NoI 8 Text 2-3 – Devotional service is not sentimental speculation or imaginative ecstasy

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … Sushila Prabhupada gives a very simple example, he talks about three categories of people, bhogis, tyagis and bhaktas. So, people have different attitudes towards the world.
So, some people romanticise the world, some people demonise the world. The denote is, utilise the world. There is a difference between the three.
So, the demonise, the romanticising the world means, imagining this world itself as a place of happiness. So, one gets the money and one uses the money for one’s own purposes. So, that is romanticising the world.
People have romantic notions, in the movies they show how a man and a woman unite and they live happily ever after. So, that is romanticisation. So, talking about three attitudes towards the world.
So, there is romanticise, that is the attitude of bhogis. This is actually Karanamarga. Then there is demonise.
These are the tyagis. This is the Dhyanamarga. So, demonise means, this world is full of temptation, it is a deadly trap.
It is dark and dangerous and devious. Demonise the world. It shouldn’t have anything to do with this world at all.
So, if you go far away from this world, you will end up demonising the world. So, there are expressions like this even in our scriptures, in the Bhagavatam. There are balancing expressions also of how this world can be used in devotional service.
So, the Bhakti Marga is, Utilise the world. So, three attitudes towards the world are there. Romanticise, Demonise and Utilise.
So, the attitude that will actually enable us to live peacefully is the attitude of Utilise. Now, this Utilise attitude is the attitude of Yukta Vairagya. We have to have some detachment from the world.
Otherwise, when trying to Utilise it, we will start romanticising it. That means, we say, we use mobiles and cell phones, mobiles and computers and technology. It’s one example.
So now, by Utilising this, when we start feeling this, it makes life so comfortable, so convenient. Of course, we do not feel that about cell phones all the time. Because cell phones may interfere with our feelings and make us disturbed at times.
But there are times when we feel that these give a sense of control to us. When we want to serve Krishna and if there are facilities, we can use them. But if you become impressed by the technology, you start thinking, Yes, by this technology, life has become so comfortable.
And I can be comfortable here itself. I don’t really need to take shelter of Krishna. So, that is a romanticisation.
And we can fall prey for that. So, we can’t have. So, while utilising, we have to be aware that, So, actually, To some extent, one has to detach from the material world, from its objects, before we can utilise them.
And that’s why, what all can be utilised will depend on one’s Adhikar. How much, for example, when we start off in Brahmachari life, we live a life of very great simplicity. We do menial services and we start off in a very simple way.
And then, as we become senior, become more advanced, we give more facilities. And those facilities, we need to ensure that we use them for Krishna’s service and not for our own enjoyment. So, if we start using them for our own enjoyment, then we fall trap to romanticising.
At the same time, we can’t become too averse also to the world. Because we have to live in the world. In the book of Vimshila, Prabhupada was asked, What is the best place where a temple can be established? What do you think is the best place? So, Prabhupada said, the temple is like a hospital.
And which is the best place for holding a hospital? The place where people are sick. That’s where the services of a hospital are required. Similarly, Shila Prabhupada said, all over the world, the place where people are most sick because of mineral contaminations are the cities, the urban areas.
And Shila Prabhupada certainly wanted farm communities. But farm communities were more for retreat and rejuvenation and consolidation. They were not for expansion.
So, if we want expansion, So, basically, consolidation means what? In concept, it means strengthen up. To make stronger. So, actually speaking, the cities are the place where Prabhupada wanted expansion to happen.
So, every spiritual advancement, whether individual or institutional, individual or institutional, requires these two phases. The phase of expansion, phases of expansion and consolidation. So, we need both of them.
So, for example, when we go out for book distribution, we go out for programmes, we go out for any form of outreach, that time there will be expansion. But when we come back to the temple, and then we hear Krishna Katha, we associate with devotees, and that is the time when there is consolidation. We strengthen ourselves.
Consolidation basically means strengthening. So, now, to some extent, when we are doing expansion, we go out into the world. So, we go out into the world by what I mean is, that we engage with the world.
So, that’s what. But then, we also have to retreat from the world. Only when we do both, then we can strengthen ourselves.
We go out of the world for some time, then we come back, retreat, and strengthen ourselves. So, both are required. So, going out in the world, so, what I am talking about is, in bhakti, we won’t utilise the world, but for utilising the world, we have to do both.
Now, we don’t exactly romanticise the world as a place of enjoyment, but we also understand that. That is where the opportunity for expansion is. There are so many souls in the material world who are lost, and they have forgotten Krishna, and they are suffering in forgetfulness of Krishna.
Therefore, we need to reach out to them, and help them to come closer to Krishna. So, to some extent, that is like romanticisation, but the romanticisation is not for our own sake. It is for Krishna’s sake, for engaging with him.
At the same time, we cannot just be engaged with the world. There are times when we need to withdraw from the world, so that we can focus on it. So, for example, when we are doing our sadhana, when we are doing our studies, when we are trying to withdraw from the world, we focus on the sadhana.
That is the time when we, we don’t exactly demonise the world, saying that it is bad. What is it like? It is a simple sadhana. So, the idea is, bhakti encompasses both these attitudes, but elevates the understanding to a higher level.
So, that is the principle of Ishavasya, which Srila Prabhupada will talk over here later. Now, communists and capitalists, Srila Prabhupada talks about them repeatedly throughout his purports, because when Srila Prabhupada was writing the purports, the Cold War was going on between USSR and USA, and between the First World and Second World, and at that time, there was the expectation that the Third World War may also come up, and the fissures of power were quite well delineated. So, Srila Prabhupada takes that contemporary context, but less to the timeless principle.
