Mind It 1 – Understanding the modes mind and emotions

[Seminar at ISKCON, Chowpatty, Mumbai]

PPT:

Video:

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
Hare Krishna.
Thank all of you for coming for this three-day seminar. And we will be discussing about how our mind is affected by the modes and how the modes in turn affect us in terms of our emotions, our behaviours and our relationships. So, many of us may not have, before we get introduced to Bhagavad Gita, may not have heard about the world of modes.
But we all know. So, we all know about modes. We all have our modes.
And… Go ahead. When we have mode swings, the same thing which at one moment we may say this is awesome, I love it, I want it. But after some time, this is awful.
Why did I ever do this? I just want to get rid of this. So, our modes swing rapidly and extremely. And the subtle force that causes such mode swings is the modes.
I was just on a two-and-a-half, three-month tour of the West in America and other places. So, I visited college. And after that, I was talking with some students.
So, as I got to know the students, one of the students, he told me that he was, he was born and brought up in a foster home. He was brought up in a foster home. Foster home is where if a child is orphan, they go to the orphanage.
But from the orphanage, some parents, some families may adopt the child. So, then I asked him, you know, what happened? Did your parents pass away in an accident or something? He said, no. Both my parents are alive.
I said, what? Then why are you in a foster home? He said that, when I was five, my parents divorced. And when they divorced, both of them felt, told him also, don’t know how parents can do that, told him that, you remind, marrying my spouse was the biggest mistake of my life. And you, they told the child, you remind me of my biggest mistake.
So, both parents said, we don’t want to have anything to do with you. And thus, despite having both parents, this child ended up in an orphanage. And eventually went to a foster home.
So, here, what has happened, this is a graphic and tragic example of how our emotions can become totally distorted. Yes, it’s understandable that sometimes two people may not be able to get along with each other, they may quarrel. And the more intense the positive emotion, the more intense will be the negative emotion.
So, there is love, there can be hatred also. But, we should never let the force of hatred become greater than the force of love. Yeah, the husband and wife can’t get along with each other, that’s okay.
But, the hatred towards one’s spouse, that shouldn’t be allowed to cloud over the natural affection that a parent has for a child. So, this kind of distortion of our perception happens because of emotions. When our emotions become wild and unregulated, they make us lose perspective.
So, two main things which I’ll be coming back again and again is that if we want to manage our emotions, if we want to learn to rein in the influence of the modes on us, if we want to train our mind, we need to have perspective and purpose. Perspective means to see things in terms of their relative importance. There are many things which matter, but some things matter more than others.
So, the modes make us lose perspective. The emotions that are induced in the mind because of our mood swings, which are caused by the modes, they make us lose perspective. So, small things can become very important and big things can become unimportant.
And, so, having a sense of perspective, what is more important and what is less important, that is vital if we are to ensure that our emotions don’t sabotage us. And, perspective is impossible without purpose. It is only when we have a purpose, then in the light of that purpose we can decide, okay, this is more important, this is less important.
Suppose we are going for an important interview and along the way we pass by a movie theatre. Say, this looks like a good movie. So, let me just go and watch the movie.
Well, I can’t miss an interview to watch a movie. So, if, on the other hand, if I was just going, driving casually just for fun and look around and say, this is a good movie, let me just go and watch it. So, if I have a purpose, say, of going to an interview, then in the light of that purpose, I get a perspective.
Okay, then this watching movie, okay, it might be enjoyable, but it’s not all that important. But, if I don’t have a purpose, then we can’t have a perspective. We can’t have a perspective, I mean a proper way of seeing things.
So, the modes may seem like a very abstract concept, but their effect on us is very real and very consequential. So, let’s begin. So, today’s class will be more conceptual and tomorrow and day after will be more application.
Today we will set the background for understanding what the modes actually are. So, can you go ahead? So, the modes can be understood in two ways. At one level, the modes are subtle forces that shape the interaction between matter and consciousness.
In the Bhagavad Gita, in the 14th chapter, 5th verse Krishna says, He says that, These are three modes. And what do they do? They bind. Oh Arjuna, you are very powerful, strong arm, mighty arm, but even you, all living beings are bound.
So, Dehe is the body. Dehinam is the embodied soul. The soul becomes bound to the body because of the modes.
And in different ways, the binding happens for different people. So, that’s how there are three modes. So, we all may perceive the same thing, but we will not perceive the same thing.
We have many examples of this relativity of perception that, say, a person goes to a shop and sees some sweet. And then somebody who is very eager to eat may think, Oh, this is a delicious food. Somebody who has got diabetes, Oh, I can’t eat this.
Somebody who is a sweet shop owner thinks, Oh, how much is he charging for this? How much am I charging? Maybe I can get more money if I… So, everybody will think differently. So, the object out there is the same, but what is in here, how we perceive is different. Suppose, people are in a movie theatre and in that movie theatre suddenly a fire breaks out.
Now, different people will react differently. Most people will just rush to the nearest exit. Many times, in crowded places, when some accident happens, the casualties happen not so much because of the accident, but because of stampede after the accident.
So, this is the response in the mode of passion. Just rush to do something. Some people may just get petrified.
Fire! They are not able to think also what to do. They will not be able to move also. Just frozen.
A few people may look, Oh, there is a fire. There is a fire extinguisher. They will maybe rush against the crowd, go to the fire extinguisher, extinguish the fire.
So, the same action, but different responses. So, the subtle forces that shape the interaction between the material phenomena, the material stimulus, the material event, the material object out there and consciousness, that is the mood. So, if you consider broadly, the people who just run and cause a stampede, they are in which mode? In the mode of passion.
And people who just get petrified? Ignorance. And people who try to find a fire extinguisher? Goodness. So, we have a broad understanding of this.
Now, one way of looking at this is, some people make things happen, some people watch things happen, and some people wonder what happened. So, those who are in goodness, they think, they observe, and then they decide what to do. They make things happen.
In the passion, people run and do things, but they don’t think adequately. That’s why they try to do one thing, and it leads to one unwanted consequence, and second unwanted consequence, third unwanted consequence. They wonder, what happened? Why did I do this? So, many times, some people are very impulsive.
We speak to express our thoughts, but some people speak to discover their thoughts. They speak, I should have spoken that. Why did I speak that? So, we speak one thing, although we are thinking of something else, and then, oh, this person understood like that, he misunderstood, and this problem came, that problem came.
So, some people just watch things happen. They do one thing, but hundred things happen because of that. And some people are just so lost in their days that they just wonder what’s going on.
They are caught in their own world. In a more analytical way, there are two things whenever we act. First, we think, that is internal, that is contemplation, and then there is action.
So, in the mode of goodness, first there is contemplation, and then there is action. We think before we act, or as they say, look before you leap. So, when there is contemplation first, and action later, that is the characteristic of the mode of goodness.
In the Bhagavad Gita, 14th chapter, 11th verse, Krishna says, sarva-dvāreṣu dehe smin prakāśyam upajāyate jñānaṁ yadā tadā vidyād vivṛddhaṁ sattva-nityutam He says, sarva-dvāreṣu dehe smin prakāśyam upajāyate Deha is the body. Dvāra is the doors to the body. The doors are the senses.
So, the eyes, the ears, the nose, the tongue, the skin. These are the senses from which we take in information of the outward. So, prakāśyam upajāyate When there is illumination at the doors of the senses, now suppose there is a door behind, and if the door is dark, then who is coming in, who is going out, we won’t know.
But when the door is illumined, we can see who is coming in. Should we let them in? Who is going out? Should we let them go out? We can evaluate that. So, when the mode of goodness is there, there is illumination at the door with.
And therefore, we can evaluate what stimuli from outside to take in, and what thoughts, what emotions to express outside, what to not express outside. There is contemplation before action. That is the characteristic of the mode of goodness.
