NoI 1 Preface – Understanding the right attitude for a sadhaka – Mumbai 2013

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
Krishna Vamsa Sri Krishna Sita Sahaguna Raghunatha Nukanta Kuhiri Aapmai Krishna Kripa Parijata Vipam Krishna Jai Kali Bhai Sri Aapmai Krishna Sita Sahaguna Raghunatha Sri Krishna Kali Kripa Aapmai Krishna Kripa Krishna Krishna Yahaan Kali Sri Krishna Kali Kali Aapmai Krishna Kali prābhā kānta namaste śrīdhya gṛha-bhūta-dāvārā śrīvāsādi-gaura-bhūta-vanda Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare well, it’s starting with the picture of construction. So, I will start today by first focussing on the importance of the book of instruction between Amar and Arya canon. So, the canon means, it refers to the books that are considered standard or important within a particular tradition.
So, we are going to the Gaudiya Rishikesh tradition, which the Gaudiya Rishikesh movement is modelling expression of this ancient tradition. We will look at the significance of this book. So, I will talk about its significance in three ways.
First way, I will talk about its significance within the Gaudiya tradition. Second, I will talk about its significance among the books that Shri Prabhupada wrote. Third, I will talk about its significance in terms of the application in our lives and in the education within Bhakti Shastra.
So, the Gaudiya Rishikesh tradition, it essentially began with Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. So, the message of Krishna consciousness is already there in the Vedic literature. But, the special way in Bhakti was taught by Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
He used it in a very expressive way by Hanuman Yajna. And, he entrusted the systematisation of his teachings to the six disciples. After Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, he had four groups of disciples.
And, the first group that was held in Kirti, these groups came from four parts. One group came from Vrindavan. A second group was from Bengal.
So, Vrindavan was with the Swamis and the followers. Bengal was Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. So, Avyakacharya was Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and the disciples.
Then, the Orissa, where the followers, the disciples of Dhanandra and others. And, the Vrindavan disciples. Now, among these four groups, the intellectual systematisation literature was entrusted to the Goswamis.
So, the Goswamis wrote down numerous books. And, the books that they wrote down became the foundation for all future generations of devotees. Now, among the books that they wrote, there are various kinds of books.
So, one of the books is, you see, in spiritual life, we need two essential things. Spiritual life has beliefs and there are practises. So, beliefs refers to our understanding of the theory.
And, practises refers to how we apply it in our life. So, in general, how I take the sessions is that I have a PPT. Today, I have not started the PPT.
But, I have a PPT in which I explain the points which I speak. And then, as I speak, I also elaborate on those points. So, today, the topic that I will focus on is how these four books are important.
Four books which we study in Bhakti Shastra. And, among them, especially how the vector of instruction is important. So, as I said, there are beliefs and there are practises.
There is philosophy and there is sadhana. So, philosophy, to a large extent, is like a theory. Sadhana is like a practise.
So, in spiritual life, scriptures, if you want to understand what is the role that they play in our life, there are several examples that we can use. So, scriptures are like a map. They are like a recipe.
They are like a prescription. So, I will take these three and explain. Each of these can be one-one point to the role of scripture.
The common point about map, recipe and prescription. Is that, the heretical knowledge is on the map. When I came here, I have a map while travelling.
Knowing the map will make me take the journey. Knowing the map is the primary knowledge by which I can take the journey. So, scriptures provide us the map.
This is the material world, that is the spiritual world. This is the real one. It’s the map.
It is we who have to take the journey. So, the map example is used to convey how we have to take a journey of transformation. Then the recipe example, recipe also if I know clearly how to cook, say, rasmalai, that does not give me the taste of rasmalai.
For that, I not only need to know the name of all the ingredients and quantities, I actually need to mix them together. Then I will have a dish. Similarly, the scriptures give us various elements.
For example, we have in Rupa Swamiji’s other book, Dr. Samit Sindhu, when he sees a dhakti up there, I will describe how we progress. Just knowing all this, that in and of itself doesn’t give you the taste of it. So, in a sense, we have to cook our consciousness by the practise of devotional service.
And then the taste will come. Rasa will come. So, the first talks about a journey where we are moving from material world to spiritual world.
The second example of recipe talks about inner transformation. Inner transformation by which our inner sweetness will manifest. That’s why the recipe is cooked very nicely.
And sweetness is the taste that emerges. And a similar example applies to the prescription. Doctor’s prescription is, now the doctor’s prescription conveys an additional point.
When we are generally cooking in a recipe, you have a recipe, you cook. But in doctor’s prescription, the doctor’s role is also very important. So, like that, while we are applying the scriptures, the guru’s role is very important.
Guru guides us on how to apply. So, now, all these, if you see, we have Bhagavad Gita, we have Isvapanishad, we have some other two books, Lecture of Devotion and Lecture of Instruction. So, if you look at these four books, what essentially these four books do? These four books, one by one, will take us towards the realisation of Krishna.
So, Isvapanishad, generally, the Upanishads are considered to be the Vashis. Vashis means the strongholds of esoteric spiritual knowledge. And often the Mayavadis say that, the Upanishads talk about impersonation.
Katramasi, Katramasi, Aham Brahmasmi, Prajnanam Brahmanam. So, through this kind of coaching, they try to show how the absolute truth is explained in impersonalistic ways. So, Shloka Gopal takes Isvapanishad.
And if you read the Isvapanishad, practically throughout the book, Shloka Gopal doesn’t use the word Krishna even once. He uses the word God, he uses the word Lord, he uses the word absolute truth, he uses the word Brahman. He doesn’t use the word Krishna.
Why? Because he is going into impersonalist territory, using their terminology and refuting their philosophy. So, what Shloka Gopal is doing is, he is going into enemy territory. So, India goes into Pakistan, Indian cricketing goes to Pakistan, and he refutes Pakistan in Pakistan.
So, what Shloka Gopal does is, he goes into the territory that is considered traditionally impersonalist stronghold. And there, he refutes impersonals. So, then, after Isvapanishad, you have the Bhagavad Gita.
So, Bhagavad Gita very unambiguously establishes Krishna’s existence. Now, that means, the Isvapanishad establishes the absolute truth of the person. The Bhagavad Gita gives us the identity of that person.
It tells us that absolute truth of the person is Krishna. In the 15th and 19th year of Bhagavad Gita, Krishna says, Purushottama understands his place, Purushottama, he is Sarva. He knows everything, the little more left of the question.
So, the Bhagavad Gita enables us to know the identity of that person. And after that, the nature of devotion, it enables us to understand the beauty of Krishna. The Bhagavad Gita also gives us some glimpses.
But there are no, there are no verses like that in the Bhagavad Gita. In the Bhagavad Gita, primarily, identity of God is established very unambiguously. Of course, Krishna’s Bhakta Vatsala does come out in the Bhagavad Gita in many places.
In that sense also, Krishna’s beauty is coming out. But the elaborate explanation of Krishna’s beauty in an analytical as well as an aesthetical way, that comes in Bhakti Vatsala Amritsindhu. Now, Bhakti Vatsala Amritsindhu tells us about what are the, how Krishna is beautiful, and what all are the rasas that can be experienced when we say Krishna.
And it goes elaborately into the various forms of bhakti, the 64 items of bhakti that are talked about in Bhakti Vatsala Amritsindhu. And it’s a very intricate book. Vatsala Purvapada is given as nature of devotion in a summary study.
