Ramayana series 5 – Hanuman – There is a time and place for everything, don’t lose heart

[Talk at Phoenix, USA]

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Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
Haribol! Welcome all of you and thank you for coming today evening. And today will be the last part of the discussion on the Ramayan which we have been taking for the last four sessions.
Today I will speak on the theme of how we may be lost, but we are never lost to God. That there is a time and place for everything. And things manifest according to a higher plan, at the right time, at the right place.
So the story I shall take is the story of Hanuman. Hanuman is probably after Ram, known as one of the most popular characters in the Ramayan. In fact, we consider India, probably there are more temples of Hanuman than of Ram also.
So he is an extremely beloved character. And if you look at the Ramayan, he enters into the Ramayan almost after half the Ramayan is over. The Bala Kanda is there, the Yudhya Kanda is there.
In the Aranya Kanda, towards the end he enters. And after he enters, it’s almost like he takes over the show. The whole Sundar Kanda is about Hanuman.
The Ramayan is divided into various sections which are called as Kandas. So the Sundar Kanda, actually Ram is not present only. Ram is present at the beginning where he sends Hanuman off with blessings.
And when he receives Hanuman back. Sundar, the soundary of the Sundar Kanda is actually based on the heroism, the devotion, the adventures of Hanuman. So Hanuman enters into the Ramayan when Ram is there at Kishkindha.
At Kishkindha, he is there and what he does is, he actually appears in disguise to check out who is this person who has come. Sugriva is suspicious that Vali might have sent someone to kill him. They are dressed like mendicants, like ascetics.
But they are carrying bows. This is uncharacteristic. So then he finds out, oh this is Ram.
He is delighted. He carries Ram on his shoulders up the mountain where Sugriva is staying. And then the whole storyline moves onwards till Sugriva is enthroned as the king and then Sugriva sends a search party.
Now in that search party, Angada is the leader of the party that is going towards the south. And that is the party that is most likely to find Sita. Because Sita has been seen by the Vanaras, being taken by Ravana in his plane southwards.
So Angada is the leader, but Hanuman is a prominent member. The traditional societies are quite hierarchical. So Angada was quite young, but because he was the son of the previous king, he was made the leader.
But still before they left, Ram gave a signal to Hanuman that if you find Sita, she may doubt. How will she know for sure that you are coming as my messenger? He showed this to her. I never separate myself from this, but if you have this, you should know that I only gave it to you.
Then Hanuman has many adventures through it all. Finally, he ends up at the coast of the Indian Ocean, where on the other side of the ocean is Lanka. And the Vanaras initially thought that we have been lost.
They didn’t know what to do, where to find Sita. Their time of one month, in which they expected to come back, was already over. And then Sampatti, the great vulture, who was the brother of Jatayu, told them, I can see Sita in Lanka.
They were delighted and they ran to the ocean. They ran and they were stunned. Because the ocean was so huge.
How does one cross this ocean? They all started looking at each other. One moment they had been elated, but now they were confused, flummoxed, dejected. What to do? They all started looking at each other.
Angada, he was the leader, started trying to encourage everyone. He said, this is such a vast distance, but I am sure we can leap across it. He said, as far as I am concerned, I can leap across to Lanka, but I am not sure that I will have the energy to leap back.
What do you think of monkeys? Jambavan says, okay, Jambavan, Angada is a young boy. So Jambavan is like the elder statesman over there. So it’s for a Kshatriya hero to admit that I can’t do anything.
It can be very galling. So Jambavan encourages him and says, I am sure, Prince, that you can jump across and come back also. But you are a prince.
It does not behove you to go. Someone else should go. He says, when I was young, I could have gone across the whole earth.
But now I have become old. Oh, monkeys, step forward. Who among you can go? Now all of them start speaking, but none of them has the confidence to jump across.
And then there is one monkey who throughout is silent. Who is that? Hanuman. It doesn’t speak anything.
And then Jambavan turns to Hanuman and says, Oh Hanuman, why are you silent? Please speak. What is your strength? I know that you have formidable strength. So Hanuman looks at him but does not give any affirmative reply at that particular time.
And then Jambavan starts speaking about the glories of Hanuman. Hanuman was born with great celestial benedictions. And when he was born with great celestial benedictions, all the devatas, they came and blessed him.
I will not go into the full story. I want to focus on this point here. But as a small child, he had all these extraordinary powers and they just made him very mischievous.
So a small child is mischievous. But if a small child has extraordinary powers, a child may throw a toy. But you know if a child has so much power, he throws a toy and it creates a hole in the wall.
It will be alarming if a restless child has too much power. So they knew that he was guileless. He did not have any bad intentions.
But the sheer amount of power which he had created a lot of trouble for everyone. And out of his mischievousness, he would sometimes play pranks with the sages. And the sages, they knew that he was guileless, but still he was creating trouble for them.
So they gave him a curse. The curse was that he will forget your power till you are reminded of that power. Now when Jambavan starts speaking, at this point, as he starts speaking, he keeps speaking and Hanuman, not only his memory returns, but the return of his memory about his strength also manifests in his physical form growing and growing and growing.
And Hanuman is just of a normal size when Jambavan starts speaking. But by the time Jambavan has finished speaking, Jambavan has to look up at Hanuman. Hanuman has become a giant size.
So as his recollection of his strength has come back, his abilities have also manifested. And they manifest as this huge form. And Hanuman at that time expresses confidently, yes, I will, by the blessings of Ram, go to Lanka.
And then he climbs to a nearby mountain and leaps off from there. So here a question comes up that if removing of that curse was so simple, if somebody had to speak his power to him, then why couldn’t this have been done earlier? Sugriva, he was in big trouble. Vali was chasing him and he had to run practically all over the planet to find some hiding place.
