QA on Practical application of bhakti

Talk at ISKCON, Bahrain

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
I’m extremely sorry for keeping all of you waiting. Somehow, the traffic signals were something wrong with them or something was just not moving at all in the traffic for quite some time. So I was planning to speak for some time and then have question answers.
But since it’s quite late already, I thought we can directly start with question answers today. So I’ll start with a couple of questions which was asked afterwards, not answered. So the question was, what is Maya? Some people say that woman is Maya.
So what exactly is Maya? See Maya, the word literally means Maya, that which is not. So Maya means illusion in that sense. The Bhagavatam more precisely defines Maya as, The Bhagavatam defines Maya as, It says that when something appears to be meaningful, that which appears meaningful, but one does not see any connection of that thing with Krishna, that is Maya.
So Maya essentially means to see a thing as attractive, as meaningful, as capable of giving pleasure and do not see the thing’s connection with Krishna. So that is Maya. So that which is not, that does not mean that something doesn’t exist.
So for example, this wall exists. I can’t say this wall is Maya. If I hit my head against the wall, the pain will not be Maya.
The pain will be real. So we do experience real pleasure and real pain in this world. The illusion is that the pleasure as well as the pain, especially the pleasure, because that is what allures us, that is very very little as compared to the reality.
So Maya essentially means to see anything as separate from Krishna. That is Maya. Now Maya of course is also an energy.
It is the Maya Shakti, illusory energy. Interestingly, the Bhagavatam calls Maya as, Vaishnavi Janmohini. Bhagavatam said Maya is also Vaishnavi.
She is a devotee. But what is her service? Janmohini. Her service is to delude people.
Last year I was in Melbourne. So one person asked a question. If God wants us to do the right thing, why is he given so many wrong options in the world? The wrong things are so many and the right things are so few actually.
So why does God give us so many wrong options? So I answered, actually that is how always it is in any multiple choice exam. The wrong options are more, the right option is very little. The right option is only one.
The wrong option is usually four. Now if the passing of the exam was simply a matter of probability, then we could say that the examiner is unfair. Chance of passing would be only 20% as per probability.
But if the examiner has taught us or the teacher has taught us and then we are given the exam, then it is not a matter of probability. It is a matter of how much we are assimilated. So same way, this world, essentially because we have many materialistic desires, so there are many ways in which there are opportunities to enjoy.
But then Krishna has given Guru Sahadev Shastra. Krishna is present as the Paramatma, the Chaitanya Guru in our heart. And through it all, he guides us about making the right choices.
So the wrong choices themselves are not mine. Our getting attracted to the wrong choices, they are mine. That is mine.
Because the wrong options in a multiple choice answer paper they are also a part of the system. Isn’t it? They are also part of the system. And the point of the wrong answers is that they are going to check whether we have got the right answer or not.
So like that, Maya tests us. Her service is what? To test how much we have internalised the desire to serve Krishna. And if we have not internalised the desire, then we get caught by other things.
So she is also a Vaishnavi. She is also a devotee. And her service is just an examiner may test by giving wrong options.
She also tests us by giving wrong options. Now, yes, Maya is often personified as female. But then we see most of the adharmic people that are described in the Vedic literature, they are all males.
All the Rakshasas are primarily males. Sometimes there might be some Rakshasis. But most of them are Rakshasas and they are all male.
So it’s not that we can… So obviously the Asuras, the Dhanavas, the Rakshas, they are all Maya. So they are all actually masculine. So we can’t extrapolate the gender of this world into a philosophical principle.
So yes, for a man, a woman is Maya. For a woman, man can be Maya. But the important thing is that it is not that the object or the person that is attracting us, they are actually Maya.
In the third chapter of the Bhagavad Gita, from 3.36 to 43, Krishna analyses the nature of lust. And there he identifies where is lust located. And interestingly he says that in 3.40, Indriyani Manobuddhir asyadishthanam uchyate etair momo yathyesha jnanam avyuttehinam Indriyani Manobuddhir, he says that lust actually doesn’t only mean sexual desire.
Lust means actually any kind of selfish desire. It is situated in the senses, the mind and the intelligence. So Krishna is not saying that it is situated in some person, some object.
No, he is saying it is situated in our own senses, mind and intelligence. And one way we can understand this is, let’s look at something else. Say we consider alcohol, this is an alcohol bottle.
Now a person who has never drunk and has never considered drinking, for what I mean good culture, even if that person sees the alcohol bottle, there is no desire coming out. On the other hand, for a person who has drunk alcohol, who has got into addiction and who is now recovering, the sight of the alcohol bottle causes agitation. So now both of them are seeing the same object.
One feels desire, the other doesn’t feel desire. Why is that? That means the desire is not present in the alcohol bottle. The desire is present in the person itself.
The person by repeated indulgence in alcohol has got the desire for alcohol. And now we may say no, but if that person had not seen the alcohol bottle, then that person would not have felt the desire. So certainly seeing the alcohol bottle plays a role.
So here we have to differentiate between the cause and the trigger. So the cause of agitation, that is within us only. The selfish desire is present inside us.