And if you read Sanskrit, when you look at Duryodhana’s Annamalipita, Duryodhana’s Annamalipita is the commentary on nature of devotion by G. Vyaswamy. The book has been commented extensively by various acharyas. in our tradition.
So, it’s a very beautiful exposition of the glory of Krishna as the all-attractive person, and the glory of bhakti as the all-encompassing process, the process that can elevate everyone. And the lecture of instruction enables us to practise bhakti from a ground-to-earth way to the heart in the sky level. So, it starts from a very practical level.
And then it moves forward right up to Adhah. So, the lecture of devotion, it also just focusses on bhakti, it also just focusses on bhakti, the glory of Bhagavan. So, in that sense, lecture of devotion and lecture of instruction are similar.
But in terms of practical application from sadhukas, the lecture of instruction gives a lot of instructions that are relevant for us as seekers, as beginners and seekers in spiritual path. And although the number of verses in this book is small, these verses are foundational for the steady practise of the book. So, generally speaking, in the practise of spiritual life, the scriptures are the guidelines for us.
In this world, people generally act based on four factors. What are these four factors? The four factors are culture, tradition, mood and behaviour. Culture means everyone does it.
So, when students go to college, they will start smoking and drinking. Why? Because everyone does it. That’s why I do it.
That’s one basis on which we do it. Other is tradition. Tradition, we have always done it.
So, people go to some place and they do some puja, they have a daughter-in-law who is getting ready to go to worship. Why? Our generation is individual in doing it. So, tradition is we always do it.
What is mood? Mood means it feels good. It feels good, so I do it. And fourth is it is easy.
It makes sense. So, generally speaking, if you look at our actions, we base them on one of these four factors. Or maybe more than one.
Sometimes two may also come together. But these are all valid, they are valuable as basis for choosing our actions. But none of these are infallible.
Culture may be wrong. Tradition may be wrong. Our moods can be unreliable.
And sometimes reason, although it is powerful, reason is also limited. Because reason, our capacity to reason is finite. God is infinite.
Therefore, we can’t understand God with reason. And that’s why these are all lighthouses that are moving. Because sometimes, if there is a ship which is coming to the coast, the lighthouse is in a safe area, the ship comes, the lighthouse shifts and goes to a rocky area.
The ship that comes in will crash into the storm. These are lighthouses that shift. Sometimes they tell us the right thing, sometimes they tell us the wrong thing.
That’s why these are not the lighthouses we can rely on as ultimate authority. The scripture is the lighthouse that never changes. The scripture is our ultimate authority.
And the scripture has many parts to it. Sri Sri Adalya Vidyabhashi, in his book called, in his book, which is a commentary on the Vedanta Sutra, he explains how scriptural statements are of various types. For example, Krishna may say that, Now, there are statements like this where Krishna is informing, explaining, analysing.
Among all the statements in scriptures, the most important are the statements which are institutions. A doctor may give a lot of analysis. He will say, this is so the infection is spreading, and the germs are here, the germs will go here.
All this analysis is important. But if a patient wants to remember something as most important and what the doctor has spoken, that is, the prescription. What will you do? So, for example, There is no direct instruction in this.
Information. There is a body, there is a soul. But, in the other hand, This is an instruction.
So, in the scripture, there are various statements. Among those statements, the most important statements are instructions. Because they, if you look at the way they are written, if you remember that part of scripture, we can get the benefit of the scriptures.
So, this book is a mixture of instructions. That is, it is the condensed practical application of the scriptures so that we can become transparent and liberated. So, that’s why it’s instruction, and it is a lecture of instruction.
It’s a Desh Aniruddha. So, instruction that will enable us to taste the nature of spiritual life. It is a lecture of love for Krishna.
That’s why this is a very important book. I’ll repeat this point of the progression. What is the issue of Krishna Guru? We have to understand the absolute truth of the person.
The Bhagavad Gita gives us the identity of that person as Krishna. The lecture of devotion gives us the beauty of that person, how attractive Krishna is. A lecture of instruction tells us about the accessibility of that person, how we can access that person through a practical process of devotion itself, the practical process of Kriyayoga.
So, we will start with the introduction. And as we discuss the introduction, the way we will do this study is, we will read paragraphs, and then we will discuss on them. And wherever some elaboration is required, I will add it.
Now, when Sri Krishnadevaraya wrote the book lecture of instruction, published the book lecture of instruction, the devotees who were publishing it, the publishing was of course called as School Press, and then they gave it the name, Book to the Dam of the Trust. So, initially the devotees saw the content of the book, and they thought this is a book for devotees. So, they printed a very small one, 500,000 copies they printed.
And they gave a copy to Prabhupada. Prabhupada said, how many copies will you give me? They told a small one. Prabhupada said, that is small.
So, Prabhupada thought this book is for devotees. He said, we want the whole world to become devotees. So, they printed a large quantity.
He said, this is a book, it is meant for devotees, but the instructions that are there will benefit even you devotees. So, Srila Prabhupada’s view in presenting the lecture of instruction was, to help how, first of all, scripture is a vast body of knowledge, in which the most important is the instructions. So, that is what will transform us.
Analysis is no doubt important, philosophy is important, that will make us understand how I should follow the instructions. For example, doctor says, you are to take this medicine three times a day. It does not make any difference.
All the medicines are going to be taken once. To understand how serious the disease is, all the analysis of the seriousness of the disease is for what purpose? To make sure that I take the medicine. So, we do need to study the philosophy.
So, the purpose of having the philosophy is, that we can apply the instructions. Srila Prabhupada gives one instruction. He says, don’t be lazy about the philosophy.
So, all this is done. We are here to finish ourself. We don’t need to do it again.
Don’t be lazy. Why? You can’t say, Krishna love you. So, by this, your mind will become fixed to Krishna.
That means, the philosophy is ultimately there to help us fix the mind. So, what Srila Prabhupada does, in his purpose, is that he takes the instructions which are given, in very short shlokas by Ritu Goswami, and he gives a philosophical understanding, as well as a current day application, for these instructions. So, let’s start.
Who would like to read? We have got like a minute from here. We will read loudly and clearly, and then we will discuss it. Okay.
So, it’s interesting, Srila Prabhupada is not saying that, the Krishna Consciousness can look at my supervision, or Bhaksa’s purpose of supervision, or Bhakti’s purpose of supervision. He is saying, Ritu Goswami’s supervision. Now, why Ritu Goswami’s supervision? Because, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu entrusted Ritu Goswami, with the primary responsibility of, systematising our tradition.
Now, since Ritu Goswami was older, Ritu Goswami went to the shelter of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu first. And Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, that’s why, all of a sudden, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was arrested. So, all of a sudden, Ritu Goswami was the older among the two brothers.
Ritu Goswami felt that, you were taking shelter of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu first. So, he became initiated first. You are my senior brother.
And that’s why, he, he considered him to be the, leader. And that’s why when Ritu Goswami came, to seek initiation, he came to Sanatana Goswami. Sanatana Goswami said, you are Ritu Goswami.
So, Ritu Goswami is considered to be the primary among Ritu Goswamis. And, he, standardised that tradition. That’s why, Prabhupada is saying that, the Krishna conscious moment, is under Ritu Goswami.