So, now somebody may say, now communism is not much of a power. China may be having some sort of communist political organisation still, but as far as economic organisation is concerned, it is not at all communist. So, the economic model that it has followed is more or less similar to what the rest of the world is following.
So, that specific issue may not be relevant. There are timeless principles, and timely examples. What is a timeless principle? The timeless principle is that when the scriptures teach something, they are taught in a particular way.
Timeless principles means that God is the procreator of everything. That is the principle. This is the timeless principle.
So, example could be the fight between communists who say the state is the procreator versus capitalists who say the individual is the procreator. So, the state is the procreator versus the individual is the procreator. So, now basically this conflict may be different at different times.
This is at the ideological level. Ultimately, it is a conflict between power-hungry individuals. Say, at another time, there will be in the world a king’s ruling, and the kings may be fighting.
In the Mahabharata, in the Bhoomi Gita, it is said how Mother Earth laughs when kings think that I will rule the world, but those kings, after a few short years, they die. And they leave the land for which they are fighting far behind. So, therefore, there the example may be of kings fighting.
Now we have capitalists and communists fighting. But the underlying principles, the examples may change, but the underlying principle remains the same. So, the Prabhupada gives this contemporary example to illustrate the point that as long as we don’t acknowledge the procreatorship of God, there will be conflict in this world.
And the way to go beyond this conflict is by offering this world in the service of God. So, yeah, let’s move forward. Any questions you feel free to ask? So, this is actually we see.
Now, there was a political satirist, George Orwell, he said about communism, all people are equal, but some people are more equal than others. What he meant was that although ideologically communism was the idea that everybody will be equal, and all of you know about communism, the idea that as soon as people get power, so, therefore, everything should be grabbed by people. They will become power-hungry.
And that’s why what we should do is no individual should have power. Everything should be owned by the government. And when the government owns everything, then that will solve the problem of inequality in the world.
And what happened? It created basically two classes. Classes of the ruled and the classes of the rulers. And the rulers started stockpiling so much wealth with themselves.
And it was steaming, the extent of poverty and violence that happened during communism was terrible in many ways. So, as a developmental model, it has not at all been successful. Prabhupada says that when a communist gets power, he will use it also for his self-gratification.
Yeah. You got it? Ishavasya Nidam Sarvam Nitya Jagat Pyan Jagat Tena Ketena Bhrumjeetha Maghrudakasya Sviddhanam So, the whole idea that God is the proprietor of everything, you may wonder how does it translate to the real life? Actually speaking, in the Vedic culture, the Brahmins were considered the representatives of God. And the Kshatriyas were also representatives of God.
So, what we are discussing over here is theoretically I can understand God is the proprietor of everything. But how does the idea of Ishavasya work in real life? What do I do when I say that God is the proprietor of everything? Is it that I don’t keep any property in my name? Obviously, it doesn’t mean that. So, how can this work is? That is, there are Brahmins who are called as Bhu-Devas.
The word Bhu-Deva comes in many places. It comes in Jagannath Ashtakam also. Bhu-Deva, Patanjali.
He talks about how the Brahmins are often phrases too. So, he says they are Gods on earth. Then there are Kshatriyas.
They are called as Naradevas. So, they are Gods among human beings. So, the idea is that there is a human society.
Human society is materially led by a Kshatriya. And the Kshatriya is dharmically more elevated than the common population. And the Kshatriya is led by a Brahmana.
A Brahmana is much more detached from the world than is a Kshatriya. So, a Brahmana is Brahm-Jana-Devi Brahmana. A Brahmana is connected with the spiritual world, with the Supreme Lord, with the Absolute Truth, much more.
So, what happens is, the Brahmana has, to a large extent, detached himself from the worldly engagement and time movement. And that’s how the Brahmana, by being fixed in the spiritual truth, can guide the Kshatriya. And the Kshatriya practically manages and guides the rest of the society.
So, what happens is, the king, the king is God conscious, and the Brahmana is God conscious. They are working cooperatively. So, just as the physical body, it is very big, but the physical body is controlled by the subtle body, the mind and the intelligence.
So, if you see, there are various metaphors given. So, in a sense, the Brahmana and Kshatriya are like the subtle body. And the rest of the society, Vaisheshwara, the rest of the society, are like the gross body.
And among this mind, the Brahmana is the intelligence, the Kshatriyas are like the mind. So, why are the Kshatriyas compared to the mind? Because we know that the senses are centred around the mind. The senses connect not directly with the intelligence, but with the mind.
So, Krishna describes, in the Bhagavad Gita 2.9, that the mind is the centre around which all the senses are arranged, just as, say, the palm is the centre around which the fingers are arranged. So, the mind interacts with the senses. And in order that this interaction of the mind and senses not drag a person down, the intelligence should be able to control and raise a person.
Similarly, the Kshatriyas are more in contact with the people. So, they are like the mind. They are just like the mind is the centre of the senses.
Similarly, there are the whole kingdom, Kshatriyas are the centre. But beyond that, there are the Brahmanas. They are like the intelligence.
They offer discrimination, they offer wisdom. So, the intelligence tells us what tells the mind. Mind may feel like this, mind may feel like that.
So, what has happened in today’s society is that there are no Brahmanas. So, that’s why there is no long-term wisdom in the way the rulers administer the society. And that’s what creates a lot of problems.
So, the rest of the society is like the gross body. In the Brahmana Kshatriya congregation, it’s the subtle body. And together, they can be used for spiritual purposes.
Just as if our mind and intelligence are fixed, then naturally we use the remaining body in Krishna’s service. Similarly, when the Brahmana Kshatriyas are properly spiritually inclined, that combination is spiritually minded, then the rest of the society works out spiritually. So, it’s not like a rigid rule of exactly how everything will be offered to Krishna.