But that desire which is dormant, that will be triggered into action by some stimuli. But we can’t blame the stimuli for that. The problem is the desire is inside us itself.
And now of course, we do need to take precautions. And alcohol, the first thing they are told is don’t go to a bar. Don’t go to a bar, don’t go to places where people drink.
And that way you will be able to control yourself. So if we know that I have certain triggers which agitate me, then it is my responsibility to guard myself from the triggers. So yes, for a man, a woman can be a trigger.
For a woman, a man can be a trigger. But the trigger is not the cause. The trigger is not the cause.
If a person presses a trigger of a gun, pressing the trigger will do nothing if there is no bullet inside. Because there is a bullet inside, that’s why a wound happens. So like that, the trigger will not agitate us if there is no desire inside us.
Now of course, all of us have desire. And that’s why we have to take due precautions with respect to the triggers that agitate us. But we can’t blame anyone for getting triggered.
Krishna says if you want to control us, control your senses, control your mind, purify your mind, educate your intelligence. That’s what Krishna tells basically. So in general, when we find certain things trigger us, we have to take due caution.
And we have to protect ourselves. And at the same time, especially if somebody is in a grahasth ashram, we should not see the grahasth ashram as an adversarial relationship. Like you are tempting me or I am tempting you.
No, rather both of us have to deal with temptation together. So I answer questions on my website, thespiritualscientist.com. And because people can ask anonymously over there, so people often ask me candid questions. So once when Mataji asked a question, she is not exactly a devotee, she is becoming a devotee.
So she said that my sister and I, from our childhood, we were of a very religious nature. And we had decided that we will only marry men who are devoted to God. She said, my sister, now she is in her office, she met a very religious Christian man and they developed a relationship and then he got married.
And he says, I met a Hare Krishna devotee and I found him very religious, very devoted. And then we got married. He said that my brother-in-law’s religion, my sister’s husband’s religion, she says that my brother-in-law’s religion teaches him that a good wife is a gift from God, is a blessing from God.
She says, but my husband treats me like a temptation who has deviated him from God. She says, I never forced him to get married. He chose to marry me.
She says, I also want to go towards God. She says, is this the way that God wants me to feel? She had not yet become a devotee. She was a religious person.
She says, is this what your God teaches you people? So is this how I am meant to feel throughout my life? So then I answered elaborately. I said that actually, the whole point is that if we want to call anything that tempts us a temptation, then the world is filled with temptations. For that matter, if we see, there is gross sex and there is subtle sex.
Subtle sex is when we get puja, lav, pratishta, when people glorify us. When people glorify us, then we feel I am special, I am great. And there is also self-centred enjoyment.
We are not really thinking of God. We are thinking about ourselves. So now, if we see, it is told that when the disciple meets the spiritual master or when the senior devotee meets the senior devotee, then they appreciate the senior devotee.
So then if the spiritual master starts thinking, oh, if my disciples praise me, hearing my praise is temptation. So I will not hear my disciples. I will not associate with the disciples.
Well, that’s not the point. Yes, that possibility is there. But after some time, one gets beyond that.
Yes, the disciple may glorify. But afterwards, one gets beyond that. And I am focussing on the substance of the relationship.
So now, similarly, yes, there is a temptation as an aspect in the relationship. But that has to be dealt with at an individual level based on the mutual needs of both people. And that should not become the definer of the relationship.
Yes, the definer of the relationship is both of us are trying to serve Krishna. And yes, at different times, I may be attacked by desire. And another person may be attacked by desire.
And we help each other, deal with the desire in whatever way is practical. We don’t have to become judgemental. No, it’s not that.
It’s never that, actually. Now, our spiritual standards should never be made into weapons in domestic ego battles. What I mean by that is, domestic ego battles means, you know, you are attached.
You are so attached. I am detached. Therefore, I am greater than you.
So, if our spirituality becomes a tool for, you know, placing our ego on top of others, then instead of coming together, the relationship can become very hostile. So, ultimately, the purpose is to move closer towards Krishna. And we are together moving towards Krishna.
So, how to deal with temptation? That is something which each person will have to deal with practically, according to one’s own level, according to one’s own situation. But the important thing is that the temptation should never be seen as the definer of the relationship. Yes, that’s one part of life.
Just deal with it the way you can. Focus on serving Krishna to God. And by that, gradually, we will find a level where we can practise bhakti in a sustainable way and continue on that way.
So, if we, yes, definitely, there is the temptation that is there in any relationship. But temptation or the capacity to resist temptation is not meant to be the definer of the relationship. The definer of the relationship is how much we help each other and move closer towards Krishna.
And if we keep that, then automatically other things will be adjusted at a level that is realistically practical for us. So, process of bhakti is not the process of giving up. It is the process of taking up.
So, we take up positive things in Krishna’s service. And the more we take up positive things in Krishna’s service, the negative things gradually start disappearing. We focus on, no, I shouldn’t do this, I shouldn’t do this, I shouldn’t do this.
It just doesn’t work. Because in saying no to anything, there is always the feeling of deprivation. And we keep saying no, keep saying no, we feel deprived and eventually we succumb to it.