In the mode of passion, there is action before and contemplation later. So, things happen. One person shouts at another person, the other person shouts back.
One person slaps, the other person slaps. One person punches, the other person punches. It just reflects action, which is impulse.
So, when we don’t think and act, we just act according to whatever emotions come within us, that is the mode of passion. So, we will discuss a little later where these emotions, where these impulses come within us, which make us act in particular ways. But, whatever the impulses come, we don’t think about them, we just act on them.
That’s the mode of passion. Now, in the mode of ignorance, there is, Krishna says, अप्रकाशो अप्रवृतिष्च प्रमादो मोहेवच तमास्येतानिजायन्ते विवृद्धेखुरुनन्धन So, in 14.13, he talks about the mode of ignorance. So, the mode of goodness, he says, is characterised by प्रकाश.
प्रकाश is illumination. Mode of passion is characterised by प्रवृति. लोभः प्रवृतिरारंभः कर्मणामश्यमहस्प्रुह आजस्येतानिजायन्ते विवृद्धेखुरुनन्धन प्रवृति, you have to act, act, act.
Do things, do things. But, when there is neither प्रकाश nor प्रवृति, when there is neither the thoughtful contemplation nor any kind of action, just delusion, मोह, illusion, then that is the characteristic of mode of ignorance. So, in today’s world, we may say that some people think and act, some people just run around, have to do things.
But, some people just sit in front of a TV and play video games all day. So, there is neither contemplation nor action, there is just some imagination. Oh, I am in this, I am doing this, I am doing that, I am doing that.
So, this is characteristic of the mode of ignorance. Now, the mode of ignorance doesn’t necessarily mean there is no activity. We will talk later about how in the mode of ignorance there may be destructive activity.
But, the point is that one is neither thinking clearly nor acting purposefully. It’s all impulse. It’s all just deluded.
So, this is the mode of ignorance. Now, let’s consider two metaphors to understand how the modes work. One is, we can consider the modes to be like a channel.
Say, if water is accumulated in a particular pond, now if there is a channel out from the pond, then water will naturally flow along that channel. Say, if there are three channels out from the pond, then water will flow along the three channels. If one channel is deeper or broader, more water will flow along that channel.
If one channel is thinner, then less water will flow along that channel. So, if we consider our consciousness to be like a pond, then our consciousness flows outwards. And the three modes are like three channels for the consciousness to flow.
So, for everyone, the three modes are present. But in some people, the mode of ignorance may be dominant and the mode of goodness may be very very little. So, in that case, the channel of goodness is extremely constricted.
So, practically no water flows through that. Most of the water flows through the mode of ignorance. That means, they will pursue things and act things according to the channel that is prominent in their consciousness.
The consciousness is present inside us and the world is outside. And the channels are what shape the flow of the consciousness. So, the other metaphor which we could use is, channels indicate a passive presence.
Channels are just present there and water flows along. But the modes as we experience them are not just a passive presence. They are also an active force.
At certain times, we feel impelled to act in particular ways. So, sometimes we just act unthinkingly. That means, somebody shouts at me and I shout back.
It’s just unthinking. So, that’s like a passive presence. It’s just the channel is there and the water flows automatically.
But sometimes, I am resolved. Even if somebody shouts at me, I will not shout back. I will stay calm.
But then, the impulse to shout back rises so much within me that I am always pulled to do that. So, the modes are also an active force. So, the active force example is ropes.
They are ropes which pull our consciousness in particular directions. So, for example, addiction is a characteristic of the mode of ignorance. Where one just pursues one thing and gets obsessed with that one thing.
So, somebody is an alcohol addict, their consciousness will be pulled by the desire for alcohol. Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita, 16th chapter, Asha, desire is like a pash. It’s like a shackle which pulls us.
So, they will feel that pull. So, the modes are also like active forces. They are like ropes that tug our consciousness in particular directions.
So, the modes are subtle and invisible. But their effect on us is neither subtle nor invisible. It is quite serious.
Now, we consider these two metaphors. Now, how exactly do the modes act on us? To understand that, we will have to understand what our being actually is. How we exist.
So, our current existence is three levels. There is the body, the mind and the soul. So, we could say the gross body, subtle body and the soul.
This is akin to if you have a computer, the hardware, software and user. The hardware is like the computer, the software is like the mind. Sorry, the hardware is like the body, the software is like the mind and the soul is the user.
Now, the mind is where the modes act. Can you go ahead? So, most of this remaining class will be about understanding these three modes, mind and emotions. So now, what is the relationship between say the mind and the soul? The mind is inside us and the soul is also inside us.
But the two are different. The mind is material, it is subtle material. The soul is spiritual.
So, the soul is the source or the root of consciousness. Consciousness is the characteristic of the soul. The mind is the channel for the consciousness to move outwards.
The mind is the root of consciousness. To understand this, let’s consider how we see something. Say, if you are looking at me, I am looking at you.
So now, if somehow your thoughts go somewhere else, sometimes some people become absent-minded. So, we have the typical example of absent-minded professor. Somebody who keeps his spectacles on his head and is searching everywhere.
Now, where is my specks? Where is my specks? So now, in this case, what has happened? The specks are there on the head and in a sense, the sensation may also be there slightly that the specks are there. But, we don’t experience the sensation simply by the physical contact of the object with the sense. So, the touch has to come on the skin or to make it more easier.
If we are looking at seeing, let’s look at the example of vision first, then we’ll come to this. So, when we see something, the external object has to be perceived by our eyes. But, the eyes are present in the dead person also.
The eyes don’t see. There is a soul inside who is the perceiver. So, the soul may be present, the eyes may be present, the object may be present.
But, if somebody is absent-minded, then the person can’t see. So, the mind is the root of consciousness. So, if somebody is absent-minded, where is my specks? Their mind has gone somewhere else, so they can’t perceive the touch of the specks on their skin.
And that’s why they can’t perceive it. So, the mind is the root of consciousness. Sometimes if there is a class going on and our mind sometimes just gets bored.
And then, it just goes off for a walk. It may go home, it may go to the office, it may go to some friend’s place, it may go to a movie, it may go to a cricket match, wherever. And then, if suddenly in the class a joke happens, the mind comes back, Hey, what happened? What happened? Tell me.
So, what has happened over there? We were there in the class, whatever was spoken was heard. It came to our ears, but it did not come to the soul. Because the mind, the root was closed or the root was misdirected.
The root had gone somewhere else. So, consciousness comes from the soul, but it comes from the soul through the mind to the outer world. And the mind is where the distortion of our emotions because of the modes happens.
So, what exactly is the mind? The mind does two things. The mind is the integrator of the perceptions that come from the outer world through the senses. And it is also the presenter of those perceptions to the soul.
I was for a conference in America where we had a very high security building. So, there when we were passing by, we saw the control centre, the security centre. So, the security centre had a big screen on it.
And that big screen had many windows within it. And in those windows, the inputs were coming from the CCTV that was placed through cameras at all the entry and exit points of the building. So, say we have a big screen which has five windows within it.
And from those five windows, there are five doors from which the inputs are coming in. So, the mind is like that big screen. And in that mind, the inputs from the five senses are coming in.
śrotraṁ cakṣu sparsanaṁ ca rasanaṁ grāṇam eva ca adiṣṭhāya manaschāyaṁ viṣayan upasevate In the 15th chapter, 9th verse Krishna says that śrotraṁ cakṣu sparsanaṁ ca Ears, eyes, nose, skin and tongue. These are the five senses from which the inputs come in. rasanaṁ grāṇam eva ca adiṣṭhāya manaschāyaṁ All of them come to the mind.
And viṣayan upasevate The soul tries to experience enjoyment through the objects related to these five senses through the mind. So, the mind is the integrator of the inputs coming from the senses. And the mind is also the presenter.