In ancient times, the kings would often go to the temple and offer a report to the lord. We have some remnants of that today. When the Rakshatra is there, the king of Jagannath Puri comes in.
He’s a nominal figure right now. But he comes along and sweeps the street. Maharaj Pratapada was actually doing that when he was the king.
So, the idea is the king acknowledges the whole society that I am the servant of God. And the Brahmanas, of course, are servants of God. And that way, the whole society becomes centred around God.
Now, to a large extent, the social structure was similar all over the world. If you look at the Vedic system, how that Vedic system, and when you look at European history, to understand how Varanashram got distorted. So, now some of you may not know all these historical landmarks that I am going to discuss right now.
But you basically understand the principle to see how what we are talking about in the Vedic culture are universal principles. So, analysis of European history. So, in the European history also, if you look at mediaeval European history, say from the 5th century to 15th century onwards.
So, they had the clergy. That is similar to the Brahmanas. Clergy was basically the priests.
The pope was considered to be the head of the whole church. And because all the kings were under the church, in the sense that the kings were subordinate to the church. So, the pope was considered to be the king of kings.
The clergy were in the Brahmanas. Then they had the aristocracy. They were the kshatriyas.
You may have heard of knights and lords. So, they were all the approximates of kshatriyas. I will explain a little what are the differences.
Then there were the what is the word there? Landlords. They were like the vishyas. Then there were the serfs.
They were called as serfs. Serfs were the shudras. So, Ramindra Sarup was writing an article about this in his book Endless Love where he talks about the analysis of how this system was an approximation of what we had in Vedic culture.
Now, when you look forward, so, if you look at European history, at a particular time, so, we know that from the western point, Indian history point of view, when the Brahmanas became corrupted, where Vishnuji used, misused his power to curse Parikshit Maharaj. From that time, the Brahmanas started losing hold. When the Brahmanas started losing hold from there onwards, the kshatriyas also lost hold.
You see, the kshatriyas continued to rule, but only the kshatriyas were not very, very deeply learned in moral principles. So, they superficially adhered to dharma, but the deep understanding of what dharma is and how that is to be applied, that was lost for them. Krishna acts as a brahmana or the kshatriya by giving the Bhagavan’s eyes, acting as a brahmana, giving spiritual knowledge.
And this spiritual knowledge that he gives, transits into as well as practical. So, as the kshatriyas lost power, then the whole system came crumbling down. Something similar happened in European history.
If you look at European history, there was, there was what was called as the Christian Reformation moment. So, in this, what happened basically was, Christianity got divided into two parts. There were Catholics and Protestants.
So, although Christianity got divided into two parts, essentially, this rebellion that happened was actually the, by the kings. So, you don’t have many kingdoms. There was France, there was Germany, there was England.
So, it was used by all these kings. So, the split within the church was used to declare their own separation in the church. That means these kings became autonomous.
So, basically what happened is, the Christian Reformation was basically kshatriyas rebelling against maishyas. Sorry, kshatriyas rebelling against the brahmanas. So, eventually what happened is, there were doctrinal issues which separated the Catholics and the Protestants.
But, the geopolitics also played a major role. And when that happened, the biblical authority as enshrined in the Catholic church got compromised. But each of these kings, they became their own lords.
And they had their, so, every country started having its own, almost like its own version of the Bible. Every country had its own church. And the church became, although the original intention was to become independent of the authority of the Pope, the church became independent to a much extent on the king himself.
So, then after that, when these kings became very autocratic, the king started imposing excessive taxes and exploiting the people and stealing king wealth. So, at that time, the merchants, the businessmen, they began to rebel against him. So, that actually was the French Revolution.
So, the French Revolution was basically the Kshatriyas rejecting, sorry, the Vaishyas rejecting the Kshatriyas. So, there was this king, Louis VII. And, you know, he was living in such tremendous wealth.
And the people, citizens came to protest against him. They said, we want bread. And this king came out into the palace terrace and he said, what is the problem? He says, we want bread.
He says, if there is no bread, then eat cakes. So, he was so insensitive to the shouting of the society that the people were furious and they came and they were galloping the people. You know, the king and queen were galloping, the necks were cut off in a particular device.
And then there was chaos for many years. And it was extremely brutal. But basically what happened, at that time, not only the king was overthrown, but because the king was hand in glove with the clergymen, lot of religious, religious, lot of the clergymen were also killed.
It was a very brutal time. So, eventually, now when there are no Gaurakanshi Kshatriyas or Vaishyas, or Gamas, then what happens is, see, every one of them, they can succumb to the vices if they are not monitored. So, when these landlords, they are called, the word is burghazi, it’s a complex word.
I’ll explain. Yeah, burghaz. So, when they actually became untrammelled and exploiting people, then what happened was, Shudras rebelled against the Vaishyas.
And that is the Russian Revolution. The Bolshevik Revolution that happened in 1917. So, this actually was planned over 16th-17th centuries.
It happened over a long time, although it went on. It started in the 16th century only, but this was 1789, and this was 1970. So, here what happened is, Shudras rebelled against the Vaishyas.
So, now that’s why Prabhupada would say that today what we have is government of the Shudras, for the Shudras, and by the Shudras. So, what does it mean when you have popular vote, and then it’s, because the Shudras are most numerous, so it is their voice that ultimately decides, and they are not really very well-informed people. Therefore, the decisions are not well-sound.
So, essentially, what we are discussing here is that the idea that God is the creator of everything, that has got lost over the centuries. So, those of you who want to read more about this, there is an article of Rameshwarapuram, Back to Godhead, called Manifesto for a Politics of Transcendence. Indeed, it is.