I mean, Ritu Goswami has a very definitive role in the spiritual world also. Ritu Goswami is Ritu Goswami. And, as I said, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu had multiple disciples.
So, although, when Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Mukna, Goswami and other disciples went to Vrindavan, before Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, before Goswamis, but the Goswamis received special mercy. And that’s why, everybody, accepted them as the primary leaders. So, now, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s disciples, if you see, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu did not directly initiate anyone, in Navagiri.
Navagiri? He did not initiate anyone. Yes, he inspired them to chant, but he did not initiate anyone directly. So, one of the chief among divine disciples are, the Goswamis.
As I said, they are very exalted devotees. Many of them were senior, and more advanced in a sense. They were older at least.
They were senior than the Goswamis also. But they were not directly initiated by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. So, now, therefore, Sri Narottama dasa Thakura, now if you see the generations, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is in essence, the first generation.
Then, the Goswamis were like his followers, or the second generation. And then, Narottama dasa Thakura, is the third generation. How third generation? Narottama dasa Thakura’s Shiksha disciples are, Narottama dasa Thakura’s Shiksha disciples are, Jiva Goswami.
Correct. So, now, Jiva Goswami is glorifying, sorry, Narottama dasa Thakura is glorifying, is the generation that had its spiritual master. So, in a sense, actually he is glorifying, here this is Goswami.
He had all his spiritual masters. Therefore, Sri Narottama dasa Thakura’s son, Rupa Raghunatha Prabhavya Jayapati, Prabhavya Bhojavya, Sri Nithya Gopi. So, then, I have the attraction to the logos of Rupa and Raghunatha.
Then, I will understand the pastimes of Radha and Krishna. So, what does this mean? Actually, the pastimes of Radha and Krishna are extremely easy to misunderstand. They are extremely difficult to understand and extremely easy to misunderstand.
Why are they easy to misunderstand? Because they seem very similar to mundane, trivial affairs. And that’s why, actually, if you want to understand the history, first of all, you have to understand how they are conjugated. And Rupa Goswami’s handwriting, like literature, very customarily explains the difference between material and spiritual, by which we rise beyond materialism.
So, when I am able to understand the literature given by the Goswamis, then I shall be able to understand the tangential other affairs of Radha and Krishna. So, how does it work? You remember in the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna explains, indicates, how this world is a reflection of the spiritual world. Does anyone know the verse? In the Bhagavad Gita? You can translate this in your… Yes.
ॐ दुनायादशात्मः अश्वत्थान्प्राहुरम्वेः शंदान्स्यस्यः परिणान्यि विस्तंवेदस्यदेदे In the 3.1, the way Krishna says, that the tree, whose roots are downwards, and whose, sorry, whose roots are upwards and whose shoots are downwards, so in the 3.3, we see the reflection. So, what does he indicate by this? Now, if I see a reflection, and if the man go on the top of the tree, what is on top will appear lowest in the line, isn’t it? So like that, the Radhakrishna pastimes are the highest in the spiritual life. And they appear the lowest in this reflection, because they appear like not only man-woman affairs, male-female affairs, but they appear also as basic male-female affairs.
So Radhakrishna in one sense was not a man in that way. So now, if you see, somebody comes to a river and just sees the river, and the person’s vision is blocked, so that the person doesn’t see the real thing. The eyes are glued to the reflection.
So what will happen is, the person will jump into the river and try to get the mango in the reflection. He’ll never get it. Even if he smashes his head against some rocks underwater, he’ll never get it.
So if a person has to get the real mango, what all has to happen? First of all, the vision has to stop looking at the reflection and start looking at the reality. So, in our case, what happens is that we not only mistake the reflection to be the reality, it’s bad if I see the reflection and think that to be the reality. How do they make me attractive in this world? If you mistake that to be the reality, that is bad enough.
But actually what we do is, we not only mistake the reflection to be the reality, but we also mistake the reality to be a reflection. What does that mean? That means not only will you think that you’re attractive if this world is the actual thing, even in the Radha-Krishna pastimes, they’re saying the same thing. So they are also like this one.
Therefore, there is a process. First thing that you have to do, if you want to understand the reality, stop looking at the reflection and shift the vision to the reality. Stop looking at the reflection means, go and look intangibly in the face of this world.
And that is exemplified by the Goswamis. The Goswamis were utterly renounced. So, they show how this reflection is not at all worthy of the attention.
This view of immeasurable wealth and accepted copies for the sake of illicit behaviour. So what they did by their example is, they completely rejected the reflection. And then, for the actual pastimes of Radha and Krishna.
So what did it mean? Something totally different. If that was what the real female was attracted to, then these two people enjoyed it as much as they wanted. But they completely renounced it and still became mad for Radha-Krishna’s pastimes.
That indicates that that is something entirely different. So, how it is different, the Goswamis have explained. That’s why, to the extent we understand the literature of the Goswamis, then we will understand the difference between the reality and the reflection.
And we will reject the reflection and turn towards the reality. So, Jitendra Mahaprabhu appeared in order to bestow upon human society the benediction of the science of Krishna. You know, for all over the world, people talk about love of God.
All over the world means, in all the religious traditions of the world, the love of God is mentioned in the highest, at least in the personal traditions. But the analytical description of how to develop love, that is so clearly described only in the Gondwana Shastra. Generally, when people talk about love in the material world, they talk about, it’s mostly a material attraction that is largely based on hormones.
It is basically lust. And there also they talk about, if something spontaneously happens, if you fall in love with someone. There also the phrase is, fall in love.
So, all over the world, when a person is in love, one has to fall in love. It means that one has to act to please the person whom he loves. So, when a man falls in love with a woman, the woman says, मन्नमाभो भकतो बद्लाजी मानिवस्कुरु मानेवस्यसि सुत्यं के So, you think of, you always think of, you can do everything, you offer obeisances to me, then you will come to me.
So, what we see in this world is a reflection of what is going on. The quantum conscious, that generally people think that love is something that happens spontaneously. In movies, if a boy sees a girl, he will see each other, this electric current passes through their body, and then they interact with each other.
So, the whole idea of love as a systematically cultivated emotion, is something which is extraordinary. So, actually if you look at the Abrahamic religion, the Abrahamic religion is Christianity, Judaism and Islam. They talk about love of God, but these religions do not have anything like a Sadhana.
Sadhana is actually unique to the Dharmic religion. Dharmic religion is what? What we call Hinduism, Hinduism, Hinduism. Sadhana is unique to the Eastern traditions.
What do we mean by Sadhana? Sadhana is a systematic, sustained practise by which one gets spiritual realisation. There is no such thing. There will be some Christians, I will explain some of these points.
So, four books are enough. We will talk about these four books in a minute. However, I will take the purpose to tomorrow onwards.
If you like the purpose, you can follow that and discuss the points. What do we mean by Sadhana? It is a systematic, sustained practise for gaining spiritual realisation. So, in the Christian tradition they have, you go to a mosque, or go to a church, or in Islam they have the five pillars of Islam, in charity, in namaz, you go to Mecca, you accept Allah as the one and only God, and you fast in Ramadan.
So, the five pillars. But actually, on a daily, regular basis, a system for connecting with God and transforming one’s consciousness is not there. So, Sadhana is what actually leads to spiritual life, to tangible transformation and experience.