So, what comes on the screen is perceived by somebody who is out there, who is supposed to be the control in charge. So, that control in charge is the soul. So, the soul perceives and then decides.
Say, if we have these five windows and we see at a particular window, some suspicious looking character is coming. Then immediately, the operator, the in charge person will press that window and that window will zoom up. And that will occupy.
We can see more clearly. And as that zooms up, whatever is happening in the other windows, that is not seen so well. Similarly for us, right now we are perceiving things from all our senses.
But, say, if we are hearing the talk, then what is coming in through the ears or what is coming in through the eyes, what we are seeing, that is what we are zeroing in on. But right now, say, suddenly there is a scream in the background. Then, what happened? That sound will just zoom out.
Earlier we were hearing this banging above us. So, that’s where our consciousness goes. So, these windows are dynamic.
And sometimes one window zooms up intentionally. We choose to make it zoom. And sometimes some window zooms up unintentionally, automatically.
So, when the modes affect us, the modes shape which window zooms up automatically. So, somebody is an alcoholic. And, say, they are going by a road and there is a bar nearby.
Somebody is not an alcoholic, they may not even notice the bar. They may notice it, but they don’t pay much attention to it. But if somebody is an alcoholic, as soon as they see the bar, zooms up, completely fills their consciousness.
Maybe I should go and take a drink. No, I should not. Maybe I should.
No, I should not. I should not. So, it just completely occupies the consciousness.
So, the modes cause our conditionings. And our conditionings basically shape what we automatically focus on. So, the mind is where this selection of which perception to focus on, that happens.
And that selection can be either shaped intentionally by our choice or it can be shaped unintentionally by our conditioning. So, some people just get so angry at things. Just very short temper and suddenly get angry.
Now, why do they get angry like that? For them, they just feel if anything has gone wrong, I have to act in some way. This person did like this, how dare he do like this. So, just that action alone zooms up.
And then the perspective goes off. In America, in most of the western world, people practically never use their horns. When they are driving cars.
If you honk at someone, that indicates that the other person has done a serious mistake. Now, somebody just suddenly changed the lane or suddenly taken a turn. So, honking at someone is considered to be, it is used only when somebody is doing some very serious wrong.
And if people are driving a car, then they find somebody is driving very erratically. Then traffic advisers advise them that don’t honk at them. Because they may just get angry.
So, now honking is very unusual in the west. In India, people don’t follow rules. So, what to speak of honking? We ride on the car, horn please.
Don’t hit me, first put a horn. Okay, I will move aside. So, what happens is that they say that if somebody is drunk and is driving or somebody is angry, then there might be just, if you honk repeatedly, there might just be a case of road rage.
And because in America gun laws are relatively loose, so who knows the person driving may have a gun and that person may just turn a gun and shoot you. And it’s happened like that also. It’s not common, but it’s not unheard of.
So, the point which I am making here is, for that person who is short-tempered, who is angry, at that time, how dare you honk at me? Now that one signal is what zooms in their consciousness. You insulted me by honking at me, I will show you. Take the gun and shoot.
Just completely lose perspective. Honk at me, whatever. Okay, what’s the big thing about it? Yeah, it may be bad, but it’s not so bad that you have to shoot someone.
But if that is the impulse that they have been conditioned to, then that zooming up happens. So, all of us will get angry. Life often presents us situations that are exasperating, frustrating, irritating, and in response we may get angry.
People may similarly be exasperating, frustrating, irritating, and we may get angry at people. Now all of us, when we get angry, there will be different ways in which we express that anger. Some people just shut down.
Just don’t talk with anyone. They give others what is called a silent treatment. Just shut down.
Just become uncommunicative. Some people just become snappy. Anything you speak, they snap.
They become irritable. Some people, they just don’t become snappy. Snappy means short, irritating response.
Some people just explode. Shout, shout, shout, shout, shout. Some people, they go beyond verbally aggressive to become physically aggressive.
Slapping others, hitting others. Some people may go beyond that and not just attack with their fists, they may use weapons to attack. Now in all these cases, there is something unpalatable that happened.
And there was anger because of that. But how that anger caused the person to respond, that is varying. So this variation is determined by our conditionings.
So depending on the kind of conditionings people have, their anger will be processed accordingly. And the anger will lead to variety of responses. So what happens is, when a particular image zooms in on the screen, depending on how fast and how it has zoomed in, it elicits a particular response from the person.
So accordingly, for us, our mind zooms in on certain things and elicits certain responses from us. So we need to understand how our mind zooms, what are the things which cause the mind to get distorted. In its perception.
And then we will see how we can correct it. But at this stage, let’s do a thought exercise. Some people say that, okay, I may understand philosophically I am not the body, but how do I understand I am not the mind? Because the mind is inside me.
So some people think that the mind is the same as me. So let’s do the thought exercise. You can close your eyes.
Take three deep breaths. Now with your closed eyes, you will see something on an inner screen. You might just see some hazy darkness.
Or you might see something at your home, at your office. You may see a loud one. You may see the food that is waiting for you after this programme.
You may see various things on that inner screen. And what you see on the screen may also be changing. But as you are observing this inner screen, try to take a step back and see who is observing that inner screen.
You are seeing something on an inner screen. Instead of looking at that inner screen, try to see who is it that is looking at the inner screen. Try to take a step back.
You will see that you can never see the inner seer. You can see the inner screen, but no matter how much you step back, the seer steps back with you. You can see the screen, but not the seer.
You can take three deep breaths again and then open your eyes. Next slide. So the inner screen is the mind.
And the inner seer is the soul. Inside us, even when we close our eyes, we see something or the other. The board on which we see the screen, that is the mind.
But beyond the mind, there is a seer. And that seer is the soul. So what we see on the inner screen will vary depending on what thoughts, emotions, desires are going on within us.
But whose thoughts, emotions, desires they are, that is the soul. पुरुष्यः प्रकृति स्थोघी भुम्ते प्रकृति जान्गुणान कारिणं गुण संगोष्य सथ असत् योनि जन्वसु Krishna says the soul is different from the body. पुरुष्यः प्रकृति स्थोघी The soul becomes situated in material nature, in the body.
Why? भुम्ते प्रकृति जान्गुणान Because of the desire to enjoy worldly things. And then accordingly, the experience is good or bad. The soul is different from both the outer seen things.
Outer seen, we could say S-C-E-N So there is the seen, there is the screen and there is the seer. The soul is different from the outer seen. The soul is different from the inner screen.
The soul is the inner seer. Move on. So now, the soul is transcendental.
Whereas the modes are material. The modes can’t affect the soul. The modes affect the mind.
And the modes distort the images that come on the mind. And the soul responds to those images. The soul is affected by the modes.
But the soul is affected indirectly. Through the mind. The mind is where the influence of our conditionings comes up.
And that’s what causes us to function in particular ways. Now, if we consider What are emotions? Talking about modes, we talk about the mind. We talk about emotions.
So when certain stimulus comes within us Within us there is the reason and there is the emotion. So emotions, they comprise the non-rational responses to stimuli. So non-rational doesn’t necessarily mean irrational.
It just means that at that time there is no conscious thought. The response may be intelligent or it may be unintelligent. That’s different.
But at that time the intelligence doesn’t get involved. We see something. We see a bloody scene.
A blood stained scene if we see. We become horrified. So that horror is an emotion that comes within us.
If we see somebody hurting someone we might get angry. And anger is an emotion that comes within us. So we see stimuli and certain responses are triggered within us.
Which do not involve the use of our intelligence. So I am here talking about emotions from a negative perspective. I will talk about emotions from a positive perspective in the later sessions when we talk about devotion.
But here the intelligence is sidelined. Just suddenly some responses come up within us. And what emotions are triggered within whom that is shaped by the modes.
That is shaped by the conditionings. Going back to the example of alcohol. Somebody who is alcoholic.