Manifesto for a Politics of Transcendence. The idea that we cannot just say politics is dirty and reject politics. Yes, there is dirty politics, but still, that has to be dealt with in its own way.
And that way is also given in the Vedic literature. you will be able to use certain database and get it. So, let’s move forward.
Now, our main topic here is how we have to avoid Atyahar. And Prabhupada is talking about Atyahar, he is talking about how we should recognise that the whole world belongs to the Supreme Lord. And then the conflicts in the world will be minimised by that.
Any questions about this? Let’s move forward. Yeah. Let’s look at here.
Yeah. So, exploit that analogy. This is what eventually happens in the system of government in which people don’t have any power to control the world.
So, this is in the system of government in which people don’t have any power to control the world. So, this is what happens in the system of government in which people don’t have power to control the world. So, because exploitation is out of order, people have to find a higher level of happiness.
As long as people have the literal level of happiness, they cannot really find happiness. So, this is the article in Times of India, I think. So, that was called the HRD equation.
So, what is this HRD? This is actually happiness is equal to resources divided by desires. So, the more our desires, what is going to happen is, lesser will be our happiness. On the other way, the more our resources, the more will be our happiness.
There are two ways I can increase my happiness. So, I want to read things, I want to drive in cars, I want to live in big houses, I want to enjoy with beautiful partners. So, for all that I need resources.
So, the idea is, the more I increase my resources, the more I will enjoy. That’s one way to do it. But, the problem is, the resources in this world are limited.
We can’t really, any individual can increase his resources, or a few individual can increase their resources. And, everybody can become happy. Because, ultimately, the resources are limited in this world.
So, everybody wants to be a possessor of lot of land, and amount of land in the world is limited. So, we can’t have that. So, the other way to increase happiness is decreasing desires.
Doesn’t seem practical for most people. Why? Because, they think, if I don’t have desires, where is the enjoyment? And, they also feel that, anyway, I can’t give up desires. So, it doesn’t seem practical because people are unwilling, or they are incapable.
Unwilling means, they don’t want to give up the desires. Incapable means, they are unable to give up the desires. So, either way, now what is the solution? We want happiness, either we increase our resources, or we decrease our desires.
But, neither seems palatable. So, actually, the whole idea is, here, this whole equation is based only at the material level. At the material level, resources are limited.
But, at a spiritual level, the resources are unlimited. Krishna’s glories are unlimited. Krishna is the, as Rupa Goswami says, that, I don’t know how much nectar is there in these two syllables, Krishna.
So, if we can get spiritual resources, and if it happens at a spiritual level, then no matter how little are the resources, still we can be happy. So, without that, actually, at the material level, it’s not possible to gain higher happiness. So, now, the resources at the spiritual level are already there.
The holy name is there, Krishna’s all-attractive beauty form is there, Krishna’s wisdom in the world is there. But, we have not developed a taste for that. When we can experience higher happiness, and when that happiness is not at the expense of anyone else’s happiness.
In material life, say, if India wins, if Pakistan loses, India is happy, Pakistan is miserable. But, when we delight in God, our happiness is not at the cost of anyone else’s. We dance and sing and we experience peace and calmness in meditation on the holy name.
When we experience people studying the scripture, our happiness is not at the expense of anyone else’s happiness. So, we need to turn to spiritual resources and learn the art of attaining spiritual happiness. Once we are doing this, then there is a real solution to the problem of the world.
So, even the Varanashram, it is not that the Kshatriyas cannot become power hungry, the Brahmanas cannot become proud. It’s possible that when they are all cultivating spiritual happiness, then there can be restraints at the material level. And then my lasting happiness is possible.
Okay, let’s move forward. Yeah, materialistic? Okay, communism is materialistic only, but Srila Prabhupada uses the word spiritual communism. Just like evolution normally means Darwinian evolution or material evolution.
But Prabhupada also uses the word spiritual evolution to talk about the soul evolving from various species. Similarly, Srila Prabhupada uses the word spiritual communism to talk about how, yes, people are not the propagator, but God is the propagator. So, Prabhupada, to contrast between spiritual communism and materialism, he uses the word materialistic communism over here.
Let’s move forward. Srila Prabhupada is giving us a visual of the expansions of his plan. Generally, the Upanishad is considered to be a devotional book.
He’s talking about how sadhakas can make spiritual advancement. That Srila Prabhupada is explaining how the qualities of the sadhakas will develop the sadhakas are practising the principles of happiness. That will not only help them to advance spiritually, but that will also improve the whole situation.
I remember I mentioned earlier that when the debate was printed in a small quantity of the book, Srila Prabhupada said, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, letter to Sri Prabhupada saying that we have got the land. Prabhupada replied to them saying that yes, very good, now we have got the land, in the future we will purchase more land and like that you keep purchasing more land in West Virginia till you purchase the whole of West Virginia and we will convert all of that into the Krishna Consciousness. So Sri Prabhupada’s vision was so broad that the second time he came to America his close disciples had come to receive him and he had a globe in front of him.
So he said all of you, you are young people, pick up one country, go preach, start a centre, deliver that country. So Sri Prabhupada asked girls, we are not girls or boys, we are souls, also in the service of Krishna, you can also pick up one country. So Sri Prabhupada’s vision was so broad that he just wanted to deliver everyone in the world by sharing Krishna Consciousness.
And he was convinced that actually the practise of Sadhana Bhakti is the best way not just to make spiritual advancement but to also solve the problems at a material level. And to some extent it is easy for us to forget this when we get too caught in our lives, when we live a sort of insular existence. Insular means we are cut off from the world to a large extent.
