smaranam is a limb of bhakti and it is also the essence of bhakti. One particular activity within bhakti is that we just absorb ourselves in remembrance.
But, that activity of remembrance can be done through various other forms also. And that is the essence. So, yes, only when we are hearing, will our chanting have quality.
Will our chanting be something which will connect with Krishna? Otherwise, our chanting becomes basically counting game. You start wondering, does my bead have 108 beads or 1,008 beads? It’s not getting over only. So, if we start feeling that chanting is becoming a boredom or a burden, that means that our hearing has gone down.
And putting a little time in hearing will give us a lot more substance, will bring us a lot of spiritual experience in our chanting. So, anyway, we are going to spend some time in chanting. We have taken some, we have taken or we are going to take some initiation vows.
So, why let ourselves underuse that time by not being attentive? I’ll conclude this class with an example. See, if somebody wants to build muscles, you know, that person will lift weights. That person, by lifting weights, the muscles get built.
But if somebody goes there to the gymnasium and he thinks, hey, this lifting weights is very painful. So, what I’ll do, I’ll just move my hands up and down. You know, by moving my hands up and down, I may move that for a long time.
But no muscles are going to be built by that. So, the whole purpose of bhakti is to expand our consciousness so that we become Krishna conscious. Just like we want to lift Krishna in our consciousness through chanting.
But if we are uttering the holy name, but we are not remembering Krishna, then it is just like lifting the hands up and down without any weight. Yes, there is some benefit because at least the sound is being uttered, but it is minimal benefit. So, when we hear, then we remember Krishna.
We get reasons for remembering Krishna. And then our chanting becomes more inspired, more convinced. In that way, we can… Now, the specific balance, how we want to do, that will vary from individual to individual.
We find what inspires us the most and we do that and through that inspiration, we bring spiritual strength in our chanting. And then we can move onwards towards Krishna. The point is that it is how we connect with Krishna.
That is what is important. Not specifically which form of bhakti we use to connect with Krishna. But because hearing gives us the rationale of why I should connect with Krishna, that is why it is considered the foundation.
So, Prabhupada also writes that spiritual life, it is the essence of spiritual life is, it all begins with hearing. So, only when we hear, we will get the inspiration and the conviction to chant nicely. So, thank you very much.
Thank you very much for coming here today.