Is bhakti the only way to higher taste – or are there other ways too?

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Transcript

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So when I talk about bhakti as a way to higher wisdom and higher taste, so is it bhakti to Krishna alone that gives higher wisdom and higher taste? Or there are other ways also. See in general, we all based on our individual nature are attracted to different things.
So to some extent we can say that somebody may be devoted to science. Somebody may be devoted to art. Somebody may be devoted to innovation.
Somebody may be devoted to the nation. So actually if we see this in a unified way, in the Bhagavad Gita in the 10th chapter, 41st verse, Krishna says that Whatever is attractive in this world, its attractiveness manifests a spark of Krishna’s splendor. That means a person is finding art very attractive.
I am a writer. So there is one of the famous quotes of who is that? William Wordsworth. Some author.
He says, I spend my morning very productive today. In one of my poems, after breakfast, I added a comma. After thinking about that comma for three hours, before lunch, I deleted the comma.
Now, most of the people waste of time. But for that poet, that was productive usage of time. So, essentially, some people may get so attracted to certain things.
Others may feel, what is there to be so attracted to? But actually, the attractiveness of that thing is a spark of Krishna’s splendor. It is Krishna who is manifesting through that object and attracting them. Now the problem comes when people don’t understand that it is Krishna who is attracting them.
So, if we understand that it is Krishna who is attracting them and we understand that a spark of Krishna is present here and this is so attractive, then how much more attractive will Krishna be? And then we acknowledge the attractiveness of the spark, but we also try to follow the process that will enable us to experience the attractiveness of the whole. But if I don’t see the spark in connection with the whole, then the spark will give me some higher taste. People, whatever cause they become dedicated to.
We may say that we are being devoted to Krishna, the highest cause. But sometimes, somebody who may be devoted to some other cause, they may be devoted to nation, they may be devoted to art, they may be devoted to social service. Actually, they may have more selflessness than us.
It’s possible because at that level, they are attracted more to that. The problem is that anything other than Krishna, it can only give us finite fulfillment. It may be very large compared to other things in this world, but still it is finite.
So, whatever we are attracted to, if we understand that actually its attractiveness comes from Krishna and I acknowledge the attractiveness of that object, but try to do it in such a way that we also become attracted to Krishna. If I have eagerness to write, if I have eagerness to sing, I can lose myself for hours in singing. But instead of singing say mundane songs, singing songs which evoke lust and other emotions in people, I sing songs about Krishna which bring out people’s higher nature, which brings out my higher nature.
So, there can be many different things which attract us and they can give us higher taste and higher wisdom. But that higher taste and higher wisdom, if it is not connected with Krishna, that will not be enduring. When we connect it with Krishna, then the higher taste that we get, we connect it with the highest taste.
And then that becomes enduring. Does it answer your question? Thank you. Yes, Mataji?