As soon as they see a bar or a bottle they get the emotion. I want it. That craving comes up within them.
On the other hand say somebody has been affected. Has been a victim of alcohol abuse. Somebody has been attacked by them.
Somebody has been hit by a car driven by a person under alcoholic influence. When they see alcohol they may revolt. So terrible.
So this is the response which just comes involuntarily. So our emotions are almost involuntary responses to the stimuli that we experience. Go ahead.
So now here within us there is emotion and there is reason. There is the mind and there is the intelligence. The word mind is used in two different senses.
Sometimes the word mind is used to refer to the entire subtle body. That there is a matter, there is mind and there is consciousness. And sometimes the word mind is used to refer to one particular feature within the subtle body.
We have a subtle body in which there is the mind, intelligence and ego. So till now when I have been using the word mind, I have been using it to refer to the subtle body in a generic sense. I will qualify it little later.
But the point is that we have reason which we can say is connected with the intelligence. There is emotion which comes up and reason which comes up. So I may feel angry and I want to shout at someone.
But in the voice of reason say don’t shout. Don’t make things worse right now. So the emotion is meant to be balanced by reason.
Then we can act in a reasonable way. Our emotion is not to be denied or rejected. But it is to be acted on properly.
When we don’t act on it properly then our response is disproportionate. So going back to the starting example of parents who became averse to their own child because they hated each other. What has happened was that the emotion of hatred, anger, aversion towards spouse is there.
Ex-spouse is there. But there is no reason. Okay, child is not to be blamed.
Child is my child. How can I become averse to that child? So the voice of reason is not there so that the emotion, there is nothing to counter or counterbalance the emotion. Counter means to stop it.
Counterbalance means okay this is there but this should also be there. So reason is meant to complement emotion. But in many cases the reason becomes very feeble.
So a psychologist gives an example about our emotional rational faculties. That our reason is just like a small canoe. And our emotion is like a vast turbulent ocean.
So people may seem to be very rational, reasonable, intelligent in normal situations. That’s like the canoe moving along in the ocean when there is no turbulence. But suddenly if the waves come up then that canoe just gets overturned.
And then the same person who at one moment was very gentle, nice, sensible, that person next moment becomes wild. What happened? So the canoe was overthrown because the ocean became turbulent. So like that we have an emotional side, we have a rational side.
And quite often the rational side, capacity of thinking calmly and acting that is overthrown when the emotions become very strong. Now how is this balance of emotion and reason related with the modes? The lower the mode the greater is the hold of emotion on reason. That means in the mode of ignorance the emotion of anger may become so strong that I just want to destroy whoever caused anger to me.
So is that kind of destruction, is that a proportionate response, is that a valid response? No, just wild. So what has happened? When the mode of ignorance is prominent then the emotion just becomes so dominant that reason is completely silent. In the mode of passion also the emotion is there.
In the mode of ignorance it is extremely dominant. The emotion is all that is there. In the mode of passion the emotion is there but actually there is some perception of some other things.
Say in the mode of ignorance a person may get say there is a cricket match going on and India loses that cricket match. Some people may just get so angry, they get angry and they just smash the TV. Now the anger, the frustration at say one’s favourite team losing the match that is there but the response is I am not doing anything to the players who lost the match.
I am only squandering my own money by destroying my own TV. So that reason just gets lost because the emotion becomes so strong. So some people, if a favourite team loses the match we may get upset, that’s fine but in the mode of ignorance we just lose perspective of everything.
In Sri Lanka when Sri Lanka lost the World Cup to India about in 2011 that time several people committed suicide. Now what is so bad? Okay you lost a cricket match, you didn’t lose it, team players lost it and none of the team players committed suicide. It is the fans, some of the fans who committed suicide.
So what happened over here? Here the emotion became so strong and the reason was completely lost. So this is characteristic of the mode of ignorance where the emotion just makes one lose perspective of everything else. Now in the mode of passion the emotion is strong but still one also has the desire to gratify one’s senses.
So one will not, okay I am angry but if I destroy this TV I won’t be able to watch the next match. So I will not destroy this TV. So there is at least some perspective of one’s material pleasure or material well-being because of which one doesn’t let the emotion become material destructive to one’s pleasure.
But in the mode of ignorance one will not perceive anything at all. In the mode of goodness there is emotion but it is balanced by reason. Okay this happened, this happened.
What is the best way I can respond to it? So can you go ahead? Now how do the modes affect us? Basically if we consider how we interact with the outer world we can analyse into three stages. We perceive what is happening in the outer world. Then we process that internally.
And then we pursue certain things, we do certain things. So in Sanskrit we say there are the Gyanendriyas and there are the Karmendriyas. The Gyanendriyas are the knowledge acquiring senses.
So with the Gyanendriyas we perceive. So the inputs from the outer world come in to the screen of the mind. So we pursue certain things and then okay whatever we pursue how do we process it? That is determined largely by the mind and the soul which responds to the mind.
And then we act in particular ways. So what we pursue, what do we do after that? So all these three are shaped by the modes. What we perceive in the outer world.
There are many things happening in the outer world. As I said alcoholic, there may be 50 shops around where the alcoholic’s vision just zeros in on the bar. So what we perceive, how we process.
I got into enough trouble because of drinking, I don’t want to drink anymore. I want to drink right now. There is a different way we process it.
And then what we pursue, what do we do after that? This is shaped by the modes. Now let’s look at how we perceive things. So Krishna talks about knowledge in the three modes of material nature.
In the Bhagavad Gita’s 18th chapter verses 20 to 22. So in the mode of goodness, Krishna says, sarva-bhuteshu ye naikam bhavam avyayam ikshate avibhaktam vibhakteshu tad jnanam viddhi-satvikam In the mode of goodness, Krishna says, sarva-bhuteshu ye naikam. We see different living beings.
But in all those living beings, what do we see? bhavam avyayam ikshate We see the imperishable spirit. That means we see the material diversity of living beings. But we see beyond it all, they are all souls.
avibhaktam vibhakteshu avibhaktam, they are actually, it’s inseparated, although it’s separate. Every person is separate, is a different person. Different body, different looks, different heights, different complexions.
But beyond that, there is, they are all similar, they are all souls. So we see the material and the spiritual. That is the mode of, the knowledge in the mode of goodness.
That’s jnanam viddhi-satvikam. But in the mode of passion, what happens? pruthaktvenatu yajnanam nana-bhavanta-takvidhan vitti-sarveshu-bhuteshu tad jnanam viddhi-rajasam In the mode of passion, we see different people, we see their different bodies, their different externals, and we equate them with their externals. That means we see only the material.
And we don’t see anything beyond the material. In the mode of passion, there is perception. But it’s not a balanced perception.
It’s perception only of one side of reality, of only matter. In the mode of ignorance, there is yattu-kruchnavad-ekasmin-kaare-saktamahaitukam atattvarthavad-alpamja-tattamasamudharitam yattu-kruchnavad-ekasmin One sees ekasmin, one thing, to be kruchnavad, everything. When one has a fragmented perception, and one thinks that to be everything, like alcoholic sees a bottle, this is what I have to get.
I need this. I can’t live without it. One thing becomes everything.
One may lose one’s health, one may lose one’s life, one may lose one’s job, one may lose one’s relationships. It doesn’t matter. I have to get this.
yattu-kruchnavad-ekasmin-kaare-saktamahaitukam One becomes extremely attached to one kind of action. One doesn’t think properly. One doesn’t even get pleasure properly.
Normally we’d act for pleasure, but one doesn’t even get pleasure in that. No hetu, it’s just irrational. atattvarthavad-alpamja-atattvarthavad One does not understand the reality.
alpamja-one has only a small knowledge. One sees only a fragment of reality. tattamasamudharitam That is knowledge in the mode of ignorance.
So, here we get an example of how Go back now. How we perceive things. So, in the modes, we’ll make us perceive things differently.