So, otherwise, without Sadhana, spiritual life is just segregated. I believe in God. I feel good when I go to a temple.
Or I feel good when I go to a mosque or a church. But then what happens? Sometimes I don’t feel good. But, with Sadhana, what happens is, spiritual life becomes a tangible, transformational experience.
Now, of course, experiences can come to everyone. Somebody can go to a yatra, and he gets some experiences. Or Allah can talk and tell you miraculous examples of people who get transformed by the yatra that he leads people to.
So, there are experiences like that. But if you want to get those experiences steadily, then you need to practise Sadhana. So, Sadhana is what gradually takes our consciousness to a much higher level.
So, Sadhana, how it is to be practised, that is how it is firmly described in the Vedic tradition. Now, I am talking about this over here. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu gave the science of Krishna to us.
So, now, how we will go through progressive emotions, and ultimately come to the emotion of love of God. This whole concept of Adal, Shraddha, Sadhu, Sunda, Vijaya, Nithya, this is the science of Krishna. Generally, we don’t think of emotions as a science.
We just think of emotions as something that comes spontaneously. But the way, for example, Sunda is describing, and the way Nitya is structurally guiding, it is a science which heals us. So, it starts to come together, with Nitya, it comes associated with Nitya, and Sadhana, with Nitya, and Nitya will develop, and Adal has been growing.
So, all this is a science. And the science gradually transforms. So, it is the science of Krishna.
And Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has given us this science. Now, I am not going back for a second. It is a science because of several reasons.
So, one reason is that it is step-by-step. It is not just a spontaneous feeling. Somebody feels love for Krishna, somebody will feel love for Krishna.
No. Step-by-step, as one calls it, anybody can go from Shraddha to Prema. And the second point is, it is repeatable.
One of the fundamental characteristics of science is that it should be repeatable. If I throw a stone up, it will fall down. If you throw it, it will fall down.
If somebody from America throws it, the stone will fall. It is repeatable. So, one of the characteristics of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s expression of bhakti is that it is repeatable.
Even today, in part of the world, if a person says, I am sorry Krishna, I am not going to do any service, the bad habits will go. Pranarthana bhakti will take place. And the person will gradually develop attraction towards it.
That is why it is a science of Krishna. And actually, Prabhupada translates Prabhupada gives a subtitle for his book, Complete Science of Bhakti Yoga. So, it is a science.
It is a science because there is a systematic explanation of the transformational process. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has given us the science of Bhakti Yoga. Science of Krishna.
So, the most exalted of all the devotees of Lord Krishna, of all the activities of Lord Krishna, are his pastimes of conjugal love with the devotees. So, these are most exalted because the love that is exhibited over here is the most selfless. Whereas, the devotees love Krishna during the pastime that the devotees were ready to give their best to Krishna.
For instance, I was going to Krishna’s house. Even though I have to go to him, their love is completely selfless. How do we understand the selflessness of the love? Why? Not a person will ever do such a thing.
He will go deep in love. How do I know that love is selfless? Now, the parents may say to the son that I love you very much. Son says, I want to become a brahmachari.
So, now, what happens over there is, surely the parents love their sons, but then, he has some expectations of his sons. So, there is love there, but that love is also selfless. Why does somebody has to tell him, you know, what is people do in my society? What do my relatives think? What will happen to your prestige? What will happen to your honour? That becomes a major consideration.
So, for a woman, in a traditional culture, the greatest honour emerges there. The gopis’ love for Krishna is so selfless. On one side, they are ready to go to hell for the sake of giving Krishna a little relief only.
Another is, when Krishna calls them for rasa dance, they are ready to go in the middle of the night. And they are ready to sacrifice their chastity and go on chaste because Krishna, the Supreme God, is the husband of all husbands. They are generally sponsored.
But people don’t understand that. They are ready to do that also. The gopis’ love is completely selfless.
Supremely selfless. And that’s why they are the most exalted devotees. Shatrughna Mahaprabhu appeared in the name of Sri Nithyananda and the best of the gopis were to understand the mission of Shatrughna Mahaprabhu and follow in his footsteps.
One must very seriously follow in the footsteps of his Goswamis. And he was another Natarajuna, Sujith, Vipalvata and Dasarjuna. So what is Sri Nithyananda coming over here? You know, his spiritual hierarchy over there.
You know, the gopis are the highest. Among the gopis, Shatrughna Mahaprabhu, Shri Nithyananda Radharani are the highest. You know, this usage Shri Nithyananda Radharani, it is Sri Nithyananda Radharani’s unique origination.
You know, Acharya before Shri Shatrughna Mahaprabhu has referred to Radharani in such amorphic terms. He was Swami, he just used the word Radha. Meanwhile, Nithyananda Prabhu also used the word Radha in Jaya Dharma and other places.
Now, Shatrughna Mahaprabhu because what had happened is Shatrughna Mahaprabhu came along, Arjuna started preaching and there were so many sahajiyas and the sahajiyas they had very distorted ideas. There was a whole whole branch of deviant religion called as Tantra. And in Tantra, actually there are right hand Tantra and left hand Tantra.
Right hand Tantra is auspicious. Right hand Tantra is vicious. Left hand Tantra is inauspicious.
Left hand Tantra is the idea that everything material is not spiritual. Right hand Tantra is there are certain material manifestations that can help us to move towards for example, the deities. The left hand Tantra is anything material can be spiritual.
They have the idea even sex can be spiritual. And they say when a man and a woman unite, actually, they have the idea that when a man and a woman unite, actually Shiva and Shakti they are united through us. And they are enjoying.
Because they are enjoying, so there through their pleasure will mix pleasure with us. A very perverted idea. And that idea came into Gaudiya Veda, into Vaishnavism.
And man and woman started doing illicit activities. They were saying that when we do the activities, actually Radha and Krishna will be united. It’s complete insanity.
So, when Shri Bhakti Shankar and Shri Prabhupada did work, they said that Radha and Krishna’s activities were exalted. We can’t understand that. So Shri Prabhupada used the word Radha very cheaply.
Don’t think of Radha as an ordinary girl whom people can refer to their immoral activities. She is a supreme goddess of fortune. Actually, the goddess of fortune is Lakshmi Devi.
All the gopis are super goddesses of fortune. Why? Because we know Radharani couldn’t enter into Vrindavan. Lakshmi Devi couldn’t enter into Vrindavan.
The gopis were there. So Lakshmi Devi is the goddess of fortune. The gopis are super goddesses of fortune.
And Radharani is the supreme goddess of fortune. So, goddess of fortune, super goddess of fortune, supreme goddess of fortune. And that person, you know, was cheap.
That’s why he used the word not just Radha, not just Radharani, but Shri Nathi Radharani. So, now, this is not a Rasa Bhans. Some people say this is a Rasa Bhans.
Radha is a village girl, cowherd girl. She is not the Rani. She is the supreme queen.
There are many pastimes which you must know. For example, Madhava Bhansa, which describes how the coronation of Radharani is celebrated. Radharani came to Vrindavan.
She established it. So, Sri Kavita gives this very respectful address. Sri Kavita says, we don’t misunderstand.
We don’t consider that as material. Sri Kavita was actually so cautious. In the whole Bhagavad Gita, even the name Radha comes only once.
