Philosophy seems abstract – how can we undestand that Krishna tangibly helps us?

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Transcript

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Philosophy seems abstract.
How can we understand that Krishna tangibly helps us? See in the Bhagavad Gita at the start, Duryodhana evaluates the two forces. These are the soldiers on their side, these are the soldiers on my side. And he completely misses out Krishna.
He didn’t mention Krishna at all. He lists everyone over there. In fact, he lists even someone who is absent.
Bhavan, Bhishmascha, Karanascha. Now Karna is not there in the initial part. Because Karna, he feels that Bhishma has insulted me.
So Karna doesn’t fight. He says I will not fight as long as Bhishma is there in the battle. So first 10 days he is not there.
So Duryodhana still counts Karna also. Why? Because Karna is very much there in his mind. Karna is my friend and he will help me.
But Krishna is right there but he doesn’t count Krishna. Because he is thinking only in very physical gross terms. Krishna is going to be non-combatant.
Krishna has said I will not take any weapons. So he doesn’t count. But Krishna may not take any weapons but he guides those who take weapons.
And if you look at all the crucial moments in the war in the Mahabharata, Krishna’s guidance tips the scale in favor of the Pandavas. So this is Duryodhana because of a limited conception of what counts. He thinks that only those warriors who are going to fight with physical weapons, they are all that counts.
Because of that limited conception of what counts, he misses out the one who truly counts. So he leaves out Krishna completely. So like that, if we have a very limited conception of what counts in life, we will say, God, what does it matter? How does it matter? But in addition to things that physically count, okay, how much talent you have, what kind of contacts you have, what kind of looks you have, what kind of presentation skills you have, these are all things which count in our career.
But underlying it all is our inner life. Our body is like a chariot. Arjuna was on a chariot.
So we are like souls in the body of a chariot. And Krishna was the charioteer of Arjuna. So God is also present in our heart.
Krishna is present in our heart also. But we don’t always take the guidance of Krishna. So the external factors do count.
But more than that, our inner attitude, our inner clarity, our inner intelligence, that often counts far more consequentially in terms of our progressing and succeeding in life. And when we are connected with Krishna internally, then we at the right time get the ideas, the insights, the inspirations to make the right moves, to move onwards. And even in science also, or in matter and art, many of the biggest breakthroughs have come, they have come through inspiration.
And how inspiration comes is a mystery even for those who are inspired. Like there was this famous mathematician Shakuntala Devi. She would multiply 13 digit numbers.
How does she do it? She says, as soon as I presented something, I just get the answer. She doesn’t know how it comes, but it just comes. Yeah, Ramayana is the same thing.
So the thing is that there is, if we are honest with ourselves, we can say that whatever abilities we have, we alone are not their source. If we alone were their source, then they would be completely and constantly in our control. But they are not.
Sometimes we can perform like geniuses and sometimes we just bungle and stumble basically. We just don’t know what is happening, what is wrong. So our abilities are gifts from God.
And spirituality, that means a connection with God, increases our ability to use our abilities. I may have abilities, but if I don’t have clarity of thought, then all the abilities that I can’t use it properly. And this especially you can see in sports.
Now, a batsman may be very talented, but if a person has a rush of blood, just one rash shot and he is out. So, but what is seen in sports, it also applies in real life. So our abilities do count, but our inner clarity, that will enable us to increase our ability to use our abilities.
So the connection with Krishna through prayer, through meditation, through scriptural study, brings that inner clarity and brings us. So I’m talking about two distinct things over here. One is, okay, I already have some abilities and I get the ability to use those abilities.
And another thing is that I just get insights and ideas which I don’t even know how they come. And they just come and they resolve situations in a way that would never have been possible otherwise. So if we, like Duryodhana and I, if we have a very limited conception of what all factors are going to count in my life for success, then we will feel that any time that I’m spending on God, it’s simply a waste.
But that limited conception was what was the cause of the defeat of Duryodhana. Duryodhana initially came after they had the deal. Both of them had gone to Krishna.
So he got the whole Narayana Sena and Arjuna took Krishna. So he was in a very exultant mood. Oh, I got a very good deal.
Arjuna was a sentimentalist. He just took Krishna and unarmed him. Interestingly, even… So Bhishma reproached him.
Bhishma said, you are a fool. But not only Bhishma, even Shakuni reproached him. Shakuni, he was no great warrior.
But he was a schemester. And he knew that Krishna is also a schemester. So he said, you are thinking you got a good deal but you got a bad deal.
If you had got Krishna on our side, Krishna would have won the war for us. So he could be… I got one Dakshina Narayana Sena. What is one non-combatant matter? So if we broaden our conception and understand what all counts for us to succeed, then we will see that our Krishna connection is not just an important factor, it is the most important factor.
Thank you.