And in the mode of ignorance, we’ll perceive only partial material reality. In the mode of passion, we’ll perceive material reality alone. In the mode of goodness, we’ll perceive spiritual reality also, along with material reality.
So, when I earlier talked about emotion and reason, it is not that the intelligence is not present in the ignorant people. It is there, but it is misappropriated by the mind, by the emotions. Some people are destructive, some people are impulsively destructive, just destroy.
But some people are intelligently destructive. Like say, when I was in America, I think in the east, in the west coast, last week, suddenly, a person just took a gun, and there was a music concert going on, and shot people. Shot, shot, shot, and everybody is defending this kid.
This person, it was an act of irrational brutality, but it was done with intelligence. They planned to get the guns, okay, where should I go, where should I sit, how can I shoot more and more people, what will be the best vantage point before I can get caught. So, there was that thinking that was happening, but it was all dominated by the emotion.
So, the emotional faculty, when it becomes very strong, it not only controls the intelligence, not only conquers the irrational faculty, but it also conscripts it, it uses it. And these people, whose intelligence is dominated over by their emotions, they become the most dangerous. Everybody is emotional, but somebody is intelligent, and then they use their emotions, use their intelligence.
It becomes very difficult to deal with them. You see, most of the problems in the world, they are caused by intelligent people. In the sense that, you see, if there is pollution, which is a big ecological problem.
It’s not that, say, some illiterate farmers in the villages are causing pollution. It’s intelligent people, who try to develop certain things, and that has led to pollution. So, their desire was there, oh, we want to exploit, we want to dominate, we want to control, and then that led to consequence.
Now, if some unintelligent people are there, they get angry, they’ll just throw stones at each other. But, if somebody has intelligence, they might, you know, they might develop a nuclear weapon, and then they may threaten to throw it at someone, could cast a missile at someone. They can be much more destructive.
So, for all of us, the modes are acting on us, and the modes shape how we perceive, how we process, and what we pursue, what we chase after. So, just now we got some analysis of how our modes shape our perceptions, and how they make us see things in a particular way, and accordingly, they will elicit responses accordingly. So, in tomorrow’s session, I will talk about how we process, and how we will pursue, and how the transcendental wisdom of Krishna Bhakti can help us change the conditioning that we have.
I’ll summarise what I spoke today, and then we can have some questions. So, I spoke about, I spoke today about how the modes affect our emotions and our actions. So, I started by, we have mood swings.
Same thing that seems awesome at one moment, can seem awful sometime later. So, modes basically, which comprise our conditioning, they distort our perception. And that’s why we lose perspective.
Lose perspective means that what is less important, what is more important, we lose that sense. So, I gave an example of how when a couple divorced, neither of them wanted their child. The child had to go to an orphanage in a foster home.
Why? Because for them, the aversion to their ex became so dominant that it distorted the natural affection that a parent has for the child. So, for us to have perspective, we need purpose. If I’m driving just casually, then if I see a movie theatre, I might just go and watch it.
If I’m going for an interview, I won’t. So, our perspective and our purpose, all this is distorted because of the influence of the modes. So, the modes are subtle forces that shape the interaction between matter and consciousness.
They are also the building blocks of material nature, which I didn’t go into because that is not relevant to us. But the modes, they act on the mind. So, I talked about how the soul is the source of consciousness, the root R-O-O-T, the mind is the R-O-U-T, the channel of consciousness.
And the modes can be understood as a passive presence, like channels from which the consciousness flows out, or they can be active force, like ropes, which pull our consciousness in particular ways. The mind is the integrator and presenter of the inputs coming from this world. Like a big monitor, which brings the CCTV inputs from the various doors at a high security establishment.
Now, what gets zoomed up, which window among the various windows on that screen gets zoomed up, that is determined by our conditionings. So, depending on what gets zoomed up, our responses may be elicited automatically. So, for people who are very short tempered, just that insult zooms up so much that they lose perspective of everything.
And they may respond violently to even a small insult, or a small thing going wrong. When the mind acts in a particular way like this, to prevent the mind’s distortion of our perception, we need to understand that we are different from the mind. So, we did the thought exercise, where we understood that there is an inner screen, which is the mind, and there is an inner seer, that is the soul.
And whatever we see outside, the outer scene, that is the world around us. So, perception happens when the inner seer, the inner screen and the outer scene are in a straight line. When we are absent minded, the inner screen is showing something else, and that’s why we don’t perceive.
So, for us, what comes up on this inner screen is not just determined by the outer scene. It is determined by the outer scene plus whatever is the conditioning caused by the modes on the inner scene, on the inner screen. So, we interact with the world in three ways.
We perceive the outer world, we process internally, and then we perceive externally. So, these three things are affected by the modes. And how what we perceive is affected, we discussed in terms of the three modes and knowledge in the three modes.
So, in the mode of ignorance, we can’t even see material reality properly. It’s fragmental perception of material reality. In the mode of passion, there is perception of only material reality.
In goodness, there is perception of material and spiritual reality. And our emotions are non-rational responses to the stimuli that we get. And the lower the mode, the stronger is the emotion and lesser the reason that counterbalances the emotion.
So, for us, if we want to act in a way that our mood swings don’t make us wildly swing here and there, we want to restrain our discipline, our inner world, then the force of reason has to become stronger and the force of emotion has to become balanced by it. So, how to do that? We will discuss in our future sessions. Are there any questions right now? Yes, please.
You said that in the initial slides, in the initial slides, when I explained the three modes, you said that in goodness, there is first contemplation of their passions. Opposite of the passion, neurones very simply, they are not meaningful. So, the question is, many times it happens that we do have some good contemplation, but there is no enough determination to pursue and act on the goal which we want, which we dream of.
So, where is the process stuck up and what mode we are associating? Okay. So, if there is contemplation, thank you, you can sit. There is contemplation, but there is no, the lacking of the determination to act as per that contemplation.
So, where are we getting stuck? Yes. The force of the conditionings may sometimes be so much that even when we understand with the intelligence, at that time, the emotion is just too strong. So, it’s just like, most of you have heard of the chariot body metaphor.
The chariot is like the body. The horses are like the senses. The mind is the? The reins.
The reins, the rope, and the intelligence is the? Chariot. Chariot, yeah. Charioteer, right.
The soul is the passenger. Now, if the horses start moving in a particular direction, then the chariot is in a wrong direction of the road. Chariot has to pull and stop.
If the chariot is alert, then it can stop it immediately. But, if the horses start running very fast, the faster they run, the greater is the momentum that they get. And then, the charioteer may just not have the strength to bring in the horses.
So, in that case, the horse’s force overpowers the charioteer’s force. Indriyāṇāmi charatāṁ yen mano anubhidhyate tad asya harati prajñāṁ vāyur nāguṁ vāmbhasi So, when the senses contemplate on the sense objects, that creates such a force that the prajñāṁ, that the intelligence is just pulled away. Harati.
So, similarly for us, now, here I talked about this as a gradual process. The horses are initially moving slowly, and then they start moving faster. And when they were slow, we could control them.
When they become fast, it becomes difficult to control them. Now, whereas this is a gradual process, but if we have a particular conditioning, a particular attachment, then it’s like the horses have already got a very forceful momentum. Now, if somebody is an alcoholic, for that person, if the person is an addict, just saying no, as soon as they see something to drink, the desire becomes so forceful, they just can’t say no.
A British author, Mark Twain, he said that giving up smoking is the easiest thing in the world. I have done it over a hundred times. I gave up smoking, but smoking did not give me up.
So, it just came and caught me again. So, in this case, the momentum may have become so strong that to check it is not possible at that time. So, that’s why, even when the intelligence is clear, even when the intention is there, but the force of the conditioning at that time is still strong.