So, there is an atheist joke against Christianity. They say, in the Bible, they say, in the beginning was the world and the world was God. So, the atheists, they twist it around and say, in the beginning was the world and the world was no.
No, you cannot do this. No, you cannot do that. No, you cannot do that.
The purpose of God is not to deprive us. Actually, it is our materialism that is depriving us of higher happiness. And the purpose of Krishna is to help us find that higher happiness.
So, if we focus too much on the negative, then we, our mind is filled with what I have to avoid. No, our mind should be filled with what I am to do. In the 11th canto, in the Uddhava Gita, in the same section, Krishna tells Uddhava that My devotee, even if my devotee is not able to control one’s senses, even if the devotee is defeated by the senses, still that devotee stays enthusiastic to serve me.
And by staying enthusiastic to serve me, gradually the devotee will become beautiful. So, the two, we should not necessarily, one is our fight against temptation and the other is our attempts to practise bhakti. So, our attempts to practise bhakti should be the primary thing in our spiritual life.
And our battle with temptation, however we deal with that, that capacity to deal with it better will come when we practise bhakti positively. So, always keep the focus on the positive. And we can’t actually drive any desire out of our consciousness.
We can only crowd desires out of our consciousness. We can crowd desires. That means when we fill our consciousness with positive spiritual desires, then the lower desires will go.
And the more we focus on the positive, the more we will experience higher happiness. And the more we will move on in our spiritual life. So, any other questions about this? Sorry.
You don’t know about this question from the Christianity. You said Christianity is linked with the gift of God. Sister Mary was Christian.
Yeah, okay. Okay. Doesn’t mean that Christianity has a restriction on man-woman union? Is that the conclusion you got? No, no.
So, you have seen that in Christianity, that means, you know, my husband cherishes me. The Christian woman, the Christian girl was saying that my husband cherishes me. But the Hare Krishna Nagori woman was saying that no, my husband treats me like a temptation.
So, basically she was saying that Christianity is much better than Hare Krishna. That was her point. Because she was saying that the husband respects the wife in Christianity.
Whereas in Hare Krishna, the husband treats the wife like a temptation. That was her argument. But the point was, I was saying this is a misunderstanding.
This is a misunderstanding. So, how can we inculcate Krishna consciousness in our children? If we are parents who have failed to inculcate bhakti in our children, we feel very sorry and we repent about it. As I mentioned in earlier classes also, we are all individual souls.
And every one of us is on our own individual spiritual journey. And even people who are related with us, whether they become devotees or not, that is not necessarily a reflection of our spirituality. Why is that? You can see even great Vaishnavas.
For example, we have Advaita Acharya. You know, who is called himself his descendants. Chetan Chetan would say that one of his sons, not only did not become a devotee, he actually became a Mayavadi.
He became a Mayavadi. So, there are many great saintly people whose children may not become devotees. Even Krishna himself, when Lord Vishnu came, when he lifted up Bhoomi, from that contact a child was produced, that became a demon after all.
So, what to speak of the parent-child relationship? Sometimes it may happen that even the parent-child relationship, at least it’s some level of material relationship. Even a spiritual master who initiates a disciple, not all of the disciples may remain devotees. It’s sad when it happens, but it happens.
So, every soul has a free will. And naturally the spiritual master will feel bad if a disciple goes away. But that does not necessarily mean that the spiritual master is deficient.
Naturally, when we are in a responsible position, we should be introspective and see what more could I have done. But we should not let that cripple ourselves. We are souls on our journey towards Krishna.
Others are souls on their journey. And they will be at a different stage. So, first is don’t make others or children’s spirituality, lack of spirituality as a statement about our spiritual advancement or our success of our efforts or the success of our efforts.
Now, in general, whenever we interact with any person, we can only do three things for others. We can provide knowledge. We can give knowledge.
We can provide facilities and we can set exam. These are the only three things we can do to inspire others to make wiser choices. Provide knowledge means we educate them.
You know, if you do this, this is what is going to happen. If you do this, this is what is going to happen. It’s not just academic education, but education about life’s values, life’s choices and life’s consequences.
So, we can provide knowledge. Just like Bhagavad Gita tells us knowledge and we can try to provide them that knowledge. Secondly is that we can provide facilities.
Facility means that children, they want to practise, but they cannot be expected to come and hear long classes. We have some special children who are hearing classes, but they are very special. But usually the children will need their own Sangha.
So, if we have some children’s wing or a teenager’s wing or a youth wing, where in like-minded association their Bhakti flourishes. So, every community that is growing, it needs to put sufficient effort to create a facility like that. And when that kind of facility is there, and sometimes if a number of such students can come together, children of a particular age can come together, go for a picnic together, and they enjoy each other’s association and they enjoy Bhakti in that association.
That can help a lot. So, parents can try to create as many facilities as possible. Some parents may try to come together and start a school or at least have a Sunday school.
Or maybe like they basically try to provide facility. And third is set an example. So, the Krishna Consciousness is more caught than taught.
Caught means we observe somebody doing something, oh, this is how it is done. Taught means, okay, do this, don’t do this. Yeah, it has to be taught also, no doubt.