So at that time, if Hanuman had so much power, Hanuman could have saved Vali, saved Sugriva from Vali. But why did that not happen? Because Hanuman’s powers were meant for a particular purpose. There’s a time and place as per a higher plan when those powers were to be revealed.
So the idea was, there are different explanations given by in later retellings of the Ramayana, that he needed, just as the sages, they were selflessly performing austerities. So similarly, the person who would remind him of his power had to have no interest in benefiting from that power himself. So for Sugriva, there was a benefit.
He would want that if Hanuman becomes powerful, then Hanuman will protect me from Vali, will help me to gain the kingdom. So that was his interest over there. But for Jambavan, he had no personal interest.
He was a servant of Ram and he wanted to serve Ram. So when that recollection came from one who was not self-interested, who was not interested in one’s own agenda to bring about that reminder, then that was when the recollection would work. And that was when the memory and the power would be restored.
So the Lord could have done this through anyone. But at this particular point, when everybody else was baffled, when nothing else would work, that time Jambavan spoke. Jambavan himself could have spoken this earlier.
When this started off itself, Jambavan could have spoken this. But there is a plan and a place for everything. And this was manifested just at the right time when an otherwise impossible task would have stopped Hanuman.
Not just Hanuman, the whole Vanara regiment would have been stopped. But Jambavan speaking at that time reminded them all. Reminded Hanuman.
And Hanuman left. In many ways, Hanuman represents all of us. Hanuman is often represented with a mace in his hands.
And he has his hands folded. But in the folded hands, he is holding a mace. So actually Hanuman’s depiction is said to symbolise the combination of bhakti and shakti.
His folded hands symbolise bhakti. But his having the mace in his hand symbolises shakti. So bhakti and shakti combined together are represented in Hanuman’s depiction.
And indeed the personality of Hanuman. Sometimes bhakti is thought of as being very powerless. Oh, God is in control.
I have no power. I am dependent on God. He will do everything.
Yes, that is one aspect of bhakti. But that is only one aspect. In devotion, there are two aspects.
There is dependence on God. And there is diligence for God. There is dependence on the Lord.
Oh Lord, it is you who are in control. And it is you who will determine the results. There is dependence on the Lord.
But there is also diligence for the Lord. That I will do my best. So we see broadly these two modes of surrender in the two prominent examples which you can consider.
Say for example, generally if you think about the idea of surrender. Whose thought or whose image comes in our mind usually? Who is a surrendered devotee? Hands up raised. Dependence on the Lord.
Gajendra, yeah, he is here. Draupadi. Hanuman of course, but Hanuman is in bhakti and shakti.
Normally if you surrender, Draupadi raises her hands up. I can’t do anything, Krishna. Please, you save me.
That is example of dependence on the Lord. The Bhagavad Gita concludes with Krishna telling Arjuna, Surrender unto me. 18.66 says surrender unto me.
And seven verses later, Arjuna says yes. I will do your will. So Arjuna, the Bhagavad Gita is not simply a call for Arjuna to fight.
Arjuna doesn’t conclude by saying I will fight. For him the activity is incidental. The principle is essential.
If Krishna had told him to do something else, he would have done something else. The point was he surrendered to Krishna as well. I will do your will.
That means I will surrender. But how was Arjuna’s surrender? Arjuna does not raise his hands in dependence. At the end of the Bhagavad Gita, 18.78 is Yatra Yogeshwara Krishna Yatra Partha Dhanur Dhara Dhanur Dhara That means one who has picked up his bow.
So at the start of the Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna had put aside his bow in dejection. Visrujya Sasharam Jaapam Shokasam Vignamalasam He put aside his bow. I can’t fight.
But by the end of the Bhagavad Gita, he has picked up his bow in readiness to fight. So Arjuna’s surrender is in his readiness to fight. So Draupadi signifies devotion through dependence.
And Arjuna signifies devotion through diligence. So both signify devotion and surrender in different ways. So now when do we have dependence on the Lord? And when to have diligence for the Lord? How do we decide this? When I started giving devotional classes about 20-25 years ago, one senior devotee gave me some public speaking guidelines.
And the last guideline was depend on Krishna. But in bracket, but only after you have prepared. If I don’t prepare anything, if I depend on Krishna, that is not dependence, that is irresponsibility.
If I come before people who want to hear about Krishna and I don’t know what I am going to speak, then that would be irresponsibility. So the preparing for the class is diligence. But after preparing for the class, what exactly we will be able to remember? How exactly the words will come out? How the audience will receive it? That is not in our control.
So if we consider our life, there are some things which are in our control and some things which are not in our control. And the things that are in our control, for that we have diligence. For the things that are not in our control, for that there is dependence.
So we are diligent in doing what we can do. And we are dependent for the things which we can’t do. So surrender to the Lord has both these elements.
So by the Lord’s plan, Hanuman till this particular point had also been serving vigorously. He had enterprisingly first approached Ram, carried Ram up the mountain, then he had acted as a messenger to remind Sugreeva who had got infatuated. He had also guided the Vanaras through the caves in which they had been trapped initially while they were searching for Sita.
He had resolved the conflict that had broken out between some of the Vanaras. When Sampatti had threatened the Vanaras, he had helped at that time. I am not going into all these stories.
My point is that till this point also, Hanuman had been serving diligently. But till this point, that extraordinary power which he had but which he didn’t remember, that was not accessible to him. And at this point, the power becomes accessible.
And then he does extraordinary things. He goes to Lanka all alone into the enemy camp, penetrates, finds Sita. And he finds Sita.
That’s the service that he has been given. Incorporated Saraswati Mahaprabhu taught him in E+, exceeding expectations. So what Hanuman does is, he not only finds Sita, but after that, he burns Lanka.