So because we are cut off and within our own world we also have many problems. We have problems in controlling our mind and senses, we have problems in our relationship problems with other devotees, we have some issues with the management of the institution. And all these people get caught in it so much that we may forget the broader vision that we are serving.
So actually just by our chanting Hare Krishna, our studying Shastra, our embodying these principles, we are contributing to creating a better world. The idea that this world will become a happy place is not supported by the scriptures. Because this world is a crowd.
But still it doesn’t have to be more miserable than what it is. So to the extent people live in Rajyogana and Tamogana, this world will become more miserable than what it needs to be. To the extent people live in Satyugana, living in God Consciousness, it can be as happy as is possible.
So as devotees, what we are doing right now, imagine that, often there is medical college that’s right next to a hospital. Because in medical college the students, when they want to do some hands-on experience, they can go and test the patients. So that’s how normally it works.
So often the patients don’t come to know that they are becoming guru-pigs for the trained doctors. So sometimes it happens in government hospitals. So for one patient, there are these illiterate villagers, they come along, and 25 doctors come and test them.
They say, oh this hospital is so good, 25 doctors are coming and checking me. 25 doctors may mean that somebody has got a VSD. And 25 doctors come, what is the sound of VSD, I want to check with a stethoscope.
So they are just practising over there. Now the point which I am making is, suppose there is a college over here, and there is a hospital next to it. Now in the college, the students are getting trained.
Now imagine there is an emergency and somebody has become very seriously wounded, and then the person, or there is an emergency in the hospital, whatever it is, and some relative comes running along from the hospital to the college. I start shouting, what are all you sitting here, see there are so many people sitting, go help them. Now if it is a minor medical crisis, those trained doctors can help.
But if there is a major surgery that is to be done, although there are 6 people here, and there are doctors here, these are potential doctors. They can’t help. So if one just has a very gross vision, what are you doing in this college doing nothing? No, but they are studying.
They are preparing themselves so that they can eventually help and heal the people. Now the same principle applies to us. When we are chanting Hare Krishna, when we are studying scripture, what are we doing? We are preparing ourselves to heal others.
Now what is the disease that everybody is suffering from? That is bhava roga. Bhava roga is lust, anger, greed, envy, pride and delusion. These are contaminating our life and are contaminating the world.
The point we are discussing here is how does our sadhana help the world. So the world is suffering because of bhava roga. Bhava roga is not some abstract philosophical conception.
Actually you can see lust, anger, greed, they are the primary sources of lust problems in the world. So now there is so much, Allah will warn non-society about, Indian society will speak about corruption. Now what is the cause of corruption? It is greed, isn’t it? If you look at most of the problems in society today and there is so much violence that is there in society.
So that is actually caused by anger and then a few months ago there was a brutal gang rape in Delhi and sexual violence is a big problem and all that is caused by lust. So if you just look objectively at the major sources of crime in the world, major sources of crime and dysfunction and disruption in the world, they can be traced back to our mothers. Lust, anger, greed, envy, pride, delusion.
These are the causes of problems for everyone in the world. And even objectively one doesn’t believe in God, one doesn’t believe in Bhagavad Gita, one doesn’t believe in the holy name. One can easily understand that lust, anger, greed, envy, pride, delusion, these are the causes of problems.
They are not just obstacles on the spiritual path but they cause problems even in material life. So now the world is suffering. Let me just give you some examples.
So our sadhana cures us of bhavroga. A sadhana is the means by which we become free. So our sadhana cures us of bhavroga and prepares us to cure others of bhavroga.
So when we are free, I mean we may be entirely free but we are at least relatively free. So when we are able to control our greed, control our lust, then we can actually serve Krishna as we should. In all of us, if our lust and greed were not controlled, we would not be brahmacharis.
We would probably be working in some big companies or trying to earn a lot of money and trying to have our own way of enjoying material life. To some extent, because we have controlled our lust and greed, that’s how we are able to stretch the Gopika, share the Gopika wisdom with the world. And in that way we are contributing in some small way.
It may not be a big way but it is in a small way which we are doing whatever we need to. So this is how our sadhana is what? It is our medical training so that we are keeping ourselves healed and we are healing others. And that’s what Srila Prabhupada is saying.
So what Srila Prabhupada is saying is that if the people in this world can take association with Krishna Consciousness Movement, then they will become free from these six anarthas and then they will be able to… Srila Prabhupada is talking about the six anarthas differently. He is talking about Pranapaya Sastra. And they will become…the world will become a better place.
So Srila Prabhupada says that Krishna Consciousness Movement offers a spiritual community that can bring about a peaceful condition in the world. A spiritual community that can bring about a peaceful condition. So let’s move forward to the next verse.
What did you say first? Okay, good point. Very good. So actually Srila Prabhupada if you see, in his purport doesn’t directly comment much on Laurya.
Let’s see what he says exactly about Laurya. Yeah. It’s considered spiritual.
And similarly, yogic siddhis are also mistaken to be spiritual by many people. You will know what spiritual advancement are impediments on the path of Krishna Consciousness. So now Atyahara and Laurya, technically speaking there is a difference.
Although practically speaking they will work out similarly. Technically speaking the idea here is that Atyahara is more of trying to acquire more and more of the things of this world so that one can enjoy. Whereas Laurya is more of a…the way Prabhupada explains it, he includes everything that is Krishna-yatara.
Everything apart from Krishna. So in the scope of Laurya, Prabhupada includes not just attaining material things, but he also includes attaining number realisation, attaining yogic siddhis. That means anything of disproportionate craving for anything apart from Krishna is considered Laurya.