But it is often more caught. So, what happens is, parents they practise Bhakti, but then if they are coming to the temple, and they go back to the temple and they say, this is wrong in the temple, this is wrong in the temple, this is wrong in the temple. They are criticising the temple.
And then they tell me, you should go to the temple. Well, why should I go to the temple if there are so many things wrong over there? So, you know, yes, anywhere we go, there will be issues. We can’t avoid issues.
But if we are clear in our purpose, this is where I can become Krishna Conscious. So, if we are setting a proper example, then those impressions are going to be there. Especially in childhood, we give some formative impressions during the formative ages.
Formative age, that sting is deep. It is never lost. Now, when children come to their teenage, at that time, teenage is actually a very, very turbulent age.
I think, yesterday I talked to the teenagers. There is one author, famous author. So, he was asked, now how do you get ideas for writing? So, he said, if you have survived adolescence, you have enough material to write for a lifetime.
Adolescence is a very turbulent phase. So, at that time, the mind, the body, all of them start thinking, feeling in a very different way. And the parents were thinking, my sweet little girl, what happened to her? A nice little boy, where did he disappear? Who is this person who has come in his place? It just becomes like an unrecognisable change that happens sometimes.
So, actually, this is the time when the children are growing and they are trying to form their own identity. When they are very small, they are basically identified as the son or the daughter of so and so. Now, when they become adults, they will have their own identity.
You know, I am this professional, I have this job. But when they are trying to, in their adolescence, when they are trying to get, discover their own identity. So, yes, ultimately, we are all souls, but we also have an identity in this world.
And they are trying to understand that at that time they may go through a phase of experimenting. And they may feel, oh, I missed out so many things in my life. I want to enjoy it all.
Now, naturally, the parents may want to protect the children. And to some extent, we can give good advice, we can give protection, we can try to protect them. But ultimately, some lessons may have to be learned through experience.
So, even if they want to, if they want to go and experiment things, we shouldn’t make that as a condition for our love. Now, we will always love them. But naturally, we will want them to do some things.
And if they are not doing that, we will be unhappy. But that doesn’t mean that we stop loving them. We are there for them if they need us.
And that way, if we continue offering them our affection, deep in their heart, they also have got devotional impressions. If you make it into a, if somebody wants to expose, if you make it into an ego issue, you know, you are wrong and one day you will come crawling back on your feet to me and I will admit that you are wrong, that I was wrong. Even if they in future realise they are wrong, they will not come back.
Because, you know, we have made it into an ego issue. So, no need to make it into an ego issue. As we can guide them.
And if they don’t, some lessons have to be learned. As I said, the hard way. But when they are hit by life’s blows, if we are there, then they will learn.
I remember there is one devotee in Pune. The whole family is devotees. And the young boy, he was born and brought up in a devotee family.
In his teenage, he spent wildly. He said one time, he just, I think it was Michael Jackson had come to India and he wanted to go for that concert. And he shelled out a huge amount of money and went through so much crowd.
And finally, he got to the concert. And when he was there in the concert, it just, it just suddenly struck him, this is just noise. This is just noise.
In the simple kirtan, the temple is sweeter. He had got nothing actually. It’s not that that morning he had gone to the temple or heard a kirtan.
Many days he had not gone to the temple also. But suddenly, it just struck him. I was so excited about this.
There is nothing here. And then that was like an epiphany. A moment of realisation.
After that, he got completely transformed. He associated with some other devotees, some other boys of his age. And then he has now become a serious devotee preacher.
He does more preaching than his parents. So, what happened? Actually, you know, we shouldn’t see that our children’s bhakti is between us and them. It is between them and Krishna.
And Krishna is working in the background. We are meant to assist Krishna. And impressions that we have given in the childhood, they will manifest in due course of time.
They will manifest in due course of time. Another devotee told me that, you know, I think in 2011, was it, when India won the World Cup? Cricket World Cup. 2011, was it? Yeah.
So, at that time, he said that he was very excited about cricket matches. Then he gave it up. But then again, when India started doing very well in the World Cup, he was very excited.
And then India won the quarterfinals against Australia. So, India was telling me all this. So, he said, I was so delighted.
Then India won the semi-finals against Pakistan. I was so much more excited. And finally, then the finals against Sri Lanka and India won the finals.
And then I was with my friends watching on TV. And they were all dancing and yelling and screaming. I said, you know, what’s there to be so excited about? I just, although I wanted to be excited, but I couldn’t be excited.
I could say, what is so great about it? I’m not saying cricket necessarily is anything bad. I’m just giving an example here of a higher taste which remains. And that higher taste will manifest at a particular time.
So, Krishna is working in the hearts of everyone. And he’s working in the hearts of everyone in general. But especially those who have been given devotional impressions.
Then, at that time, in their childhood, those impressions will manifest in due course. So, this boy told me, I said, India is winning the World Cup. It was like the biggest anticlimax of my life for me.
I said, I was so excited. I felt there’s nothing to be excited about. What is there? And from that time, he also became very serious about practising Marathi.