In the whole Bhagavad Gita, even the name Radha comes only once. Yes, in the introduction, Radha went to Vrindavan. Why was Sri Kavita so cautious? People are not qualified.
This is not trespassing to advance to Vrindavan. So, what Sri Kavita is telling is that Radharani is the highest deity and she has come as Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Radharani’s associate has come as the associated Mahaprabhu, the Goswamis.
So, just as the associates of Radharani invite the other Sakhis and Manjuris and other Gopis in the service of Radha Krishna, similarly, the associated Mahaprabhu will teach us how to serve Krishna. That’s how the Goswamis are helping us to serve Krishna and enter into the spiritual world gradually. Who would like to read? So, if any of you have any questions, please feel free to ask.
Similarly, when you have this, any time you have questions, feel free to ask. now, as I said that I was talking about love as cultivation and love as spontaneous. So, what about when you cultivate spontaneous love? Actually, we come to the level of spontaneous love that is Raghavendra Bhakti by the practise of Swadhinandana.
So, if you see, the scriptures do talk about Raghavendra Bhakti. But then, what is the definition of Bhakti that is given? In India, Krishna is Shriyam Bhakti. Shriyam is culturing or cultivation.
So, right now, we can’t rely on our feelings alone. Because, currently, our feelings are like a sine wave. If you rely on the sine wave, you will go into a sine wave.
That will happen. When we rely on our feelings, sometimes we will feel very high and low. Sometimes we will feel low.
And when we feel low, all of us will be driven by our feelings and we will go into waves or something like that. So, right now, we need to be cautious about our feelings. Right now, Bhakti is a cultivation.
Cultivation means, because cultivation is generally used with respect to farming. To cultivate crops. So, what do we do in cultivation? We plough the land, we sow the seeds, we protect the farm, and gradually, the crops will grow.
So, we have to use this cultivation for the garden. There is a watering of the Bhakti, the cabbage, to show the people. So, right now, in the process of Bhakti, Adhana Bhakti or Bhakti Siddhi, our focus is primarily on Bhakti.
So, we put aside our feelings. Of course, if we get devotional feelings, say, remedy darshan and grants and treatments, then we will be better. It’s wonderful.
And we see this as a glimpse of what we are going to get in the future. But right now, we don’t rely on our feelings as the parameters of our guides for us to achieve that. Needs may come, we will do.
Right now, it is in the process. Gradually, it will become more and more studied and more and more developed. Surely, our goal is spontaneous love action.
It will come. But right now, we can’t depend on spontaneity. We don’t show it.
Right now, we focus on concentration. Any other questions? So, comments are available. Please feel free to comment.
Correct. We take whatever you feel appropriate. So, now, he gave us this example so that we may become pure Vaishnavas.
So, Shri Satyanarayana Prabhu, as well as his devotees, they have given us guidelines, instructions. We are all going to enter that process. So, now Shri Prabhupada will give a… So, till now, what has Shri Prabhupada done in this purport? The first two paragraphs are introducing the author.
And now, Shri Prabhupada will introduce the book. So, these two paragraphs are the introduction of the author. So, in all spiritual affairs, one’s first duty is to control his mind and senses.
Unless one controls his mind and senses, one cannot make any advance in the spiritual life. So, one’s first duty is to control the mind and senses. Actually, why is this necessary? Because spiritual life is an awakening to a higher consciousness.
It’s an awakening to a higher consciousness. So, as long as our consciousness is caught up in material things, we cannot perceive higher things. So, when we control our mind and senses, then we can perceive a higher reality.
I’ll give you an example to explain this. If a super soul is present right next to us in the heart. But, we are right now blind and deaf to its presence.
We can’t see him, we can’t hear him. Why is that? Because we are caught in the endless parade of the sense objects and the promises of sense pleasure that this material world offers us. So, to understand this, we can consider a person watching a TV.
And the person is so absorbed in watching the TV that the person is sitting next to it. A friend is sitting next to it. And the person is completely different.
He’s so absorbed in watching the TV. So, to better understand this, we can use the example of virtual reality. Some of you may have heard of flight simulations.
The pilots have to be trained for fighting or for flying. Especially fighter pilots, but even for flying also. It’s not that every time you can send an Indian pilot to Pakistan actually to try to bomb and if he makes a mistake, you can’t experiment with it.
There are simulations. Simulations almost create the same reality but it’s all in the computer world. So, in this sense, the material world is like a simulation, a high tech simulation.
Now if you look at the disciples, scientific disciples, here is a whole book, the title of the book is Maya. The world as a virtual reality. It’s a very scientific explanation of how this whole world is like a virtual reality.
So, basically the point is, as long as a person is absorbed in the movie, the person’s ability is to be, other people are sitting next to them. So like that, as long as we are caught in the material world, we become blind to spirituality. That’s why if you see when people watch a movie, they do two things.
First, they switch off the lights. You become blind to the other reality, then you switch on the other lights, switch on the illusion. So, what they say is, the first step, we can’t close down the illusion, but we decrease our entanglement in the illusion.
Then what happens is, our higher perception decreases. As long as a person is caught up in the movie, and if the movie looks very good, or promises something very good, then there’s not much chance of turning towards the reality. So, Shri Krishna Shankaracharya is an interesting example for this point.
Why we need to control our mind and senses? He says, imagine there’s a dancer. Now he’s doing a dance performance. There’s an audience who has come to see her dance performance.
But this dancer, she knows only a few limited dancing steps. She moves her hands, she moves her legs, she moves her head, she moves her legs, and she knows only a few dancing steps. And then what happens is, after the dancing steps are over, the audience is going to go.
But she doesn’t want the audience to go. So, as soon as she sees the audience is getting a little distracted, she restarts moving her hands and legs and the audience goes, something new is coming here. But then, she doesn’t know actually the new steps.
So, although she moves her hands and legs slightly, soon after that she falls back into the old steps again. And then the audience goes, immediately she dances. She does some new steps.
New singing, new moves. But they’re not new dances, because she doesn’t know new dances. So, what happens is, he says that actually this dancer is stuck in here.
It’s making moves. And the audience is the Purusha, the Jiva. So, as a dancer knows only limited dance steps.
Similarly, the pleasures in literal existence are only limited. The eating, sleeping, waiting, there’s nothing beyond this. It’s all in the chalana.
But, they all come in new garbs, new alluring forms. And, that’s why we keep getting better. So, it’s a new form, new colour, new package, new attraction.
They’re actually the same in all three. But, as long as we think there’s something new there, they all come out of it. So, when we regulate the senses, what happens is, no matter how much new is there, there’s no limit of new.
So, regulation helps us to come out of the old. Regulation, what does it do? It helps us to come out of the illusion. Even if I cannot get the illusion completely, my intangible element in the illusion, I’ll keep it.
So, controlling the mind and senses means, we slowly start coming out of the illusion and then we become aware of the reality. That’s the first step is to control the mind and senses. Even though categorical, one cannot make any advance in the spiritual life without controlling the mind and senses.
So, everyone in this world is in the modes of passion and ignorance. One must promote himself to the platform of goodness. That’s why we have to follow the instructions of the Buddha.
You see, this is ignorance, this is passion, this is goodness, this is confidence. So now, one can practise bhakti from any level. So, this is the linear progression from the lower node to the higher node.