So extra service he does. And why does he do that? He wants to give a taste to Ravana of what is going to come in future. And as Ravana is about to leap off Lanka and fly back, just to create greater panic in the residents of Lanka, he says, Oh Ravana, I am the least powerful among the servants of Rama.
Sometimes if somebody does something extraordinary, he says that, that person had a trailblazing journey. He is a trailblazer. Trailblazer means somebody, somebody drives a vehicle so fast that the path, the speed of the vehicle puts the trail on blaze.
Trailblazing. So Hanuman’s journey to Lanka was trailblazing and tailblazing. His tail was on fire as he burned Lanka.
So Hanuman did extraordinary adventures when he went there. But there was a time for it. Before that he was serving in his own way.
After that he was serving also in an extraordinary way. Like this Jambavan was inspired by the Lord at the right time to remind Hanuman of what was to be done. When all the Vanaras were at sea, by the sea.
At sea means to be lost. I don’t know what to do. By the sea they were on the coast.
What do we do? At that time Jambavan spoke and a way emerged. So in our spiritual life, in our day to day dealings, often we are caught in these two things. There are some things which we have control over, some things which we don’t have control over.
And quite often much of our mental energy goes off in lamenting about the things which we don’t have control over. This didn’t work out. This person didn’t do like that.
This is not happening. That is not happening. And in that way we start blaming others.
See basically when things are not going according to our plan, what do we do? We flail at others. We criticise others. We criticise ourselves.
Or we criticise Providence. We criticise God. We blame someone.
Blame others. Or we blame ourselves. I am good for nothing.
Or we blame God. Either way what happens is that there is no matter whom we blame, this dynamic is always going to be there. There are some things in our control, some things not in our control.
And sometimes when we face situations, we might just not be able to solve the issue at that time. But at the right time by the Lord’s plan, Hanuman was reminded of his power. And Hanuman sprang up.
So similarly for us, we are souls. We are pure spiritual beings. But currently our consciousness is caught in hundreds of things in this world.
And the consciousness is caught in hundreds of worldly attachments, worldly anxieties, worldly trivialities. And even if we, sometimes we don’t even know that there is something higher in life. Sometimes we know.
But still we are not able to get rid of it. If we consider the anxieties that people face in today’s world, there are anxieties which are because of problems that are worrisome. But many of the anxieties are not because of problems that are out there.
They are because of problems which we feel will come in future. Similarly, when we become attached to something, then the fear that we may lose it causes great anxiety. Now even if I understand it, actually I shouldn’t be attached like this.
But it’s very difficult to give that attachment. So a few months ago, in cricket there was a champion’s trophy final where India and Pakistan met. And India was expected to win but India lost and lost very badly.
So after that, one young boy who has just become a devotee came and told me that for three nights I could not sleep. He said, how could India lose like this? Now, the players probably were sleeping peacefully. But the spectator was not able to sleep.
Because the match happened somewhere in England probably, the spectator was in India. But the consciousness is caught over there. When the consciousness is caught over there, then what happens is, we may be anywhere, but where our consciousness is, that is where we experience emotions in relationship.
So, our attachments actually reduce our vision. We are souls, we are parts of Krishna. Of course, as souls we are tiny.
But although we are tiny, we are meant for a great destiny. Every one of us, as a part of the supreme being, is meant to do wonderful things. Now, Krishna tells in the Bhagavad Gita that those who are devoted to him are Mahatmas.
Those who have surrendered, they are Mahatmas. Now, actually, the same Bhagavad Gita and the same Upanishads tell that the Atma is actually Anu. Anu is very small, very tiny, it’s very, very small in size.
So, if the Atma is very small, how can that Atma be called as Mahatma? The great soul. The Atma that is Anu Atma, how is it called a Mahatma? The soul’s greatness comes from the soul’s connection with the greatest being. To the extent the soul is connected with the supreme being, the soul becomes empowered.
And when the soul is empowered, the soul can do extraordinary things. And for us, just as Hanuman had forgotten his power, we as souls have forgotten about our spiritual nature. We have forgotten that, yes, there are many issues in this world, there are many things which we have to deal with, but our ultimate destiny is something far greater.
Even if all our desires in this world become fulfilled, what will we achieve out of that? Maybe a few years, a few decades of a very happy life. But what after that? That is not our destiny. Our destiny is meant to be an eternal life of happiness.
The soul has that spiritual potential, which when unleashed can love Krishna. And by loving Krishna, find everlasting happiness. Not just when the soul goes back to Krishna, but even when the soul is here, the soul can be an agent of Krishna’s love.
Sharing love with others, bringing happiness along one’s life journey. So actually for this to happen, the soul needs to be reminded. Just as Jambavan reminded Hanuman, you have special powers.
Normally when we think about practising spiritual life, say I have to become humble, I have already big ego, we are told I am not a big person. You already think you are big. You are not actually big.
That is the normal understanding of spirituality that we have. And that is true. That actually our conception of our power, when it is based on our material situations, then that is not a lasting situation for us.
I may be a good singer, I may be a good speaker, I may be a great body builder, I may be a great doctor, I may be a great engineer. All these things are related with me. But they are not me.
They will be there with me for some time, and as long as they are there, I should use them well. But they are not me. So at one level, usually when we talk about bhakti, we talk about giving up the false ego.
Yes, that is important. But there is also the true ego. The true ego is that Krishna is supremely attractive.
We as His parts are also attractive. As Krishna is the reservoir of happiness, we also have, in a fractional way, a potential for happiness. As Krishna is omnipotent, as His parts, we also have a potency.