So, we may have, our mind and our circumstances may create some bubbles of imagination. This is so enjoyable. How can you live without it? This is so enjoyable.
How can you live without that? And by our end, the children, our children, they may have those bubbles. But when they experience the bursting of those bubbles, because they have had the experience of bhakti, they will turn back to bhakti. So, just provide the knowledge, offer the facilities, set an example.
And then it is between them and Krishna. And then they will come in due course of time towards Krishna. So, our process of bhakti is that we are serving Krishna.
That means, irrespective of whether they become devotees or not, our service is to them and our service is to Krishna. If we did the best under our circumstances to serve Krishna, we are going closer towards Krishna. And how Krishna will get them closer, that is ultimately between them and Krishna.
So, there are two extremes where we think ultimately it is just their spiritual life. I don’t care about it. The other is we think their spiritual life is entirely my responsibility.
So, when we take on a role that is not for us to take on, then we can become very insecure, we can become very frustrated. But my role is to connect them with Krishna. And then they will choose Krishna and move on in their lives.
Does this answer the question? These two questions I answered long because actually they were very important topics. So, how do we distinguish between the mind and intelligence? And if it is through scripture, then how can a common man who doesn’t know about scripture learn to distinguish this? All of us have something which is called a viveka buddhi, this conscience. The conscience tells us this is right, this is wrong.
And the conscience may not always be right. Quite often our conscience is culturally conditioned. That means from the culture that we are born in, our conscience is shaped by that.
So, the specifics of what is right and what is wrong, that may vary according to culture to culture. But the principle that there is something right and there is something wrong. That is universal.
Nobody denies that. If somebody asks somebody, how could you have done that? They will say, no, because of this, this, I did it. That means normally I would not have done it but because of this I did it.
So, the principle that there is something right and something wrong, that is universal. What is right, what is wrong, that specific may vary. So, the conscience is actually, ultimately the voice of the super soul, the voice of the Paramatma.
But depending on the mode that we are in, sattva guna, raja guna, tamo guna, the Paramatma’s voice can become more and more muffled. So, that is not clear. Now, the more we hear that voice, the more we become more receptive to that voice.
That means that for materialistic people, there might just be a choice between raja guna and tamo guna. If they choose raja guna, actually that’s a higher choice. They might have a choice between raja guna and sattva guna.
If they choose sattva guna, that’s a higher choice. Say a student may, but a student will not get a vote. He can choose whether to go and watch a movie or study.
If my exam is nearby, I should be studying. They choose that. That’s a higher choice.
So, even within the mode, there are choices. And there are voices within us which guide us towards the choices. So, in general, we can say the voice which is short-term, the voice which prompts us towards short-term pleasure, that is the voice of the mind.
And the voice which prompts us towards long-term thinking, that is the voice of the intelligence. And scripture actually expands this. So, scripture helps us better understand why the short-term is counterproductive.
And scripture expands our understanding of what is long-term. So, scriptural study actually helps us to distinguish this better. So, it’s like, even while we study scripture, if we come to sattva guna, then we can distinguish this better.
sarva-dvaareshu dehe ismin prakaashyam upajayate jnanam yadadavidyar guvuddham sattvam ityat Krishna says that in 14.11, he says the characteristic of the mode of goodness is sarva-dvaareshu dehe ismin, all the doors of the gate of the body, prakaashyam upajayate, there is light in the doors of the body. That is the characteristic of the mode of goodness. Now, what does this mean? The Bhagavad Gita is a poetic book.
And in poetic work, often we use, there is metaphorical usage that is there. So, now the door of the body refers to the senses. And there is light in the senses.
What does that mean? Is it like a person’s atona, they open their eyes, and some light flashes out of their eyes? Or a light flashes out of their ears? No, it’s not that. What this means is, this is a light of knowledge. So, for example now, if that is the door, and if the area around the door is completely dark, then I can’t know who is coming in through the door, who is going out, who is actually in the room.
We can’t know anything. But if the area near the door is lit properly, this person, my friend, welcome, this person, suspicious looking character, then I should close the door. So, we can actually identify who is coming and who is going out.
So, like that, when we come to the mode of goodness, then when certain thoughts, certain desires, certain stimuli start flowing in through the senses, flowing into the mind, we are able to discern, this is not good, this is good. And this is what I should cultivate, this is what I should eliminate. And this capacity to discern, it becomes more and more when we come to the mode of goodness.
So, we all have conscience. Scripture expands that conscience. And our own practise of sadhana bhakti, which brings us to sattva guna at least, which is meant to bring us to shuddha sattva eventually, but it brings us to the mode of goodness, then we can actively discern, this sort of thought is coming or not, I shouldn’t entertain this.
This is a very good idea, I will do this. So, that way, by making choices when we can, there are some times when the mind and intelligence voice is very difficult to discern. But to the extent we make choices when we can, to that extent we will be able to empower, we will be showing Krishna that I want to be guided.
And when we show Krishna that I want to be guided, then Krishna will guide us eventually, and enable us, and he will give us guidance when we can’t, when it’s difficult to make choices. Additionally, it is good to, if there are major decisions to be made, it’s best not to do them impulsively. Consult some senior devotees, consult our spiritual guides, and often it’s good to write things down.