However, bhakti is so merciful that it progresses like this. I can be Kanyaguna, I can be Vajayaguna, I can be Satyaguna, but anywhere I can start the process of bhakti. My parents, when they first brought them to America, when they were hippies, they were making the point that they were going to be satyaguna in any race of hippies.
They were comfortable. Everyone did start chanting Hare Krishna. So, bhakti is so merciful that one can start practising bhakti from any level.
9.32 and 33 Krishna describes in the Bhagavad Gita how bhakti can elevate a person to any level. This nonsensical boy still is a person being elevated. So, bhakti in a sense is like that.
Like this that anybody from any mode can start practising. But this is with respect to starting. So, for starting bhakti is like this.
But for sustaining bhakti is like this. What does it mean? See, a person from Kanyaguna can also come to a temple and chant Hare Krishna. A drunkard can also come to a temple and chant Hare Krishna.
But if a person is to sustain the practise of bhakti, the person will have to cultivate some level of satsang. Otherwise, bhakti cannot be sustained. So, the difference is, bhakti can be initiated from any mode.
But to be sustained, one will have to come to the mode of bhakti. So, the four regulatory principles that we practise, they are not necessary to chant Hare Krishna. Anybody can chant, even the person not following four regulatory principles.
Even if a person wants to sustain the practise of bhakti, following the four regulatory principles, and the four regulatory principles are a good barometer of a person coming to the mode of bhakti. So, from the mode of bhakti, one becomes steady in the practise. So, although bhakti is merciful, merciful doesn’t mean… See, sometimes people say that, the process of chanting Hare Krishna is so merciful.
But then, it’s obviously strict. You have to follow four regulatory principles. It’s so difficult.
So, there is a difference between mercifulness and compromise. Mercifulness is not compromise. What does it mean? Being merciful is… I remember I gave the example of prescription.
A doctor’s prescription. So, being merciful is like offering free and easy treatment to everyone. So, the doctor is merciful.
The medicine may be very expensive. The doctor says, I’ll give the treatment. And not only that, the subject matter is very complicated.
The doctor says, now I have done some research. I have found out some process by which the medicine can also be taken very easily. So, it’s free and the treatment is easy.
So, mercifulness means you make the treatment accessible. But compromise means compromising is like saying that the sick state is the healthy state. That the sick state is the healthy state.
Actually, you can do whatever you want. You chant Hare Krishna, everything is all right. Even if you are being subjected to the medicine.
Actually, if you want to make special advancement, you have to love Krishna. Loving Krishna means becoming detached from material things. So, a doctor should definitely be merciful.
Doctor should be compassionate. The doctor cannot be compromising. Because compromise, what will happen by that? The patient will never experience the health.
The goal of the doctor is to help the patient to recover the health. So, what will happen is merciful. Merciful means that he makes the process very easy and he makes it free.
Hare Krishna is easy. He has no charge for it. So, bhakti is merciful in the sense that anybody from any mode can practise it.
Bhakti is not compromising. Compromising means somebody living in Tamil Nadu ancestry or Transatlantic. That would be compromising.
That would be an illusion. So, there is a difference between the two. And, when we start saying, okay, whatever you are doing with chanting Hare Krishna, everything is all right.
If you chant Hare Krishna, everything is all right. But other things are not yet all right. You have to make them all right.
If you are not committed right now, you are not committed, you can take your time for it. But, we can’t call the sixth state the witness. So, it is a kind of merciful, but it is not compromising.
So, here, as Shatrughna was saying is, one must rise to the level of witness. So, witness helps us to come closer to the health of transience. You know, Shatrughna makes a very profound statement over here.
By everything concerning how to make further progress, will be revealed. What happens is, when we come to the witness, Shatrughna describes in the 14th chapter, 11th verse, sarva-dāreṣu devīsi prakāśana-pajāyate jñāna-nidhāta-dāvidyā guhṛ-bheda-satya-nityata He describes that the characteristic of the mode of witness is that, sarva-dāreṣu devīsi prakāśana that the senses become illuminated with knowledge. That means, when we come to witness, we understand, this is what I should do, this is what I should not do.
Then, we become guided internally. See, all of us have a super-soul in our life. And the super-soul is our inner guide.
But currently, we are not connected to the super-soul. When we come to witness, we start becoming connected to the super-soul. And then, he guides us.
So, it becomes easier for us to know his laws and his wishes, his vision, purpose for us. So, the purpose of sense control is so that we come to the witness. And then, a witness is not that we reject gurus or jāstras.
But, the gurus are instructions supplemented by the instructions of the super-soul. Now, Mahāśruta Prabhupāda says, everyone’s own Kṛṣṇa consciousness depends on the attitude of the follower. So, now, in modern society, the word attitude is very popular.
You have the right attitude. Now, what is Prabhupāda referring to by the attitude over here? He said, now, if you want to look at it, you have to look at what Prabhupāda means by the attitude. Look at the previous sentence and look at the sentence after that.
Now, generally, meaning always has to be understood in the context. If you don’t know the context, then a complete wrong meaning can come out. There are automatic programmes which do translation.
You know, the translator is there. So, it is a mystery of computing. Now, if one doesn’t know the context, one just looks at the meanings of the word and tries to do translation.
So, the history of computing may be an example of how translation can go absolutely wrong. In the Bible, there is a statement, the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. So, what does this statement mean? That actually the person wants to practise spiritual life, the person wants to become devoted to God, but the temptations of the flesh drag the person down.
The flesh drags the person down. When the flesh is weak, the flesh drags the person down. So, using a computer programme, what is the meaning of this word? He is a missionary.
And then they translated this into Russian. And then, in the Russian statement, what it became, the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. The translated statement became, the vodka is strong, but the meat is rotten.
So, vodka, as you know, is a Russian word. So, spirit, actually here it refers to intent, spirit, will, motivation. That is, spirit became liquor, so, vodka.
And spirit is willing, became the vodka is strong. And the flesh is weak, became the meat is rotten. So, actually, why is this thing happening? Because here we are just using literal missionary meaning without looking at the context.
We look at what is said before and after the Bible, we will understand that it is not referring to that at all. Vodka, it is referring to the practise of spiritual life. So, you know, the word attitude is very common in Indian society also.
What Srila Prabhupada is referring to is the attitude. If you want to understand that, please look at the context. What is Srila Prabhupada saying before and what he is saying after.
If you look at what he is saying before, he is talking about self-control, he is talking about coming to the mode of goodness. And he is saying after that, a follower of the Christian tradition is willing, should become a perfect Goswami. And Vishnu is another one of the Goswamis.
That means, what is the attitude Srila Prabhupada is talking about? He is saying that the attitude that I have to become sense-controlled. So, some people say, I can’t be. So, Prabhupada is saying that that is pessimistic.
If you want to make spiritual advancement, you have to have the attitude that I want to become sense-controlled and I can become sense-controlled. For advancement, it depends on that. If in the beginning, it is not possible for me to become sense-controlled, then that negative attitude itself is sabotage.
It will break our efforts to become spiritually advanced. So, it is not easy to become sense-controlled, but it is possible. If practise persists, it is definitely possible.
And the attitude should be yes, I want to become spiritually advanced. That means, I want to become sense-controlled. To the extent we have that positive attitude, I want to become sense-controlled.