So the process of bhakti yoga is not so much negation or, you know, you are not this, you are not this, you are not this, or you are not the body, you are not an engineer, you are not a doctor, you are not this, you are not that. Yes, that is a part. But the more important thing is what we are.
We are all servants of Krishna. And so in that sense, bhakti is not about rejection of the material, it is of integration of the material with the spiritual. So whatever position I have, whatever ability I have, all that is meant for serving Krishna.
So if I have a position, if I have a talent, if I have certain abilities, great. But not identifying ourselves with those talents and abilities, but using them as Krishna’s gifts for Krishna’s service. So when we hear from our spiritual teachers, just like Hanuman heard from Jambavan.
Of course, for Hanuman and Jambavan, that was just one hearing that dramatically transformed him. And the dramatic transformation manifested as a physical transformation also. Now for us, the change may not be that dramatic.
But the change will happen. Prabhupada, when he came to America, he composed a song called the Markini Bhagvat Dharma. And there he says, bhagvatera katha setha bhavatar dhira haya shune jyoti kaane bhaar bhaar He says, the glories of the Lord, the bhagvat katha, is the avatar of the Lord.
And as his avatar, anybody who hears it, that person will become sober. That person will become transformed. So that just as Jambavan, by speaking, and Hanuman by hearing, is reminded of his prowess.
Similarly, the spiritual potential, the spiritual prowess of us as souls who are parts of the Lord. Our power is not our independent power. It is a power that comes from the omnipotence of Krishna.
Still, it is a power which we can access. That reminder comes by hearing. So hearing is meant to empower us.
We see the same thing in the Bhagavad Gita, as I said earlier. At the start of the Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna had lost heart. Arjuna said, I can’t fight.
At the end of the Bhagavad Gita, he picked up his bow, ready to fight. So the message of the Bhagavad Gita was empowering. And it was through hearing.
So when we hear spiritual knowledge, it empowers us. Actually, even in today’s world, this idea is there, but in a distorted sense. Many people, when they get depressed, they feel negative emotions.
What do they do? They go to a psychotherapist. And what do they do? It’s distorted. They don’t hear from the therapist, they speak to the therapist.
They speak and they vent out all their emotions. And then the therapist does some reflective hearing, non-judgementally, and speaks something back. And people feel relieved.
The problems are not solved, necessarily, but they feel unburdened. What is exactly happening over here is that there is our inner world, there is the outer world. The inner world is filled with emotions, desires, ideas.
But this inner world often gets clogged by negativities. This is not right, that is not right, I can’t do this, this is not happening. And sound is one of the most powerful mediators between the inner world and the outer world.
So when we are burdened by something, we have some worries, we just go and speak it to someone. And what happens? That acts as a channel. So the worries that are clogging us inside, if it acts as a channel, it comes out and we feel a little bit released.
That’s good. But there is something more that is required. Say, if we have a water tank which is filled with a lot of dirty water, we might open some socket over there by which the water will flow out.
That’s one part of it. But what after that? When we empty the water, we need clean water to come. Once the clean water comes in, then if we have a lot of clean water flowing into it, the dirty water will flow out.
So, similarly the Bhagavad Gita said that just as when rain falls, sometimes the water might be dirty in a pond or in a lake or in a river. A lot of silt is there. When the rain falls down, the water starts flowing and all the dirty water goes away.
And clean water remains. So at one level, when people simply talk, that itself decreases the inner negativity. That is, because the inner negativity is choking them, they find a channel out for that.
But more important than driving out the negative water, sometimes what happens is two people talk and their problems become worse. Because I have my negativity and the other person has their negativity. And then one plus one becomes eleven.
And then both of them end up even more depressed. So, sometimes it doesn’t really solve the problems. Yes, if we have negative emotions, we need to get them out.
We don’t want to stuff them inside and let them choke us. But more than dealing with Oh, I have this negative emotion, this negative emotion, this problem. No, we need the flow of positive energy.
So hearing about Krishna is like the flow of pure water. And when that pure water flows into our consciousness, then the impure water that is there, that is gradually swept out. And yes, even among devotee associations, there is, if there is something burdening us, we have heart to heart discussions with devotees.
By which we can cleanse the inner clogging that is happening. We can remove those negativities by appropriately discussing with devotees. But more than removing the negativity is getting in the positivity.
So when we are practising bhakti, at that time, if we just keep hearing about Krishna, just that hearing will cleanse us of the inner negativities, the inner impurities. And the soul’s natural power, soul’s natural purity, that will start manifesting more and more. And this, both the inner result and the outer result, in terms of inner purification of the heart and outer result that we may want.
We may want that people around us to change. If there are some family members who are not favourable to bhakti, they may change. We want a better situation for our spiritual life that emerges.
We are trying to share Krishna’s message with others. We want them to become interested. We want them to take up bhakti.
So these, both the inner result and the outer result will manifest by the plan of the Lord. So in this, going back earlier, diligence for Krishna and dependence on Krishna. So for us, what is in our control is practising the process of bhakti.
We diligently keep doing that. Whether the results seem to be coming or not coming. Keep hearing about Krishna, praying to Krishna.
That is our diligence. The dependence is as per his plan. When he wants, things will result.
But now, we see this in the light of this divine grace, this Bhaktivedanta Swami Sri Prabhupada. He was a Mahabhagavata, exalted pure devotee. But even he, when he was trying to share Krishna Bhakti in India, he did it for 30-40 years.
And hardly any substantial results. He was doing it very diligently. The main result that he got was that he got the Bhagavatam published.
The Bhagavatam was appreciated by the President of India, by the Prime Minister of India at that time. But apart from that, in terms of having temples or having people becoming serious devotees, that didn’t happen. But he kept persevering.