Now, writing gets thoughts out of the head. When thoughts come out of the head, our objectivity increases. We can evaluate those thoughts and then make a decision.
So, that way we can distinguish between the voice of the intelligence and the mind. So, the soul is said to be subtler than the mind, and the soul is said to be one-tenth of the tip of a hair. So, what is the size of the mind? Yeah, actually, when Keshava Shatabhagasya Shatabha Kalpirasya, the Upanishads say that the soul is the one-tenth of the tip of a hair.
Now, this is actually indicative. It is not descriptive. Because how are you going to define the tip of a hair? How much is a tip, first of all? This much a tip, or this much a tip, or how much is a tip? The Bhagavad Gita also says, Aprameya.
Aprameya is immeasurable. Immeasurable doesn’t mean immeasurably big. It means immeasurably small.
So, basically, the measure of the soul that is given, it is not literal. It is indicative of the smallness of the soul. The soul is extremely small.
That is the emphasis over there. And the measure is given as an indication of the smallness. And, as far as the mind is concerned, the mind is basically like a covering around the soul.
So, just like if I have a computer, I can say how much is the weight of the computer. Maybe 1 kg or whatever. But if somebody asks me, you know, what is the weight of the software? Well, weight is a parameter that is not applied to the software.
Isn’t it? Software is subtle. So, like that, when you talk about physical dimensions, in terms of physical size, that is something which is not applied to the mind. Physical dimensions are applicable to gross objects.
They are not applicable to subtle objects. Like sometimes, some people are very burdened by thoughts. Maybe they are burdened by worries.
Now, can you measure the weight of the worry? You cannot measure the weight. It is a burden, no doubt. So, when I am saying it is subtle, it doesn’t mean it is not real.
It is real. But we cannot put a weight on that. This is one of the great limitations of science.
For example, all of medical science is meant to free people from pain. But in all of medical science, there is no machine to measure pain. You know, we don’t have a penometer.
We can quantify to say, okay, the hand is, the bone is broken this much, it is misaligned this much. It must be a lot of pain. It is a little displaced, it must be a little pain.
We can get a rough inference. But it says emotions, they are not quantified. We cannot put a mathematical measure on it.
Similarly, the mind is subtle, we cannot put a mathematical measure on it. So, why do we have to suffer the reactions of our past sinful life in the next human form of life? Firstly, the actions are like seeds. And the reactions are like the harvest of the seeds.
And with just the system of nature, that different actions, different seeds fructify after different time durations. Now, if we just sow some grains, they will harvest after a few months. We sow mango seeds, they may take about 10 years sometimes.
Some other trees may take 50-60 years to have new fruits. So, it is just the system of nature, that different actions produce reactions after different times. If I put my hand on a hot pan, the reaction comes instantaneously.
If on a cold night, I eat half a dozen ice creams, probably the next morning when I come, ice cream! My throat is gone at that time. The reaction comes after 6 months, 6 hours. If somebody starts smoking, as a teenager, maybe by the age of 40, they get some lung problems.
So, even in this life, we see that some actions come, that different actions produce reactions after different times. So, when we talk about karma, the same principle of cause and effect correlation, this is extended before this life and beyond this life. Why is this extension required? Because different reactions may require different circumstances for fructification.
So, for example, in the Mahabharata, after the war gets over, one of the later retellings of the Mahabharata says that, Vitrashtra asked Krishna, Krishna, I had a hundred sons, and why did all of them die? Why couldn’t I have at least one son? So, Krishna told him, 50 lifetimes ago, you were a hunter, and you wanted to kill some bird, but the birds flew away. And they flew away. You, very ruthlessly, destroyed all the baby birds which were there in the nest.
And, he says, the mother and father of birds, they were watching helplessly as you killed all the baby birds. And there were a hundred baby birds that you killed at that time. And that’s why a hundred sons had to die.
And Krishna said, this was 50 lifetimes ago. Vitrashtra heard this and he became pensive. And then he said, if that was 50 lifetimes ago, why did it take 50 lifetimes for the reaction to come to me? So, he said, you needed to accumulate punya for 50 lifetimes, so that you could have a hundred sons in one lifetime.
And then, that reaction came to me. So, gavana karma bhakti. The way karma will work is very complicated.
The important thing for us is, that no matter which reaction is coming from which lifetime, if we practise bhakti, either Krishna can remove the reaction, or Krishna can give us the strength to tolerate and transcend that reaction. So, any direct question? What time should we go on? 10 minutes more. It’s a lot of questions.
Does anyone have a burning question? How to fix the mind on Krishna? This was the topic of my class today. So, I didn’t get to speak on it at all. Actually, there are standard processes and there are individualised processes.
The standard processes are chanting Hare Krishna, worshipping the deities. We talk about ABCD, association of devotees, books, chanting and deity worship. Deity worship also includes offering our food to Krishna and taking the prasad.