So, broadly speaking, there are three things which we need to do, which, if we get time, we’ll discuss later, but right now, I’ll just mention it briefly. We can call it as restriction, redirection and reconstruction. Say, if the floor is inclined in this way, and if water falls on the floor, the water will naturally flow in this direction.
If I don’t want the water to flow this way, just say, hey, water, don’t flow this way, don’t flow this way, that’s not enough. The water is going to flow that way. So, what do I have to do? So, like that, if you consider our consciousness, based on the conditioning that we have, it has developed an inclination.
So, our thoughts naturally go in particular directions. So, what do we do? Restriction. If I don’t want the water to go in this way, maybe create some sort of small wall or some bandh, by which the water will not flow in that direction.
Then, the second step is redirection. Water is going this way, use a mop or use a brush and push it in the other direction. Keep pushing it in the other direction.
And third is, eventually, we reconstruct the floor. So that the floor becomes inclined in this way. Then, the water will not flow this way, it will automatically flow that way.
So, similarly for us, if there is something which we don’t want to do, then, just, at least in the initial stages, the willpower is not enough. We have to have some external support. If somebody wants to give up alcohol, and their house happens to be right next to a bar, they will not be able to give up.
No matter how strong their determination, all of us, we have our weak moments. And, if there is no restriction, during the weak moment, immediately the indulgence will happen. So, there is some amount of physical distancing, some amount of barrier that needs to be created.
So, that is the restriction part. So, we have to find out, okay, this is where I am relapsing again and again. Then, how can I create some barrier? That is not enough.
It is not sufficient, but it is necessary. Then, after that, there is redirection. Okay, the thoughts go in that direction, but no, I will not think about this.
I will think about something else. We try to have something else to think about. Something else to do.
Just saying no, no, no, is not possible for a long time. In fact, if I say, I won’t do this. Say, for example, now, if there is a cell phone, and somehow there is some electric charge in the cell phone because I am getting a shock.
So, as soon as I touch it, I get a shock. Then, I can decide I will not touch this. But, with physical objects, we can decide we will not touch it.
But, with respect to mental thoughts, we can’t decide I will not think of something. Because, if I say, okay, if alcoholics say, I will not think about alcohol. But, I will not think about alcohol.
In that, they are thinking about alcohol already. So, psychologists call this, there are various names, they call it the pink monkey experiment. You tell somebody, for the next 30 seconds, please don’t think of a pink monkey.
And, throughout their life, they will not have thought of a pink monkey, they will think of it then. So, restriction alone is not enough. We have to give redirection.
Have something else to think about. So, we can’t just reject habits. We can only replace habits.
We can’t just say, I will not do this. There has to be something else which we do. And then, let me be able to replace that way.
So, this replacement has two phases. One is redirection. We should have somewhere else to push our consciousness to.
Have something else that we can think about. And then, gradually, if we become attached to that, that’s where the process of bhakti comes in. We don’t think about whatever we don’t want to do.
We try to think about Krishna, think of service to Krishna, think about things related to Krishna. And gradually, as that habit becomes stronger, as, say, we become attached to Krishna, then, what will happen is, the floor gets reconstructed. So then, the consciousness will naturally flow towards Krishna.
So, we shouldn’t just berate ourselves, oh, I don’t have determination, that’s why I’m not able to do it. No, what can I do about it? So, create some restriction and create some mechanism for redirection. So, find out, okay, what is it within Krishna bhakti that I can think about easily.
Okay, I like deities, I like humans, I like classes. Then, whenever my mind gets agitated by something, I keep that stimulus ready with me. As soon as I feel agitated, I’ll hear a class, I’ll hear some kirtan, I’ll look at some picture of deities.
So then, I have that mechanism for redirection. So, it’s not just saying no, no, no. Because even if you keep saying no, the restriction is something which you can always break down and go beyond it.
So, the restriction is an initial protector, it’s not the ultimate protector. So, restriction is required, but along with redirection is also required. And gradually, as the reconstruction will happen, then we will find that that temptation will not agitate us also.
Okay, thank you. Yes. You can just speak, I’ll repeat the question.
Yeah, correct. Yeah. The question is whether the force of reason which is required so that the emotion doesn’t take over, is that the same as the purpose which you mentioned in the beginning? Okay.
So, is reason the same as purpose? Not exactly the same. The reason helps us to determine what is the right purpose. And then, it can help us to stick to that purpose.
Reason is something which is internal to us. Purpose is something which we may have different at different times. So, sometimes my purpose may be, okay, I have to study and I have to do well in my exams.
Sometimes my purpose may be, oh, I have to exercise and I have to become fit now. So, we may have different purposes at different times. But reason is what helps us to ascertain what is the purpose which we should be pursuing.
And then when we go off track, it helps us to come back on that purpose. Okay, thank you. And just one last thing.
Yeah. You mentioned about the seer and the experiment. How can one access the seer? Okay.
So, how can we access the inner seer? Right now, we can’t. We can infer the existence of the seer because that is the source of consciousness. That is who we are.
But as we become, as we practise yoga, especially bhakti yoga, and we become purified, then gradually the soul’s spiritual perception awakens. Right now, the soul only is perceiving. But the soul is hooked to the mind and the body.
The soul can’t perceive anything apart from that. So, the modes, Krishna says, they bind the soul to the body. Nibbadananti maha bahu dehe dehinamo me.
When the soul is bound to the body, what does it mean? It is not that there is a rope which binds the soul to the body. In fact, the soul’s consciousness is locked into the body. So, it’s like somebody is so caught in watching a TV that they just forget everything else.
So, somebody is watching a TV and some thieves come in the house and the thieves start stealing the TV. This person is so caught in watching the TV that person goes along with the thief and keeps watching the TV. That is how actually the soul is taken from one body to another body.
The soul is attached to the mind. The mind is like the TV screen. And at the time of death, the agents of death come and the higher forces of nature, they pull the mind actually.
But the soul is so attached to the mind, the soul goes along with it. So, currently the soul’s consciousness is riveted to the mind and the body. That’s why we can’t perceive anything beyond that.
But as we get purified, that means we will become detached. That riveting of the soul to the mind and the body that is there, that will become lesser and lesser. And then the soul’s capacity for self-perception will become awakened.
In 6.20 to 6.23, Krishna Yada Bhagavad Gita talks about this. yathro paramate chittam niruddham yoga sevaya yathra chaivaatmanatmanam pashyam aatmanitushyate yathra uparamate chittam When the chitta is the consciousness which is reflected into the body. So, when the movement of the consciousness into the body stops, yathra uparamate chittam niruddham It stops.
Yoga sevaya, by the consistent practise of yoga. Then, yathra chaivaatmanatmanam At that time, the soul can perceive in words. Pashyam aatmanitushyate At that time, one becomes tushyate, one becomes delighted.
We understand our own spiritual glory, our spiritual beauty. Krishna is all attractive, we are his parts, we are also attractive. So, tushyate, we delight in our spiritual identity.
So, that is a process, that perception of the self, of the inner seer, is a result of yogic purification. Thank you. I have a question.
I have heard that the false ego binds the soul to the body. And you said the modes also do the same. So, is there a connection between the modes and the false ego? Or do they do it in different ways? So, does the false ego bind the soul to the body or is it the modes that bind the soul to the body? Are the modes and the false ego related? Okay.
I would like to clarify one thing over here. That at the subtle level, if we become too analytical, things can become very confusing. At the subtle level, say for example, now, in my computer, I have some applications which I use.
And then there is a virus. And then there is an antivirus programme. Now, from the structural perspective, all of them are nothing but code.
The applications which I use in the computer, the antivirus programme, the virus, all of them are simply codes. But the differentiation is in terms of their functionality. So, similarly, at the subtle level, the mind, intelligence, ego, modes, all these, from a structural perspective, if we try to differentiate, it’s very difficult.
We can differentiate primarily from a functional perspective. So, having said this, we can differentiate. But we shouldn’t get too caught up in it.
