Material entertainment requires no thinking, spiritual entertainment requires deep thinking – are the two comparable?

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
So, when we seek entertainment, we basically turn off our brains. But when we are seeking spiritual entertainment, at that time we are using our brains.
So, yes, there are two different things over here. When we talk about spiritual entertainment, bhakti is not just about reading some books. There is a whole culture.
There is a culture, Natya Shastra, there is a whole genre of literature where dramas are performed. So, we had traditional Indian dances like Bharat Natyam and so many other things. So, basically, bhakti is not just emotional, it’s a philosophy.
It’s a whole culture centered on glorification of Krishna. And therein, we also use our intelligence. See, for example, even when somebody reads a fiction, there is some use of intelligence.
Okay, now, what will this character attacking, what will this person do? People are excited. But that intelligence is directed within the purview of that world. So, and that intelligence doesn’t lead to any ultimate fulfillment.
So, in bhakti, depending on how different people’s inner world is made up of, some people’s mind is stronger than intelligence. The mind is more about feelings. Some people’s intelligence is more stronger than the mind.
That they want reasoning, logic, they want intellectual substance. So, the bhakti culture gradually has to become so inclusive that different people’s needs are served within it. So, for example, if we have many devotees who perform dramas, we have devotees who write, who retell Krishna’s pastimes or the stories from the literature in a more contemporary, entertaining way.
So, all this is actually ways in which people’s need for entertainment can be catered to within the bhakti circle. So, as our tradition expands, as our movement expands, as the tradition becomes more vibrant all over the world, then more and more devotees will be creating these things. So, that way, both the intellectual and the emotional needs of people can be taken care of.
So, when we study philosophy, definitely at that time, it’s primarily the intellectual faculty that we focus on. When we hear pastimes, it’s primarily the emotional faculty. We want to connect with Krishna.
That’s what we focus on. But in the philosophy also, there is some amount of emotion because the philosophy is about love, about bhakti. And in the pastimes, there is analysis.
Asher has done analysis. So, basically, different people’s needs can be taken care of by presenting bhakti in an appropriately adapted way.