When he comes to America, at that time, I mentioned that song. So that song exhibits both, this dependence and diligence. What does he say? Krishna, you must have some plan or you brought me here.
अच्छे किच्चु कार्ज तभे एही अनुमाने, नाहे केनो आलिबेने एही उग्रस्ताने. He says, you must have some plan. Otherwise, why did you bring me to this terrible place? Thousands of Indians have come to America.
I don’t think any Indian on coming to America said, this is a terrible place. Prabhupada thought he is the first person. And he was seeing it terrible from the spiritual perspective.
He said that this is a very God-forsaken place. People are filled with so much materialism, lower modes of passion and ignorance. He says, you must have some plan.
And he has his plan. He says, I will just speak your message to Krishna. And you make that message understandable to them.
And he concludes with a beautiful image. अनियाच्च जदी प्रभु आमारे नाचाते, नाचाओ नाचाओ प्रभु नाचाओ से माते, काश्ठेरे पुत्तर जदा नाचाओ से माते. If you are not, you have brought me here to dance.
Make me dance, O Lord, make me dance. Just as a puppeteer makes a puppet dance, O Lord, make me dance. So he is praying to the Lord, make me dance.
So here, dancing at one level requires skill. Somebody has to dance expertly, it requires skill. But he is saying, I will dance, O Lord, but you be like the puppeteer, pulling the strings.
That means, he is saying, I will do what I can, O Lord. It is up to you to bring out the results. So Prabhupada prayed to Krishna.
And he had been praying to Krishna for 30-40 years. In the last 10 years of his life, how Krishna made Prabhupada dance. Prabhupada travelled all over the world 14 times, building 108 temples, inspiring thousands and thousands of people all over the world to practise bhakti.
Creating a legacy that is flooding all four circle areas of the world with Krishna. All that happened at Krishna’s time, by Krishna’s plan. So for us as devotees, sometimes we may oscillate towards one extreme, where we focus too much on this, I have to do this, I have to do that, I have to do that.
And it is important, we have to do it. But there is the element of dependence. We may forget, the results are not in my hands.
They will happen by Krishna’s plan. And sometimes we may just oscillate too much towards dependence. Let Krishna do everything.
When he wants, everything will happen. Yes, when Krishna wants, the results will happen. But the endeavour will happen when we want.
The results will come by Krishna’s plan, but the endeavours have to come by our intention. So sometimes we may veer off too much towards diligence and neglect the dependence part. Sometimes we may veer off too much towards the dependence and neglect the diligence part.
The balance is what we seek. And the balance comes by recognising that bhakti is about, when we talk about surrender, there are different understandings. One understanding of surrender is, surrender means to do what we can with what we have now.
To do what we can with what we have now. So Hanuman at one time had no powers. At least he did not remember the powers that he had.
But even at that time, he was doing the best that he could. And when he faced a situation where he couldn’t do, he was given those powers. So he never stopped surrendering at all.
So we may be in a situation where we may be able to do very little. I had a friend who was like a bodybuilder. And one day he got a fracture.
And when he got a fracture, his hand was practically immobilised. And then when he was recovering, the doctor told him that now you exercise your hands. Now for him exercise, you know, a bodybuilder would lift 20 kgs, 30 kgs, huge weights he would lift.
Doctor, are you joking? He says, I can’t even lift my hand. What exercise can I do? He says, no. Can you lift your finger? Little finger.
He says, yes. I can do that. He says, lifting your finger 5 times a day.
In the morning, afternoon and evening. That is your exercise. Exercise? This is no exercise.
This is your exercise right now. Just do this. Start with this.
Start with one finger. And gradually start lifting the other fingers. Then he started lifting the hand.
He started lifting the forearm. Then he was able to lift the hand. So if he had said, this is so insignificant.
What is the use of lifting a little finger? Then he would never have been able to lift the hand. So, just as in the process of recovery, even small steps, which would normally seem insignificant, are also significant. So similarly for us, by our past karma, by our present situation, we all are in different positions.
So sometimes, the amount of control that we have, what is in our control is very little. And what is out of control is very large. Sometimes, what is in our control is significant and what is out of control is relatively less.
But, what we have to do is, whatever is in my control, I do that. I will conclude with one metaphor, to understand this, the metaphor of a tennis match. When we are playing tennis, or when the players are playing tennis, there are two basic modes.
Sometimes, the players are serving. Sometimes, the players are returning. Now, when the player is serving, at that time, the player has a lot of choice.
Should I serve the ball at the forehand, on the backhand or into the body? At what height? All that choice, the player who is serving has. And the player who is returning has relatively very little choice. The player who is returning may be very strong in the forehand.
But, if the ball comes on the backhand, the player has to play from the backhand. If the player who is returning thinks, I want to hit the ball where I like, from the way I like. And if the ball comes on the backhand, and the player hits from the forehand, he will just beat air, and lose the point.
So, when the player is returning, at that time, the player’s options are limited. Just get the ball back and play. But, after some time, that player will also get to serve.
And when that player is serving, the player has much more freedom. So, like that, in our life, in some situations, we are serving. We have control.
In some situations, we are returning. We just have to do what needs to be done. So, with respect to giving classes, I say that, when I choose a topic to speak on, I am serving.
But, when the audience raises questions, I return. I don’t know what question the audience is going to ask. So, whatever way the question comes, I have to answer at that time.
So, in our life, much of our frustration comes because we don’t understand whether we are serving or whether we are returning. So, when we are returning, we expect the freedom of serving. I mean, nothing is in my control.
I know some things are in control. But, at this point, the control is limited. So, if we decide to move from one place to another place, now, okay, which place I want to move to? Should I stay in a house here, take a house there, take a job here, take a job there? Now, at that time, we are choosing.