We just have to see what is the effect of what. So, now, the soul is here. The body is here.
In between, there is a subtle body, which, as I said, can refer to mind, or we can call it mind, intelligence, ego, if I want to categorise it. So, in the subtle body, the modes are what act on it. So, the difference between, say, the subtle body and the modes, we’ll talk later specifically about the false ego, is that the subtle body is intrinsic to us.
The modes are external forces that influence us. The soul goes from one body to another with the subtle body. The soul doesn’t go necessarily with the modes.
In different situations, the modes will pull us in different ways. So, the modes are like external forces, which you could say, they pull us. They act on the subtle body.
Now, the soul gets bound to the body. And how does this bondage happen? That bondage primarily happens by projection of the consciousness. The soul is separate from the body.
But when the soul’s consciousness gets projected into the body, then the soul identifies with whatever is happening related to the body. Just like, say, a child, may be sitting at home and watching a horror movie. The child is comfortable at home, the mother is also nearby doing some work at home.
But the child gets scared, starts trembling, shivering, screaming. Why? Because the consciousness has got projected into the horror movie, the TV. And the child is experiencing everything in relationship with that.
So, similarly for the soul, the soul’s consciousness gets projected into the material world. And that’s how the soul identifies. So, the bondage happens primarily through the projection of the consciousness.
Now, how the projection will happen, what the consciousness will get projected to, that is shaped by the moods. Now, when we talk about the false ego, the false ego is also, at one level, the determiner of how the consciousness will get projected. The word ego Krishna uses in two different senses at different times.
Sometimes he uses it in an objective sense and sometimes in a subjective sense. Objective sense means that Krishna refers to the ego as an object, as a thing. When he talks about the भुमिरापोनलोवायू खम्मनोबुद्धिरेवच अहंकारितियम्ने बिन्नापरकतरष्टदा In 7.4, he talks about the 8 elements, 8 elements of material energy.
Then he talks about ahankar as one element, just like earth, water, fire, air is there. Like that, the ego is also there as one element. So here he is talking about ego as an object.
But then he also talks about प्रकृतेक्रियमाणानि गुणईकर्माणि सर्वश्य अहंकार नूडात्मा करता हमितिमन्यति The soul deluded by ego thinks I am the doer. गंभो दर्पो अभिमान There are many places where Krishna uses the word ahankar like that. So ahankar can also be referred to ego or arrogance.
So it can be a feeling that a person has. This person is very egoistic. So ego can be a conception that a person has.
Ego can also be the object that is present within us. So when we say that the soul is bound by false ego, what it essentially means is that the soul’s identity gets locked to a particular thing. So I may identify that I am an engineer, I am a doctor, I am an Indian.
These conceptions are what are shaped by the ego. So this misconception that we get, that is what we call as false ego. So the projection of consciousness is channelled through the subtle body as per the modes influencing the subtle body.
But the specific mode of misidentification that happens, the conception of who I identify myself with, that is a false ego. So in that sense, the modes are subtle forces. The false ego is a conception by which the identification takes place.
Thank you. One more thing. You said emotions are meant to be balanced by reason.
So we are reasoning on using intelligence. Yeah. Same I think.
Yes. Hi Krishnamoorthy. One question.
You gave an example of perceiving in ignorance how he perceives via a trumpet. Can you also give an example for a person in passion? Okay. So a person in passion, how might that person perceive? Yeah.
So somebody in passion may be very greedy. They just want to earn more and more money. So for them, money becomes the primary thing that they want in their life.
From the mode of passion, everybody has a desire for money. But what we may do for getting money? In the mode of goodness, one will work honourably and try to earn money. In the mode of passion, one may earn money by hook or by crook.
But even by that crook will not be crooked beyond limits. Some people may cheat. But some people may say, okay, what all I will do in cheating? You know, that.
There will be limits. So somebody may take bribes. But then if that is involving somebody who is going to be killed or somebody going to be hurt, I am not going to do this.
They have limits. So that means that in the mode of passion, there is the desire, there is a craving for getting a particular thing. But that doesn’t go beyond excessive limits.
It will cross certain limits. But in the mode of passion, ignorance, there is no compunction about causing destruction to others also. So like many people may eat meat.
But if you tell those people, you know, you slaughter an animal and eat meat, they will not do it. See, they can’t do that. So what has happened is they desensitise to the actual reality that animals are being slaughtered.
There is a thinker who said that if slaughterhouses had glass windows, nobody would eat meat. So what has happened? Here, they themselves will not do that. So at one level, we could say eating meat is an activity in the mode of ignorance.
But even in eating meat, there is cutting flesh, cutting animals personally to eat meat. So there is a variety of gradation over there. So similarly, in the mode of passion, one pursues sensual pleasure and one is ready to cross moral limits also to get that pleasure.
But there are limits to how much one will go in that. Any other questions or comments? Yes. You mentioned initially that goals act in the mind.
So I have a conceptual question actually. We see that in Bhagavad Gita, it is said that brahmanas are in the mode of… Excuse me, can you just charge this? I was getting discharged. Yes, I have two perspectives.
One is that… So I will just put my question first and then maybe I will support this as an example. So sometimes it seems that people of a particular mode have a particular… See the other copy somewhere. Yes, please go.
People… People of a particular body type have a particular mode. For example, even in Ayurveda, there is a concept of Vat Pitam. So they say in Ayurveda that if you are too spacey, if you are too spaced out, you are not able to focus, you are too nervous, which is typically in the mode of ignorance, one would not be able to think rationally.
So it is an indication that you are having a Vat type of body. And that can be cured by some physical means, not necessarily by way of some kind of reasoning, which also works, but also there are some physical ways to take care of things which are emotional in nature, whether you are feeling spacey or nervous or not able to think clearly. So will it be partially right to say that the mode that is working on you also depends on the type of body that you are in? Some people, because of the type of body they are in, they are more inclined to be in the mode of ignorance or passion or goodness.
For example, Duryodhana, even though he was evil, he was categorised as a Kshatriya. He is not termed as a Shudra. Similarly, when we see in our day-to-day life, there are people whose activities are in the mode of ignorance, but their abilities seem to be in the mode of passion.
So they may be doing all immoral activities, but they are not seen as very lazy or not able to do material things properly. They are still functioning properly materially. So is it correct to say that the body also determines the mode of submission and not just the mind? So is our mode determined not just by our mind but also by our body? Similarly, some people, if they have a particular prakriti, kapha, vata, pitta, then accordingly their behaviour gets shaped accordingly and then by doing some physical things they can reshape their behaviour.
And can you say that people’s overall personality will be shaped by their modes? Like say Duryodhana was evil although he was a Kshatriya. Yes, the modes are not just in the mind. There is a constant dynamic interplay of the body, the mind and the soul.
So for example, say I am studying and I start yawning. Now, when I am yawning, at that time I have different options. If I think that I will just lie down a little bit, I will take a nap.
Then I will just go into the mode of ignorance. If at that time I get some SMS, Hey, have you done this, have you done that? Oh, then I will just skip class. Okay, I will study later and start doing that.
And I start doing physically actively you do and then you feel your sleep goes away. Or sometimes we just decide, okay, let me just go and wash my face. Or if I go in a library where everybody is seriously studying, I also feel like studying.
So that means the attack of the mode of ignorance came upon me. But depending on how I physically respond, the mode of ignorance will become dominant or it will stay in the background. It may go away.
So the modes, how they influence us is shaped by our physical situation. In fact, in the 11th Canto, there is a verse which describes 8 different, several external things. Our association, our circumstance, the kind of books that we read, the kind of food that we eat, the kind of sounds that we vibrate.
All these things shape how the modes influence us. And by changing these, we can change the mode influencing us also. So yes, based on the body that we have, certain kind of behaviour will be default for us.