Even in something as mundane as medicine. Researchers have found that the humour of a patient depends significantly on the attitude. When a patient feels unloved, uncared, unwell, when a patient doesn’t have much reason to live, when a patient has dark and dreary and depressed thoughts, then such patients take much longer to get cured.
On the other hand, if a patient feels loved and cared and valued, because he wants to live, then the positive attitude, the positive desire to live, then the person’s healing takes place much faster. In fact, there is a famous doctor who has said that actually the whole business of a doctor is to entertain the patient while the body cures itself. The whole business of the doctor is to entertain the patient while the body cures itself.
What happens is that the body itself has a healing mechanism. Even when there comes a fracture, we say that the doctor has to do a surgery. But even after the doctor does the surgery, what does the surgery actually do? The two bones are broken apart.
The doctors, the surgery puts the two bones in the right position. After that, the joinery of the bones cannot be done by surgery. The doctors may put some bar inside so that the two bones are aligned in the right position.
But the joinery has to be done by nature itself. So, all healing is done by the body itself. All the doctors in the medicine business, they assist in the healing.
So, if insanity as mundane as bodily medicine attitude is important. If the patient wants to get cured, the patient gets cured fast. Similarly, in spiritual life also, when we want to become spiritual, when we want to become spiritual, that is a positive step for our spiritual development.
So, other devotees can push us. Other devotees can inspire us. Shri Prabhupada gave an example.
How much can other devotees push us in our future? He said that sometimes when a person is driving, I come to Pandavguru, go to the bus park. So, when we go to the bus park, we get a big bus. Sometimes the bus doesn’t start.
We have to push the bus. We push the bus, push the bus. And when the bus is pushed, what happens? After some time the bus doesn’t start.
So, now imagine what is happening is when people from outside are pushing, inside also the driver is also trying to move the steering wheel with the ignition key and he is also trying to start the bus. So, internally the driver is trying to start the bus. Externally the others are pushing and the bus starts off.
So, Prabhupada says it’s like that for us also. Others can push us externally just like the vehicle can be pushed so that we can start off. Actually, imagine if somebody is pushing the bus externally and inside the person has switched off the ignition and is pressing the brakes.
What will happen? He will give up. He will give up. So, Prabhupada says that how much can others push us? He says they can push us only when we want to go to advancement but there are some obstacles.
If we are ourselves obstructing the advancement, others can’t push us to it. Then we have to stop. So, ultimately others will definitely help us as it’s our responsibility.
And our responsibility is to do it. Our attitude is very important. One of the amazing aspects of Vishwakubhikar was that he saw the spiritual potential within us and found that spiritual potential.
Many of Shravakas, Gautamas, Nagas and Yogis have shown us they are so strong. They cannot practise Krishna. Vishwakubhikar saw their fallen condition.
He saw beyond their fallen condition. See, their fallen condition is if you read this Mahatma Bhagwat Parmita Prabhupada what he is saying we cannot cover that word of Kashi. But then he is saying Var Vara Shravana Kare Dheeva Hariyamana So, Vishwakubhikar saw beyond the mode of Kashi and Yogis within souls and he saw the spiritual potential.
This is the qualification of a doctor. A doctor should not just see the sickness a doctor should also see the potential for health. A doctor should see not just the sickness but the potential for health.
And that is compassion. So, Mahatma Bhagwat Parmita Prabhupada decided that he was Anupama Prabhu. He was our director.
He said, Vishwakubhikar, you gave us faith that however fallen our condition the power of Bhakti will rectify our fallen condition. So, that faith is very very important. We are also fallen people.
But Prabhupada had faith in the process of Bhakti and Prabhupada had faith in our condition. So, that is very important. It’s not just that we are having faith that I will become successful.
No. It’s not just our faith in ourselves. The Bhakti is not based on self-confidence.
People talk about self-confidence but they don’t know what is the self. So, how can they have confidence? The confidence is actually not self-confidence. It is illusion confidence.
So, the concept of self is illusion. I would say that we can become self-confident. We can become self-confident.
It is not based on our own opinions. It is based on I have faith in the process of Bhakti. By the process of Bhakti, I can become self-confident.
So, that attitude is what is Prabhupada talking about? I have to become pure. I have to become self-controlled. I have the process of Bhakti.
I have faith in the process of Bhakti by which I can become self-confident. So, So, any questions about this to you? We have a few minutes more. Are you saying that is there an opposite of lack of enthusiasm than extreme enthusiasm? Excessive enthusiasm, is that also possible? Is that what you are asking? Is excessive enthusiasm possible? Actually, doing sadhana, that is called enthusiasm.
And excessive enthusiasm would mean that we do the unbalanced work. Like they say, our work, Bhagwat also said, in Sanskrit, So, we have to sleep adequately, take care of our body. So, if we start neglecting that, then we are not able to sustain what we are doing right now.
So, excessive enthusiasm can be, we will talk about later as prayas, disproportionate in that. It’s possible. But, in general, we are practising the rules of bhakti properly.
Then, the enthusiasm will be generalised. Sometimes, we just do some activity and neglect other activities. And that is a disproportionate enthusiasm, and imbalanced.
And that may not be very good. So, if you take the ironsmith’s rule, surely we need enthusiasm, no doubt. But, we need to have balance in our enthusiasm.
There is a quote of Bhagwat where he says that if you don’t take care of your health, in the future, even if you are enthusiastic to serve Krishna, still you will not be able to serve Krishna. So, of course, I can still serve Krishna by remembering Krishna. But, service is a, in this world, in this mission, I am not able to do that.
So, if excessive enthusiasm is not so possible, then we put that more into the prayas. That’s also a danger. But, if we are practising the various rules of bhakti, then that danger is taken care of.
Okay. So, bus driver is waiting sometimes, that can have a reason. So, yes, see, nobody expects us in our initial stages, that we should be a plural of us.
We have our minds, and our minds will create problems for us. But, as I told you in the sign rules, the mind is going to go up and down. But, even when the mind is going to go down, there are certain limits which we should not cross.
For example, if somebody is a devotee, see this today, then the limit should not take a person beyond the four elevatable states. Person is a brahmacharya. Then there are certain code of conduct for all the brahmacharyas.
Person should not go beyond the four. So, within that, the mood will be better. And then, we just have to come out of the picture somehow.
When the downs are there, it’s too early. And then, they will go up. The downs will never be permanent.
Sometimes, we may feel like breaking down. So, it’s possible. And if we have discovered what are the things that we like in the emotional sense, the things that give us strength, then we can fall back on those things, take shelter of those things, and come out of the downs faster.
So, the downs and ups are going to go for everyone. But, they need to be kept within limits. And, over a period of time, over a period of time, the frequency of those ups and downs will become lesser and lesser.
The amplitude will also become lesser and lesser. It will become more emotional. So, we have to be careful.
Kahi bhaav. Kahi bhaav is steady devotion. That will come when we go beyond, we go to the level of nishtha and beyond.
That will also happen when we become steady. So, surely, there will be times when you feel like breaking. You may slow down also at that time.
But then, there are limits which you should not cross. Limits of, say, emotional morality. That doesn’t happen.
Because, ups and downs are natural for everyone. We will just continue the questions. We will complete this introduction today.