So, that’s why we could say, at that time, I’m serving. But, once I take a job, what kind of colleagues I’ll have, what kind of boss I’ll have, what kind of work culture is there? If I choose to stay in a place, what kind of weather is there in the place? That is not in my control. So, many times, much of our mental energy goes off, gets wasted because we don’t realise what position we are in.
When we are returning, we expect the freedom of serving. And that just doesn’t come. And conversely, we also lose a lot of opportunities.
When we are serving, if we exhibit the passivity of returning, I’m supposed to serve with full strength. That time, just gently get the ball across. Bam! The ball will come back to me, the player.
So, there are times when it is for us to take initiative. And there are times for us to simply respond the best that we can. So, this variation will happen in our life based on the kind of karma that we have done in the past.
Sometimes, we have good phases in our life. Sometimes, we have bad phases. Sometimes, our choices are limited.
Sometimes, our choices are more. But the point is, the tennis player, if they are serving or returning, they keep playing. Similarly, for us, we keep serving Krishna.
Sometimes, the diligence aspect is more. I’ll do this. I’ll do this.
I’ll plan this. I’ll execute this. I’ll execute this.
Execute this. Sometimes, the dependence aspect will be more. I have done my part now.
And now, it’s up to Krishna. I did the best that I could. It’s up to now.
Whatever happens. So, for us, when we start getting frustrated by something, things are not working out, we need to change our thought process. Instead of asking, why is this not working? Why can’t I do this? Why is that person not understanding? Why is this person doing like this? The why question is simply the express way to frustration.
The why question, in many cases in life, has no answer. Sometimes, I get malaria. Why did I get malaria? Why? Do you find the mosquito and ask, why did you bite me? What are you doing? I got the malaria.
If I can find out some reason, my immunity was low, I should take some medicine. That’s why. But quite often, the why question in life has no answers.
So, the why question simply leads to frustration. We just change the question to how. How means, Krishna, how can I serve you now? So, Prabhupada asked, what is the best prayer that we can offer to Krishna? And Prabhupada said, pray to Krishna, please give me the strength to serve.
So, if you just change the question, from why to how, Krishna, in this situation, how can I serve you? What can I do now, Krishna? Please guide me. The why question shifts our focus to that which is not in our control. Why is he doing like this? Why is she doing like this? Why is this happening? Sometimes we say, why am I like this? Why am I not like someone else? The why question simply takes the focus to that which is not in our control and frustrates us.
The how question brings our focus back to that which is in our control. Krishna, how can I serve you, Krishna? Now, this question again has two components over here. How can I serve means I am focussing on diligence, what is in my control.
But at the same time, we are asking this question in the mood of prayer. And that means, we are conscious that what is not in my control, for that Krishna, I depend on you. I entrust it to you.
I leave it to you. I will do my part, Krishna. Prabhupada, I will speak your message.
Krishna, you make this message understandable to them. So, the how question if you ask, how can I serve right now? That will be empowering. So, generally, when we hear classes, the essence of hearing, what happens to Krishna, what happens to Arjuna after hearing from Krishna? Who can give a better class than the Supreme God himself? Now, after hearing Krishna, what does Arjuna say? Great class, Arjuna.
No, Arjuna doesn’t say that. What does Arjuna say? I will do your Krishna, I want to serve you. So, when we hear about Krishna, yes, we can get some information, we can get some nice points for speaking to others, we can get some good philosophical insight for our own understanding.
All that is fine. The most important thing we need to get is our desire to serve should become stronger. Krishna, you are my lord, I am your servant.
Many things may change in my life, but this is an unchanging reality. And let me keep serving you. And as per his plan, as per his time, he will arrange for us to get the results.
That he wants. So, our dependence is Krishna, whenever you want, let the results come. But please, let me not lose heart.
Please show me how even in this situation, I can keep serving you. In life, we all will face difficulties. And the difficulties come, it is not easy at that time to accept that I am so constricted, I am such a limited situation.
I can’t do this, I can’t do that. But if we focus on what can I do in this situation, then that gives a sense of control and more importantly, a sense of purpose. Yes, this is what I can do.
And when we do that, gradually, who knows what plan Krishna has for us in future. Krishna will reveal his plan and wonderful things will happen. So, they will happen by his plan.
And we need to just be patient. Just be patient, not in a passive way, but in a diligent way. I will do my part a lot.
And as per your plan, you do your part. So, when we understand this dynamic balance in bhakti of dependence and diligence, then we can always keep enthusiastically moving on. The results come, we are grateful.
The results don’t come, still we know the inner result is coming. The inner result is, by our endeavour itself, Krishna is pleased. Our inner connection with Krishna is growing.
And by the growth of the inner connection, we are becoming stronger. And that strength will manifest a new course. So, the message of bhakti is a message of supreme hope.
That supreme hope that Krishna is always with us. And no matter how many things are going wrong in our life, we feel I am lost, I don’t know what I should do. We may be lost, but we are never lost to Krishna.
Krishna knows where we are. Sometimes we may not know where I am, what is going on in my life, but Krishna knows. And if you just keep taking small steps towards Him, sometimes you may be like, just take a small step, just lift one finger.
You feel, oh, I can’t do this, this has gone wrong, that has gone wrong, that has gone wrong. What can I do? I can just lift one small finger. I can take up my belief, I can chant Krishna’s name.
I can come to the temple and take darshan of Krishna. I can hear some kirtan about Krishna. I can just hear some karmas.
Just make that small connection with Krishna. And from that connection, the recollection will come. Yes, I am a soul.
Whatever is happening is temporary. Krishna will take care of it. Krishna will take care of it.