But even within that default behaviour, there can be regulation or there can be lack of regulation. Kshatriyas will be impelled to fight. If somebody does something wrong, you tell a Brahmana.
Brahmana says, I forgive him. It’s the matter of the law. But Kshatriyas cannot forgive.
If you did like this, they will want to get back. And that is not necessarily a bad thing. Forgiveness is an important principle.
But justice is also an important principle. Individually, if somebody does hurt you in a particular way, we can forgive. But at the level of a government, the government cannot simply forgive.
The government has to also have a system of justice where wrongdoers have to be punished. So, the Brahmanas usually at an individual level they will forgive. But if there is a wrongdoer, if there is a criminal, then the government has to act and punish the person.
And Kshatriyas are the people who run the government. So, that’s not wrong. So, for Kshatriyas to forgive is extremely difficult.
It’s almost impossible for them. They have to take action. But what kind of action will they take? See, the Kshatriya is dharmic.
Kshatriya will follow the due system of dharma and then accordingly administer the punishment. Kshatriya is adharmic. Then that desire to take assertive action, aggressive action will be there.
But how it is expressed will be shaped by whether one is dharmic or adharmic. So, that means the basic mode that is there within us, that we can’t wish it away. But we can balance it.
So, for example, Kshatriya who follows dharma and Kshatriya who doesn’t follow dharma. That means the Kshatriya has the impulse to act aggressively. But that is Rajasik.
But that is the mode of passion. But along with that there is sufficient mode of goodness to consider what is the right course, what is the right way of action, what is dharma for me over here. And after that there is action.
So, we can’t expect everybody to come to the mode of goodness like a brahmana is. Even among devotees, it is not that just because we practise bhakti for many years, that means everybody will become entirely brahmanical in their disposition. The brahman diksha that we get is primarily so that we can do brahmanical services.
But even after we get brahman diksha, it is not that everybody who has brahman diksha is engaging entirely in brahmanical vocations. That is just so that we can have greater facility to practise bhakti. We can do deity worship, we can chant the Gayatri mantra.
The important thing is there are different modes and there are different people in the different modes. And as I said, even in a shudra, you may say their mode of ignorance is prominent. But even the shudra follows shastra.
The shudra cannot follow brahmanical shastra or cannot do a brahmana’s kind of regulation. But shudra has to do shudra level of regulation. And to be regulated at that level also requires some amount of sattva guna.
So, there is some amount of goodness which is there in even people who are prominently in the mode of ignorance. And that’s how they are able to keep their actions impelled by the mode of ignorance also within regulation. So, this is the way in which we can’t expect people to be changed entirely.
Say, like in the west, people drink. But they also know that driving under intoxication, driving under influence is a very serious crime. So, if somebody is going for a party where they drink, then they actually make a plan.
You know, in this party, it is your turn to stay sober. Six people are going in a car. Say, this party you should not drink.
You should take only some other non-alcoholic beverages. You do this austerity this time, next time I will do it. So, drinking alcohol is, we could say, an activity of ignorance.
But if they have some level of sobriety, they say, okay, the person going to drive will not drink. So, that’s how there is regulation even within an activity which is in the mode of ignorance. So, without that regulation, the whole society would collapse.
Nobody will be able to function. So, even when people are in the mode of ignorance, it’s not that they are entirely in the mode of ignorance. Some, even people who are, say, terrorists, they are destructive.
But they have their organisational structure. They also follow their rules. And to follow their rules, they need some goodness.
But that goodness is used for an ignorant purpose. So, what we are talking about is perspective and purpose. So, what purpose are we living for? If somebody is in the mode of ignorance, they cannot immediately give up the mode of ignorance.
Somebody is Shudra, they may be Shudra. But then if they get a purpose in the mode of ignorance, if they understand Shastra, and make Shastric knowledge as the guiding, as the guide for determining the purpose of their life, then even from the mode of ignorance, they will get eliminated. Did I answer your question? Thank you.
Any other questions or comments? Yes, ma’am. It’s coming back. No problem.
Hi, Shruti. You gave an example of, say, thinking or zooming on one particular screen. So, my question is that how… The mind often gives multiple screens to watch.
And we are able to focus on, you know, one or two screens at a time, or zoom in on one particular screen at a time. But sometimes, suddenly, more than ten screens come into the picture. So, and totally, you know, the focus is… We are trying consciously to focus on two or three screens.
Then things deviate. So, how to stepwise or consciously try to minimise the number of screens? Yeah. So, sometimes, too many screens open up in the mind.
And we just get captivated by too many things. So, how do we regulate that and focus on one or two things at a time? Yeah, in the 16th chapter, 16th verse, Krishna says, अनेक चित्तवि भ्रांता मोह जाल समावर्तः प्रसक्तः कामभोगेशु पथंति नर्गेशु चुम् अनेक चित्तवि भ्रांता अनेक चित्तवि भ्रांता मोह जाल समावर्तः प्रसक्तः कामभोगेशु चुम् अनेक चित्तवि भ्रांता मोह जाल समावर्तः प्रसक्तः कामभोगेशु चुम् मोह जाल समावर्तः प्रसक्तः कामभोगेशु चुम् अनेक चित्तवि भ्रांता मोह जाल समावर्तः प्रसक्तः कामभोगेशु चुम् अनेक चित्तवि भ्रांता मोह जाल समावर्तः प्रसक्तः कामभोगेशु चुम् मोह जाल समावर्तः प्रसक्तः कामभोगेशु चुम् So, what determines whether, say, one mode becomes prominent over the other mode? Say, goodness is there and suddenly passion becomes more prominent. So, what determines this? It is determined broadly by three things.
By the situation, by the impression, impressions that are there present in the person and by the intention of the person. So, for example, if somebody has decided, I am going to eat regulatedly. And then, suddenly some very tempting food comes up.
So, now, whether the person eats the food or sticks to the regulated food? What will determine that? All the three things. First of all, what kind of tempting food is it? Now, some people may get tempted by one food, some people may not be tempted by the other food. So, if it is a very special and very unusual delicacy, then the situation may be such that one may get tempted.
So, second is the impressions. If that person is very attached to that food. One is the food itself, how special it is.
Second is how much attachment to the food is there. So, if that person is very attached to that food, now I want it. I may decide not to eat it.
Yes, yes, I decide I will not take any sweets, but except for gulab jamun. If that comes, then all regulation is forgotten. So, that’s the impression that is there.
And then, now, both of these, the situation is external to us physically and the impression is also external to the soul. It’s different from the soul. But the soul’s intention is there.
The soul has a strong intention. No, I am not going to do this. Then, even in that situation, that indulgence may not happen.
So, say, in the mode of goodness there is regulation. In the mode of passion there is indulgence. In the mode of ignorance there will be destructive indulgence.
I was in Australia and Melbourne. So, I was talking about, giving an example of eating. There was one doctor.
He said one day he was called in emergency. And he said that there was some young man who was admitted in the hospital. And he had gone to a party and he had eaten so much chicken that literally the chicken had got stuffed up to his neck.
And his doctor actually had to use prongs to open up the neck and literally pull the chicken out from the neck. His throat had got throttled and he was on the verge of dying because he couldn’t breathe. It’s incredible.
How could that happen? How did this happen? Okay, you want to eat something. But even in indulgence there can be destructive level of indulgence also. So, it depends on the situation, the impression and the intention.
Whether one will be, when the modes come up, when a particular temptation comes up, whether the mode of goodness will become prominent, whether the mode of patience will become prominent or whether the mode of ignorance will become prominent. They will be shaped by these three things. So, thank you very much.
So, as we discussed today, I will be speaking for about 45 minutes to 1 hour and we will have almost 1 hour for questions. So, you can come prepared with questions related with the class and also something which may not be exactly related, but related with the theme if it is there, we can discuss that tomorrow also. Thank you very much.