So if you want to know the questions, you can discuss the questions. Number 5 just talks about how? The hereditary Vaisnavi writing is false. So Vaisnav as a Indian novelist in childhood, I used to write about his temple as a novel.
When he wants to become the perfect devotee of Krishna, he must become a Vaisnavi. So, in that case, the answer is Vaisnavi writing must always be compared to Mahayana So, Vaisnav as a hereditary writing is false. Now, what does it mean to be a Vaisnavi? Now, what does it mean to control the senses? See, control indicates that there is an opposition.
Control indicates that there is an opposition. False that I am controlling. If you look at 2.61 in the Bhagavad Gita, Krishnaji did not explain that there is a progression in 2.61. 2.61 is? 2.61 is? So, what Chakravarti Pat says in his commentary to this verse is that first there is Samyama.
You see, isn’t it? So, first stage is Samyama. Samyama is restraint, control. Samyama is Chakravarti.
Then after that is Yuktaasi Tamatpara. Then there is concentration. Concentration is the mind of Krishna.
And in third stage is Vashya. Vashya means composed. So, control plus concentration will lead to composed.
So, control plus concentration will lead to composed. So, now the first stage is control. So, what does the word Vaisnavi mean? It is a name that somebody expects us to automatically be.
Vaisnavi means what? Sense control. What does Vaisnavi mean? So, at our level, when the spiritual desires come. So, we can see those desires.
When the desires come inside us, we can have alarm bells. Or we can have welcome tunes. So, where is the difference between now? For a Goswami, when the desires come, there are alarm bells.
For a Gopas, when the desires come, there are welcome tunes. So, when the desires come, yes, I am just waiting, enjoy. And for most of us, for Prabhakas, we just give a wink.
Wink signal. That’s what we do as Prabhakas. Okay, I don’t want to say more.
So, what happens is, sometimes, in a temptation’s mind, we think that I have to follow. Desires are coming again and again. How can I control this? Desires are coming, let me defend it.
But, the desires coming in and of itself, we do not know when it is going to happen. Actually, when the desires come everyday, in America and other Western countries, on the roads, there are these long expressways. When people are driving, the danger is that somebody will come, some buffalo will come, some cow will come, some dog will come.
All these things are there. In the West, the roads are so smooth and clear, that another danger. People just go to sleep.
And if they go to sleep, what happens, they get hit. So, there, at the side of the roads, they have sort of speed breakers. They have curbs.
So, as soon as the vehicle rears up, there are bumps. Because the speed breakers are there. And as soon as people bump up, what happens? Gone after, you come back again.
So, when we experience temptations, that agitation that is there, that is like a bump on the journey. Now, when I experience the bump, that doesn’t mean that I have to follow the road. This is simply indicating that I am going up the road.
So, what I should do is, I should gear back. Then I can come back on the road. So, when the desires come, that they are not necessary predictors that in the future I have to move forward.
This indicates that I am doing something wrong. If I do it right, I can come back on the road. Now, why do we experience agitation in the senses? Because we are not experiencing a higher base in Krishna consciousness.
We are not experiencing that because we are not physically absorbed in Krishna. So, what happens is, to the extent we absorb, then we… So, I’ll clear what the point is. So, this is the disastrous misdiagnosis which may fix us.
You know what is a misdiagnosis? There is one disease, and the doctor says, I got some other disease. So, we feel dissatisfied. And dissatisfaction, when we feel dissatisfied, we feel I am dissatisfied because oh, there is so much energy going on in the available, and I am not going with this energy.
So, what happens is, as soon as there is dissatisfaction, our mind misdiagnoses that the cause is lack of sense gratification. And that’s why immediately, from the dissatisfaction, social desires come up. Correctness.
And, if our intelligence is sharp, if we study scripture properly, intelligence will diagnose that the cause is lack of seriousness in Krishna consciousness. And then, what will happen once we understand this? We will intensify our bhakti. So, the same dissatisfaction can lead to social desires and thoughts, or the same dissatisfaction can lead to seriousness in Krishna consciousness.
And that can lead to further purification of energy. So, the critical thing is, when we start feeling dissatisfied, and then start seeing material desires emerging, so, we should not think that this is where I have to go. No, that is a wrong diagnosis.
That is a wrong diagnosis. What I have to do is, I have to understand the right diagnosis. The sensual desires indicate that I am not getting happiness in Krishna consciousness.
But that doesn’t mean that happiness is there in sense gratification. Real happiness is when Krishna consciousness is there. I have to become more serious about Krishna consciousness, then I will get permanent happiness.
That is the distinction between a Goswami and a Bodas. So, let’s look at the last part of the first quote. Now, the fourth part says, Achieve the highest success in life by becoming a Goswami in the pure religion of the Lord, and must follow the instructions given by Sri Yukteswar Swami.
So, what are the instructions I am into? Now, I have decided I want to become sense-controlled. How do I do that? It is not just a matter of willpower. You know, suppose somebody has got good notions.
He is unable to have control. He will torture himself. So, if I have got some disease, the disease cannot be cured just by willpower.
For curing disease, willpower is important. But willpower should be coupled with a process. There is a process given by the doctor that will cure.
And to follow that process, I need some willpower. Similarly, now we have uncontrolled senses. To become controlled in our senses, just willpower alone is not enough.
No. When lust comes, I will not succumb. That willpower is something we need to touch.
The process is, don’t just say, fill my mind with Krishna. Fill my mind with Krishna, right? Isn’t it so? So, what Prabhupada is saying is, to become sense-controlled, it is not just a matter of willpower. He is talking about to follow the process given by Sri Yukteswar Swami.
And, he has given many books, like the Prasadam Sutra, Vedas of the Mother, the Vedas of the Mother, the Vedas of the Mother, but in this language, it is still the first instruction from the Upanishad devotees. And if you follow these instructions very strictly, then it will be easier to make one of your own life successful. So, to the extent, we, actually it is interesting, that the restricted we are, the easier life becomes.
And, the laxer we are, the tougher life becomes. Why is that? It is a legal process. It is the history of Sadhana Bhakti.
So, generally, we always take it under, take it easy on the gurus. Then my life will be easy. But what happens? The stricter we are, the easier life becomes, because when we are strict, the mind stays peaceful.
When I am strictly chanting Hare Krishna, studying the scriptures, then, there is, the mind becomes still, the mind becomes calm. On the other hand, when I am laxer, I don’t know, relax, let me see these things, let me do this, do that, do that. It feels as if, I am hardly doing anything.
But, part of the laxer we are, the tougher life becomes, because the mind stays uncontrolled and wide. So, we will also observe, that if we, if we, do Sadhana Bhakti properly, and we chant nicely, learn the philosophy nicely, the mind stays calm. Then life becomes easy.
So, our purpose is, by the practise of these rules, our practise will become, it will be easier to make spiritual advancements. It is a paradox, rules seem to make life difficult, but actually they make life easy. So, the rules help us to, control our mind.
So, tomorrow, we will start our discussion of the first verse of Vaisnavamrit. If you have any question on this, you can take this question, we will start our discussion tomorrow with the questions asked. Thank you very much.
Vaisnavamrit ki, Shobhitidaswami pad ki, Sumitra Gopal ki, Jaya, Aura, Vatsalini, Prana, Vaisnavamrit ki.