Let me just keep serving Him. So when we take this small step also, then our mind may say, this is such a small step, what difference is it going to make? It may not make any difference to the world, but it will make a big difference to us. When we take a small step to connect with Krishna, the big difference it will make is that we will feel internally connected, internally strengthened, internally sheltered, internally guided.
And with that strength, shelter, guidance, we will take small steps forward. And as we keep taking small steps forward, the paths will merge. So sometimes when we feel disheartened, the mind says, you just can’t do anything.
Well, I can at least do one thing. I can stop hearing the mind just saying, you can’t do anything. The least thing I can… You can’t do anything.
Nothing is going to work. Everything is going wrong. The mind says, stop hearing the mind.
How? Start hearing Krishna. Chant His names. Hear about Him.
Get the positive energy in. And as the positive energy comes in, it will enable us to find our way forward. So when Hanuman was blocked by the ocean, not knowing what to do, the Lord arranged for a way to be found.
We may feel sometimes blocked. I don’t know what to do in this situation. But if we just stay open to Krishna, doing what we can, the way ahead will be revealed.
So I’ll summarise. I spoke about how Hanuman is a character who manifests in the Sundarkand, but he takes over. And he takes over by his energetic service to the Lord.
And at a particular point, when all the monkeys, despite their enthusiasm, are blocked by the ocean, he’s reminded by Jambul. And then he jumps across to have a train blazing and a tail blazing adventure. So how does it happen? It happens because at the right time, Jambul gives him remembrance.
So we all are souls who are having a far greater destiny than whatever this world is offering us. We get caught in petty desires and trivial troubles because we forget our spiritual identity, our spiritual glory as parts of Krishna. So bhakti at one level means giving up false ego, giving up the things that we are proud of.
It also means developing our true ego, remembering that our connection with Krishna is something that we can be spiritually proud of. So we as souls have spiritual potentials. And by the remembrance of Krishna, by the hearing about Krishna, the spiritual potential, we are reminded of that.
So when a water tank is dirty, we want to flush out the dirty water. More important is getting the clean water. The dirty water will get flushed out.
So people try to flush out the dirty water by going to therapists and vomiting out all that is there troubling them. That’s just one way. A more effective way is also that we hear about Krishna.
Get the positivity of spiritual energy into us. And if there is something burning us, we discuss it with devotees and get that out of our situation. As we keep hearing about Krishna, gradually the strength will manifest within us.
And just as Hanuman’s memory was brought back as per the Lord’s plan at a particular time, similarly for us, internally and externally, internally in terms of giving up whatever negativities are holding us back, externally in terms of getting the results, that will happen by the Lord’s plan. And appreciating the Lord’s plan requires understanding the element of diligence for Krishna and dependence on Krishna. Dependence is demonstrated by Draupadi.
Diligence is demonstrated by Arjuna. And Shri Prabhupada, make me dance. That is a combination of dependence and diligence.
So when we feel that things are going wrong in our life, it’s often we feel like that because we are focussing on things that are not in our control. Instead of asking why, the question why is an expression of frustration. We change the question to how can I serve you, Lord? That will give us some positive channel to move on.
Even if it’s just lifting up a small finger, we do what we can in our situation. Surrender means to do what we can with what we have now. So life is like a tennis match.
Sometimes we are serving, sometimes we are returning. So sometimes we have initiative and control, sometimes we have very little initiative and very little control. But we just keep playing, keep the ball in play.
Just keep doing what we can. And even if it seems that whatever little we are doing is insignificant, it will have a significant effect at least for us in terms of raising our consciousness and connecting us with Krishna. And through that connection, gradually the external results will also manifest.
Thank you very much. Hare Krishna. So are there any questions or comments? Yes.
So what is the question exactly? Okay. How can we better manage our time so that we can focus more on Krishna? Yeah. Okay, so when we have small kids, when we have family, we need to have a more integrated understanding of bhakti.
That means, in bhakti, we do have direct devotional activities that we need to have time for. Coming to the temple, chanting the holy name, studying the scriptures, worshipping the deities. These are direct devotional activities which we need to do.
Along with that, bhakti is not just limited to these activities. Essentially, what is material and what is spiritual? Somebody may come to a temple, but they have to come into the temple. A thief comes to the temple to check out what I can draw.
It’s a spiritual place, but the consciousness is material. Somebody may be giving a class about Krishna, which is a very spiritual activity. But if they are doing it, thinking, oh, just see how clever I am.
That consciousness is material. So actually, yes, at a practical level, in order to have the direct connection with Krishna, we need to have time for spiritual activities. Directly spiritual activities.
Simultaneously, we have to understand that spiritual is also a matter of consciousness. So if I am taking care of my children as a service to Krishna, if I am doing my job as a service to Krishna, then if we do it with that service attitude, that is also spiritual. Now if I do only that, then the spiritual consciousness will not remain.
Because I am associating in a material environment. To keep the spiritual consciousness, we need time for directly spiritual activities. But after we have allocated some basic time for our spiritual activities, we don’t have to be constantly beating ourselves, oh, this is material, this is taking so much time, this is material, this is taking so much time.
Just let us do the service the best that we can. Whatever services we are meant to do, whatever we are meant to do, we do that with the attitude of service. So when we are doing something, if we have this inner conflict, oh, this is material, I don’t want to do it, why am I doing it? Then that attitude itself will not enable us to do it well.
And many times, certain responsibilities we have to do. So if we don’t do it well, then we have to do it again, we have to spend more time on it. So when we are doing something, let me do it wholeheartedly for Krishna.
So along with that, also we can look at our own lives and see, even among my responsibilities, what I have to do, there are ways in which I might be just spending too much time on this. Or sometimes I may be, I may be doing certain things which can be demeaning to others. That’s basically intelligence.