So that would mean that Atyahara, literally speaking the word Atyahara means eating too much. Now also that can be expanded to be earning too much money or it has purposes related to the books also. But Laurya specifically refers to anything apart from Krishna.
That is when we aspire for. So I will refer to…there are not many Acharyas who have commented on Laurya. But I will look at such Acharyas, whatever commentaries are available and I will try to find out if there is any further difference to talk about between Laurya and Atyahara.
I will get back to you. But right now, the way Prabhupada has explained it is Atyahara is primarily to accumulating more and more of worldly things. Whereas Laurya refers to craving for anything apart from Krishna.
So Atyahara is Karma, Jnana, Yoga. All three Prabhupada includes in this category. Do you have any other questions? I would also say that the difference is Atyahara is more of physical accumulation.
Whereas Laurya is more of craving. Prabhupada is in the world to desire. Let’s look at how Prabhupada translates it in the sentence translation.
So he talks about craving and he talks about greed. So here it is more like an activity and here it is more like an accumulation. So there is that difference also.
So of course you could say that accumulation will lead to action. But still there is a difference between the two. So this is more in terms of action whereas this is also in terms of accumulation.
Yes, but idle longing is there. Of course whenever there is action there has to be longing also. No doubt about it.
The example that Prabhupada uses is also about physical activity like accumulating. So accumulating too much money, eating too much food. So I won’t say that there is a very strict difference.
But the way Prabhupada is translating, this is what he talks about in the word to word translation. So in general we will see that when Srila Prabhupada gives his commentaries, his general principles, Srila Prabhupada is not very fussy about technical details. Srila Prabhupada gives broad principles and he makes those principles clear.
So now of course the Dinesh Acharya’s are analysed quite technically and Prabhupada offers due reference to that. But Prabhupada himself is not unduly fussy about these things. You know Prabhupada writes that there are basic principles that have to be understood.
At one time a devotee asked Prabhupada that in the Bhagavatam it is said that Ugrasain had so many millions and millions, billions of bodyguards. So this devotee told Prabhupada, Prabhupada when we talk with scholars about the Bhagavatam and we tell them that there are so many bodyguards, they start laughing. You see in the city of Dwarka where did they live? Where were the toilets? How would they live? They start laughing.
So what was Prabhupada’s reply? Prabhupada said in all the thousands of verses in the Bhagavatam, was that the only section that he found to talk with the scholars? So yesterday I mentioned, Prabhupada said what is the most important message? The most important message. So I am not in any way saying that technical categories are unimportant. But I am just giving a general observation about Shlokanta’s presentation of Shastra.
She doesn’t go too much into the technical integrities. And you will see this even more in Bhakti Samhita. Bhakti Samhita is quite a technical book and Prabhupada doesn’t go into the technicalities too much.
This focusses on the broad principles of Bhakti that are talked about over there. Let’s move forward now. Okay.
Will the scientists fall in the Brahmana category? I think Shlokanta mentions them in the 14th chapter of the Gita. This is the poet, the philosopher and the scientist. They are typical representatives of people in the mode of goodness.
So this is 14.6. This is the bar code for the characteristics of the mode of goodness. That is, So here Prabhupada says that the best examples are the scientist and the philosopher. And now, so what this indicates is that definitely the whole idea of dwelling in ideas, that is a Brahmanical idea.
That is, an attitude is Brahmanical overall. However, one of the fundamental characteristics of a Brahmana is that the Brahmana is not just an intellectual, but the Brahmana is a spiritual intellectual. A spiritual intellectual is not a spiritual intellectual, at least a Brahmana is a scriptural intellectual.
Scripture talks about spirituality. Whereas, most of the scientists today, they are neither scriptural nor spiritual. So in that sense, they have some Brahmanical capacities.
They have the Brahmanical abilities and if they get a proper spiritual education, then they could become proper Brahmanas. But just like say, it’s not that anybody who does Akshatriya, a politician’s administrative activity is Akshatriya. Kshatriya has certain qualities.
So Prabhupada explains that these four Varnas are naturally present in society. In the sense that every society will have some intellectuals, some administrators, some businessmen and some general assistants. That division is natural.
But whoever is performing these roles doesn’t automatically become a Brahmana, Kshatriya or Kshatriya. In principle, these divisions are there, but only when the people get properly trained, then they will act as Brahmana, Kshatriya or Kshatriya. So now, the scientists have the potential to be Brahmanas.
But they are not exactly Brahmanas because they don’t have the training. And yes, intellectuals can cause a lot of problems when their intellectual capacities are misdirected. And that’s what is happening today.
So, we’ll just discuss this for a minute now because we’ll come to this once again in our later part. As I said, Brahmanas. So, Brahmanas are either spiritual or scriptural intellectuals.
So, scriptural intellectuals don’t necessarily talk about everything spiritual. There can be Karmakanti Brahmanas also. We are not very interested in spirituality.
But at least they have taken Shastra. As one of the characteristics of a Brahmana, Krishna talks about in Gita. I think it’s 1842.
Krishna talks about So, he talks about Aastikya. Aastikya means, 1842. Actually, he talks about Aastikya is faith in scripture.
Faith in scripture is very important for a Brahmana. So, scientists today are, scientists have the potential, the intellectual capacity and inclination to become Brahmanas if they study scripture and become spiritual. So, they have that potential.
But it’s not that automatically somebody doing activity of a particular Varna becomes a member of that Varna. So, we don’t necessarily blame scientists because the whole society has become corrupted. And actually, every limb of society has been corrupted.
Scientists have also contributed, maybe more than other Varanas. But as I pointed out, not all scientists are explicitly atheistic. They are interested in their research and their own conception of trying to make sense of the world.