So, this is the standard process. Now, we all need to follow the standard process and through this we connect our mind with Krishna. While doing this, we can also observe for ourselves, what is it that enables us to connect with Krishna in a natural, easy way.
Some of us may be musically orientated. So, we find some musical rendition of some Hare Krishna maha mantra, bhajans. That is what attracts us very much.
Some of us may be more visually orientated. So, there is some very beautiful picture of the deities of Krishna. That way we observe, we feel very prayerful, we feel very connected with Krishna.
So then, whatever is that connects us with Krishna, we need to make that readily accessible for ourselves. So, keep the kirtans very easily available, keep the pictures very easily available. Some of us may be very verbally orientated.
So, then we may like to note down some quotes, memorise some verses, do that. So, find out how our mind gets attracted to Krishna. And that is in the language of Bhakti Samyama Siddha, it is called Uddipan.
Uddipan is spiritual stimulus. Earlier I talked about triggers. I was talking about material, sensual triggers.
Something triggers material desires within us. But like that we also have spiritual triggers. You can find out what is it that triggers our thoughts to go quickly towards Krishna.
And then as we come to know more and more of that, we expose ourselves to those more. We do the standard practises. But along with that, we take the responsibility of doing this, of exposing ourselves to this customised stimuli, stimuli which are specifically attractive to us, more and more.
And by that we will get a taste for Krishna. And once the taste for Krishna comes in one activity, gradually it will spread to other activities. So, the important thing in fixing our mind on Krishna is that we should never give up.
Just keep trying. Fixing mind on Krishna is not like digital logic. It’s not one or zero.
It’s more like analogue progression. Even if the mind is not entirely fixed on Krishna, as compared to earlier, it’s much more attracted towards Krishna. And as we keep doing this more and more, the mind will become more and more attracted towards Krishna.
At some time or the other, the mind will realise, yeah, I’m getting so excited about this thing. It’s not worth getting so excited about. I should just focus on Krishna.
Start practising bhakti more and more. When the mind gets it, then our bhakti will become joyful. Till that time there will be struggle because there is an inner battle.
But we just keep doing it again and again. Treat the mind like a child. Mother knows that the child is not going to stay fixed even if I want the child to stay fixed.
Mother tells the child, study. And the mother can’t expect that I’m going to do my housework. I come back after one hour, the child will be studying over it.
Mother has to keep coming and watching back. Hey, child, are you doing something else? No, hey, I’m studying now. So like that, what we have to do is, we have to treat the mind like a child.
And we have to become like the mother, like a parent. We have to be intelligent. Unfortunately, what happens is, we become the child of the child.
The mind wants to do something. Hey, what are you doing? Let me do it also. And we start doing it.
So we have to be a little careful about that. That’s why if we study the philosophy regularly, then we remember the need to fix the mind. And then repeatedly just keep getting the mind back wherever it goes.
Gradually it will become attracted to Krishna and then it will become absorbed in Krishna. Thank you. People get attracted outside by our sadhacharya.
We find that in the world outside, people are demonstrating more sadhacharya despite not knowing the sadhacharya and sadhana. So sometimes people who are not devotees, they don’t do sadhana, they don’t have sadhana, they may exhibit more sadhacharya than even devotees. How is that possible? Yeah, many reasons.
First reason is that our behaviour is largely shaped by our culture and our upbringing. So some people may be born and brought up in sattvic environments. Or some people may have lived sattva-bhuli lives in their past.
So just because of their sattva-bhuna, they will be gentle, they will be polite, they will be thoughtful, they may exhibit more sadhacharya than what devotees. Now as devotees, some devotees may be coming from Tamoguna or Rajoguna. Now they are coming towards sattva-bhuna by the practise of bhakti.
But still the influence of Tamoguna or Rajoguna will still be there. So because of that it may well work out that in terms of present status, sometimes non-devotees may seem to be better behaved than devotees. That’s okay because the present behaviour is not just a result of one’s spiritual sadhana.
It can also be one’s past subhava, one’s upbringing, one’s culture. So it’s not that just because a person is a devotee, a person will be good and a person is non-devotee that doesn’t mean automatically they will be bad. It’s a process and if we keep practising bhakti, if others keep practising bhakti, even devotees will also start manifesting more and more sadhacharya.
At one level we should see that wherever there is good behaviour, naturally we are attracted. And that when we see non-devotees behaving well, we should think that even without Krishna consciousness they can behave so well, then how much better I should be behaving. And we can take inspiration from them and we can move onwards.
Yes Puneet. We always get pleasure for a very short time, then again our goal changes, whenever goal changes we try for more. When it’s a continuous process, we get a lot of happiness.
Then can God create us to suffer and struggle or can we ever get Paramahamsa? Good question. So the question is that whenever we get any pleasure, the pleasure is very temporary. And then again we have to struggle, again we get some pleasure but again it’s temporary.
So has God created it this way that we have to struggle and we never get pleasure? God has not created it that way, it is we who have chosen that way. It is that there is material pleasure and there is spiritual pleasure. Material pleasure by its very nature is temporary.
Because the attractiveness of material things doesn’t last for long. The most attractive thing that we may get, it is attractive for some time and afterwards it’s just no attraction. It’s like say if you purchase a new dress and then we come and nobody notices the new dress.
