Is the spiritual bliss we experience real or sentimental?
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Thank you.
So, when we experience some spiritual bliss while practicing bhakti, how do we know that that spiritual bliss is for real or is it just the mind’s sentimental imagination? There are two different concepts which should not be confused. One is that when we are on the spiritual path, all of us can and will have some spiritual experiences. And those spiritual experiences should be seen as the fruits or the initial fruits, we could say, of the process that we are following.
So, yes, we are chanting, we are studying scripture, we are striving to serve Krishna, connect our consciousness to Krishna. Then the fruit of this is I am experiencing some higher spiritual reality. So, the very fact that we follow the process, that will produce some results.
And the key thing is to follow the process. Sometimes some people, they get some experiences and they feel, yes, this is it. I got the experience.
Krishna came in my dream. Oh, I got this. I felt so happy.
Now I have become a pure devotee. Now there is no need for me to follow all these rules. This is for new people.
So, if you start thinking like that, the problem is when we become sentimental, then we neglect the systematic process. So, as long as we are following the process, whatever spiritual experiences we get, we can be grateful to Krishna. These are precursors, advance glimpses that Krishna is giving us of what lies ahead of us.
So, once a person came to Srila Prabhupada and he said, Swamiji, Krishna came in my dream yesterday. Prabhupada just looked at him and said, then serve him today. Then serve him today.
Because what is our eternal relationship with Krishna? The relationship of love and service. When we love someone, what do we do for them? We serve them. We try to do something which will please them.
So, if Krishna has come in the dream, that’s wonderful. Krishna can come in the dream if he wants. But our spiritual growth is not determined by what happens when we dream.
Our spiritual growth is determined by what happens when we wake up and what we do after that. So, if sometimes, just as some paranormal spiritual experiences may come through dreams, sometimes some other extraordinary spiritual experiences might come while we are practicing bhakti also. They are Krishna’s side of the bargain.
Sorry, Krishna’s not bargain, Krishna’s side of the relationship. So, Krishna is granting something that’s wonderful. But the relationship has to be two-way.
So, if I have to continue practicing the process, so if any such experiences that we get, if they inspire us to practice the process more seriously, then they are favorable and they should be accepted. But if those experiences start making us think that, oh, now I have become advanced devotee, I don’t need to follow the process, then we should know this is the mind’s sentimentality. The important thing is, because bhakti is not just, bhakti is essentially a relationship.
And in relationship, feelings are important. But in relationship, commitment is also important. Sometimes, say, a man and a woman meet each other, they say, oh, when we saw each other, you know, love at first sight.
Yes, there may be certain feelings that might be there. You see each other, people may feel some emotions. But the stability, the longevity of the relationship will be determined not by what happens at first sight, but it will be determined by what happens after many sights.
So, feelings are good, they are important in relationship. But there is commitment that is also required in the relationship. Just as that commitment is more important than the feelings that we may have in the relationship.
And if the commitment is there and the relationship grows stronger and stronger, the feelings naturally come from that. So, if we have feelings in a devotional relationship, that’s wonderful. But we shouldn’t think that the feelings are a substitute, or our feelings indicate that now we have transcended the need for commitment.
No, the feelings should inspire us to increase our commitment to the process of bhakti. Any other questions?