That could be Brahmanical in general. But today we will see that they are interested in pure sciences. Most of the research and funding comes from applied sciences or technological-based sciences, technology-centred sciences.
And that sort of knowledge is not knowledge for the sake of knowledge. It is knowledge for the sake of control and power. That is Rajasthan.
So, modern science today is going towards Rajasthan. So, in that sense, it’s not entirely Brahmanical. We’ll see more about it in the next verse.
So, let’s look at these principles. The first two sentences of Prabhupada are classical. Substance is practical activity.
This is a very important statement. Let’s try to understand this. See, many people feel that thought is emotional.
That’s what we are trying to understand now. So, Prabhupada says that it is not sentimental speculation. Maybe Krishna is like that.
Maybe Krishna is like this. So, people have some good sentiments. Prabhupada, at one time, some woman came to meet him.
And he said that, Swamiji, when I was doing parikrama of Jagannath in Jagannath Puri, Jagannath started performing Vastra Hara in love. He started taking women. How come you are so furious? He said, this is stupid.
Jagannath is not attracted to a body that is made of flesh and bones. So, people have their own very bizarre ideas about spirituality. So, this is all sentimental speculation.
And this is a very extreme example. But the point is, people think that bhakti is not, they don’t really think that bhakti is based on scripture. They think bhakti is just bhavna.
Bhavna hona chahiye. Yes, bhavna is fine. But the bhavna doesn’t come automatically.
The process by which the bhavna is arisen. So, we can’t just speculate. So, the speculation Prabhupada is talking about is a little bit of intellectual level, but mixed with bhakti.
Who does the speculation? Speculation is done by the intelligence. And this is not imaginative ecstasy. So, not unguided intelligence.
So, bhakti cannot be attained by unguided intelligence. Speculation is done by the intelligence. If it is unguided, it won’t work.
Now, the imagined ecstasy means that bhakti cannot be attained by the untrained mind’s emotions. The mind may feel like this, may feel like that. So, that is not bhakti actually.
So, actually there are feelings, there are emotions and there are thoughts. So, bhakti is a blend of both, non-unguided intelligence thoughts and non-untrained mind’s emotions. But what is the purpose of this? The substance is practical activity.
So, now how is this practical activity? That means, we do service based on scripture. That is guru sadhu shastra. That is the essence of gurukul service.
Now, when prabhupada, so this is prabhupada’s very down to earth presentation. How will he make spiritual advancement? Practical activity in the service of Krishna. Manjula Prabhupada came to Vrindavan for the first few times.
Then the devotees were in Vrindavan. Our temple was just coming up at that time in Vrindavan. So, the devotees had some very sentimental sort of ideas.
So, when we come to Vrindavan, Prabhupada will talk about confidential things about Radha and Krishna’s pastimes and he will tell us very elevated things. So, Gurudas were at that time in charge of the Vrindavan temple. And he came to Delhi, Prabhupada’s flight came to Delhi.
So, he came to visit Prabhupada at Delhi. And when he came at the airport, Prabhupada was looking very brave. Then he sat in the car, he was driving the car and he was waiting.
Prabhupada will speak some pearls of ecstasy from his words. He will speak some pearls of ecstasy from Radha Krishna’s pastimes. Prabhupada throughout was silent.
He saw me chanting. He was completely brave and silent. Prabhupada was meditating on Radha Krishna’s pastimes.
I should not disturb him. But I also want to give him something. And as they were going along, Prabhupada did not speak anything at all.
And as they entered near Vrindavan, Prabhupada started speaking something. He says to me, Prabhupada is chanting for special mantra. Please sing Radha Krishna mantra.
Prabhupada turned to me and said, Cement. Cement. How are you planning to get cement? When I was like a balloon flying in the sky, Prabhupada brought me down to the ground.
At that time, Prabhupada was in great anxiety, how am I going to build the temple? Cement. How are you planning to get the cement so that you can build the temple? So, Prabhupada did not entertain too much sentimental ideas. He said, let’s do this practical activity.
How will you execute your advancements? Practical activity. When the Juhi temple was coming up, at that time, one time, Tamal Krishna Maharaj came to Prabhupada. You know, the landings were very complex.
There was some violence also. A lot of conspiracies happened. Tamal Krishna Maharaj said, we shall see you later.
One day he came to Prabhupada. And Prabhupada said, I am so disturbed by this whole landings. Prabhupada said, Prabhupada is sympathetic with my illness.
Prabhupada did not say anything. So, he went forward. He said, Prabhupada, I am so disturbed that I am not able to chant properly also.
So, Prabhupada, now if I say, yes, chanting is very important. Chant properly. He did not want to work basically in India.
He wanted to go to America and preach. So, Prabhupada looked at him and said, my chanting is also not good. It is also disturbing.
He was very shocked with this. He said, my chanting is also disturbing. He did not know what to say.
He said, Prabhupada said, I am in so much anxiety. Prabhupada said, yes, I am also in so much anxiety. So, again he came back to him and said, your anxiety to serve Krishna will take you back to Krishna.
Your anxiety to serve Krishna will take you back to Krishna. So, certainly, we want to have good quality chanting. We want to have good quality sadhana.
We want to study scripture. But ultimately, bhakti is not just about chanting. Bhakti is not just about studying.
Bhakti is about a relationship with Krishna. And relationships involve emotions. Relationship involves emotions.
So, this is actually a very important point to understand. So, what is devotional service? It is not just chanting, not just studying, not just activities that seem devotional. The chanting, studying, these all seem to seem very reflective.
They are okay. But the essence of bhakti is developing our relationship with Krishna. And that means taking up anxieties for Krishna.