What is the point of buying a new dress? So the pleasure is actually not in the thing itself. The pleasure is in getting, in others getting us to, others appreciating us for having that thing. And others how long are they going to appreciate us? When I was a student my life’s dream was to be a topper.
I was always among the toppers. I joined first, second, third but I was never number one. So in my engineering I gave GRE and I used to like English very much.
So at that time in year 1400 I got 2350 at that time. So I was the first in the whole history of my college. I was the first in the whole state of Maharashtra.
I was among the top five in the whole country. I thought this is all my dreams come true. I was so happy.
But after some time, just a couple of days I realised that there is no happiness in looking at the mark sheet. If someone has to come and congratulate me then there is some pleasure. And then one or two acquaintances they just didn’t congratulate me.
I started thinking don’t you know what I have achieved? Are you envious? Why are you not congratulating me? So when it just happened a third time then it’s almost like I felt as if I am looking at myself from above. I have not really become happy. I have become more dependent on others for my happiness.
Although I have achieved this, this thing has not made me happy. It has made me more dependent on others for my happiness. And then it struck me that okay I might give another exam.
I might get marks again. Again I will be happy but I will be dependent on others for my happiness. Many years later I heard the problem with the rat race is that even if you win the rat race you still remain a rat.
You know nothing really changes. Life just goes on the same way. So that was the time when I started exploring.
That was the time when a friend who had become a devotee gave me Bhagavad Gita. And then I understood what spiritual happiness. So our desire for pleasure is natural.
But we are looking for pleasure in the wrong direction. Material things can at best offer a temporary pleasure. So God has not created a system where we struggle and suffer.
Rather the small drops of pleasure that are there at the material level they remind us that pleasure is there. But it is not here. If there had been no drops of pleasure at all then we would have got satisfied living the way we are.
But there are drops and then we get the drop again. This is not enough. Must be something more.
And then if we are not very insightful then what happens? We keep doing the same thing again and again hoping that next time it will be better. But somehow some intelligence awakens. If we meet some spiritually minded people the same thing is not going to give me anything.
Then we start exploring something higher. So the Atma when it connects with the Paramatma through Bhakti that brings happiness. sukhena brahma samsparsham atyantam sukha masyute Brahma samsparsha, by contact with Brahma, with Krishna what happens by that? Atyantam sukha.
So this contact can be established through many different ways. One is of course we come to a temple, we practise Bhakti activities directly. But along with that even in our worldly life if we do our work in a mood of service to Krishna we take care of a family in a mood of service to Krishna then through it all we can connect with Krishna.
So doing our job well, achieving success in that job will give us some pleasure. But if we do that in a mood of service to Krishna then the pleasure from the job itself will be temporary but the connection with Krishna which is established through service that will be enduring. And that will give us lasting happiness.
So the temporary pleasures of this world are meant to raise within us a question where is real happiness? And then we will explore the spiritual side of life. So Prabhupada when he was in America at that time many people were hippies. These hippies they had everything in material life and they were not happy with it.
So Prabhupada was giving a lecture and he said that now you hippies you are not very much appreciated in your country. They say you are frustrated people. But he says I appreciate you.
He says human life is meant to be frustrated. He said Athato Brahma Jijnasa. Athato Brahma Jijnasa means now enquire spiritually.
Now Prabhupada says when will you enquire spiritually? When you understand that material enquiry is not taking me anywhere. So when we become frustrated materially we may enquire spiritually. The point is that the disappointment that we get in our material life then that inspires us to explore spiritually.
And whereas material pleasure is always a let down, a disappointment. Spiritual happiness is actually more than what we expect. As we keep moving closer and closer towards Krishna it is that we experience so much happiness.
It is oceanic. Now he says that when I chant the holy names I feel as if I should have thousands of mouths to chant the holy name. And I should have millions of ears to hear the sound of the holy name.
There are many people who are gluttons, they like to eat. But has any glutton till now thought I want 100 mouths to eat all this. Anyone may say that.
Thousands of mouths, millions of ears. Basically through this the saints are giving us a glimpse of what is the kind of happiness that is available. There is a great poet who said Lord Ram’s eyes are as beautiful as Lord Ram’s eyes.
There is no comparison only in this world. But then it just gives an indication. So there is our longing for happiness is meant to be fulfilled.
We just need to direct it properly towards Krishna. Then definitely it will be fulfilled. Thank you very much.
Great. So I would like to… So I heard that Bahrain is… I heard Bahrain is… I heard most of Bahrain is like reclaimed land, you know, taken from the ocean and then used by human beings. So I came here and I saw the vibrant devotional atmosphere here.
So I feel that by Prabhupada’s mercy, by the inspiration of His Holiness Jaya Vrata Maharaj, all of you have reclaimed this land from the kingdom of Maya. Created a Vaikuntha temple over here. So our message is inspired to see this miracle of mercy that has been done by mercy of Prabhupada and his followers.
I’m grateful that I had the opportunity to associate with you and serve you in some small way. Thank you very much. Yes.