So, therefore, certainly we want to be absorbed in Krishna. But actually, if you want to develop a relationship, you should be able to take up anxieties for Krishna also. That’s why bhakti, Prabhupada came up with a very sentimental conception of bhakti.
He said, yes, take up anxieties for Krishna. He said, when I have a relationship with someone, naturally that person’s concerns become my concerns. So, therefore, to the extent we can take up Krishna’s concerns as our concerns, to that extent we will make spiritual advancement.
And to the extent we neglect that, to that extent we will not be able to make spiritual advancement, whether it be substantial, transformationally. So, let’s move forward. Any questions about this? Beside what? Okay.
So, on a daily basis, our mind keeps changing. And we are battling with our own thoughts. So, how can we take up anxieties for Krishna in this situation? It is according to our capacities.
That means that the spiritual master can have very brittle anxieties. Some people may have some… We can take up two big, major issues. We can take up counselling issues.
We can take the anxieties according to our level. Somebody asks a bunch of questions. What is the proof that there is a soul? We answer questions based on that.
We can help in practical ways. So, in general, the anxiety that we take up also has to be according to our abhikar. So, as far as dealing with our own inner battles is concerned, certainly we have to deal with our own inner battles.
No doubt about it. But while dealing with that inner battle, we have to keep it in mind that, for us, doing services, doing preaching, is also a part of our journey. Now, how it works is that, to the extent that we take up problems for others, our problems decrease.
Because many of our problems are in the mind. So, a simple example for this. So, at one time, there was a pharmaceutical company.
They found that the people who were making the medicines, the manufacture process, they were becoming very apathetic. They were not mixing the ingredients properly. And because of that, many people who could have been cured by those medicines, they were not getting cured.
So, they tried to talk again and again with these employees. They were talking a little bit serious. But then, eventually, they decided that, this is not working.
So, they got a consultant. The consultant told them, take these people also. And let them go to an epidemic area and tell them to go and administer the medicines to the people.
And when they went there, they saw how people were sick and suffering a lot. They saw how these medicines brought health and hope and life to people. And they realised what a great thing they were doing.
And then, they became much more serious about being careful in mixing the medicines and taking care of the medicines. So, similarly, when we interact with ordinary people, not on their terms, in terms of enjoying their pleasures, but when we actually share Krishna Conscious wisdom with them and see their lives transform, actually, at least in nation-stages, the transformation that happens by Krishna Consciousness is miraculous. The people who are suffering from bad habits for months and years and decades, just by a few days chanting, all these bad habits fall off, so effortlessly.
So, when we see that, that is the way this process works. So, of course, some subtle amrita, it may take a longer time for us to give it up. So, therefore, what we need to do is, we need to also remember the purpose for which we are here.
Sometimes, we may have issues. Will I be able to control my senses? Should I be in this ashram or that ashram? Will I do this service or that service? That sort of issues will be there and they need to be responsibly resolved. But often, the resolution doesn’t come just by thinking about them a lot.
So, often comes, actually speaking, if we, whatever we are teaching right now, according to our capacity, we commit ourselves to the service of Krishna. Then, Krishna gives us guidance about how best we can serve Him. That’s why, even when we have our own decisions, what we should focus on is, let me serve Krishna.
Let me serve the best that I can. Of course, I can try to have a positive attitude and I can try to be devotional when I sit in serving Krishna. But, let me just do what I can to develop my relationship with Krishna, in my situation right now.
And then, everything will be resolved. That’s how I should advance in Krishna consciousness theories, over the long term. You clear this? So, let’s move forward.
If you take a few more paragraphs, I will get used to it. So, Dr. Samit Sindhu has defined devotional service as follows. So, he says, Can you read the translation? Yes, I will read it.
This will be discussed largely in my morning classes. I won’t go into that. But, Prabhupada’s emphasis here is on, Prabhupada is putting this to find a practical activity.
It substitutes practical activity. That’s why Prabhupada focusses on cultivation. Idle meditation.
Yes, we will discuss this later. But here, Prabhupada is talking about that bhakti is not just emotion. It is cultivation.
So, normally where do we use our cultivation? For agriculture. Isn’t it? So, there is a lot of practical activity involved. We sow the seeds.
Then we protect the crops. Then we harvest the crops. It’s full of practical activity.
in the Chaitanya Charita Amrit, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu talks about cultivation of the heart. He talks about bhakti vata beach being planted in the heart and that being watered by shravan and kirtan. So, that is cultivation.
How is this cultivation to be done? That is done through Vrindavan Vidhava. I am sure Prabhupada means to tell that okay, becoming an active is good at some level. Just like if a student in a classroom is very mischievous, disturbing himself, disturbing everyone, disturbing the atmosphere in the classroom, then the teacher will say just go out and stand over there.
Be an active. Now, that is good because most likely the student will stop what? Distracting activities. But the goal, the perfection is not the student forever stand outside.
You come back and start participating in the study that is happening, in the education that is happening in the classroom. So, similarly, people are engaged in murderous activities. They are just creating disruption in their own world.
Now, that disruption is basically you can see when a child is born, what happens is first thing the child does is cries. You get it? So, actually the child is miserable and that’s how people may not cry throughout their lives but our journey throughout life is also miserable in many ways. That when we when people are just miserable in this way, some people, they have to just stop the activity.
That’s the path of negation, rejection, no activity. Stop doing trouble. But our goal is not to stop doing trouble.
Our goal is to start doing positive activities that is happy activities. So, how those activities are done? So, now I will give you the service we will discuss tomorrow. Thank you very much.
Shri Mataji, Jai. Shri Mataji, Jai. Jai.