But the important principle is that we try to permeate our whole life with the attitude of service to Krishna. So to the extent, when we have the opportunity to practise bhakti, we practise it enthusiastically, we are showing Krishna, this is what I want to do Krishna, please guide me. Then Krishna will see that and he will reciprocate in due course.
And he will help us arrange our life so that we will have more time for Krishna. So rather than resenting the situations when we don’t have time for Krishna, when we are not able to directly connect with Krishna, be grateful for the times when we have the opportunity to connect with Krishna directly and connect as enthusiastically as possible. If we show Krishna, yes, I want to be connected with you, then Krishna will arrange circumstances.
This is where again, diligence and dependence. When we have the opportunity to serve Krishna, be diligent. When we don’t have that opportunity, when we have other things to do, be dependent.
Do the best that you can with those professions, but be dependent. Krishna, I can’t do this, please guide me. Please guide me how I can serve you.
Sometimes somebody may be away from the temple, away from external devotional environments. But if that being away is increasing our desire for Krishna, when will I come? When can I come to the temple? Then that will purify us and it can purify us more than actually coming to the temple also. We shouldn’t think I’ll just stay away and get purified.
Not that way. We do want to come. But the point is, we don’t have to think that our access to Krishna is limited only to certain activities.
If we have that intense desire to serve, then Krishna can grant us access to him in ways that we may not even be able to think of. So, rather than getting into the specifics of time management, which we all learn certain principles from various sources, focus on the fundamental principle that actually if we show Krishna by our actions, when we have the opportunity to connect with him, that we are connecting wholeheartedly. And when we do not have the opportunity, by trying to maintain the desire, Krishna, when can I do this? There are two different attitudes.
We don’t resent what we have to do, but we long for direct connection with Krishna. So, the resentment is a negative attitude. But longing is positive.
In the first Kriyayoga Darshan Madhya Bhagavatam it is said that Narad Bhoomi was given a darshan of Krishna once. And Krishna disappeared. And Narada was trying, where can I see Krishna? Where can I see Krishna? Then he heard a voice which said that you are not yet pure enough to see me directly.
But I gave you this glimpse by the hankering that is created by this glimpse. By this hankering for me, your worldly hankerings will go away. And when your worldly hankerings go away, then you will see me again.
So, similarly sometimes, even if you are not able to be directly with Krishna, if the longing to be with Krishna is there, that itself will purify us. Any other questions? Shall we stop here? Okay, one quick last question. Why do devotees keep their darshan of Krishna? Why? Why do devotees keep their darshan of Krishna? What do you mean by secret? There was an audience.
So the question was, have you seen Krishna? And the audience just answered what it doesn’t mean. So why do devotees keep their darshan of Krishna if they have had any secret? Prabhupada was asked, have you seen Krishna? So Prabhupada did not directly say yes at that particular time. So Prabhupada gave us a practise of bhakti which was eminently practical.
The focus is, his focus was not on any supernatural claims of extraordinary visions. His claim for authority was, I have heard from my spiritual master, I have studied Shastra, I am repeating that. So what happens in the spiritual realm is that people can make claims.
If I say I have seen Krishna or somebody else says I have seen Krishna, it all ultimately rests only on the faith. If X person says I have seen God, if I have faith in X, I’ll accept he has seen God. But if somebody else doesn’t have faith, they can’t.
So Prabhupada did not present bhakti yoga as simply a matter of faith. Faith is definitely required. Prabhupada said that you see the transformation in your own life.
You see the transformation in your own life. So the important thing is that yes, devotees do not like to brag about their spiritual visions. In special circles, they may tell a little bit about it.
But what happens is as soon as one makes any paranormal claims, then the focus shifts from the process for elevation to the claim of being elevated. Is this person at this level or not? Sometimes even when we associate with devotees, is this spiritual master a pure devotee or not? When it takes a pure devotee to know another pure devotee, we can go into very judgemental, offensive mentality. Who is at what level is not as important as whether I am following the process to rise to the next level from where I am.
So it is not that devotees don’t speak about their visions of Krishna. There are scriptures and in our tradition there are many great saints who have seen Krishna. But Sri Prabhupada especially came in our tradition at a time in history where a lot of people had contaminated Vaishnavism by their own claims.
Oh, I have seen Krishna. There are people who would claim that there are people who would do immoral activities. Man and woman, they were doing immoral activities and say that actually Krishna is entering into me and Radha is entering into her and we are performing Leela.
It’s ridiculous. Not just ridiculous, scandalous. Highly offensive.
So Prabhupada and his spiritual master, he just took the stress of the esoteric and focused on the practical. Because it all becomes very faith-based. Faith is required but more important in the process.
So Prabhupada when he was asked that have you seen Krishna? He answered differently at different times. I have seen Krishna right now. You can also see Krishna.
But Prabhupada at another point he said that actually the test of somebody’s connection with Krishna, somebody’s vision of Krishna is in dedication to Krishna. One time a person came to Prabhupada and he said that Swamiji, Krishna came in my dream yesterday night. Swamiji, Krishna came in my dream yesterday.
Prabhupada said, all right. I will serve him today morning. Okay, if Krishna comes in the dream, that’s wonderful.
But what is our relationship with Krishna? That is the relationship of service. So if I think, oh, Krishna came in my dream, so now I will sit in the asana and everybody should come and take my ashram. Then I am going to internalise the mood of service.
So the essential defining relationship with Krishna is a relationship of service. So again going back to the point of dependence and diligence. If Krishna comes in someone’s dream, if somebody has a vision of Krishna, it’s Krishna’s mercy.
It’s his plan and we depend on him for that. But what is in our hands is diligence. I want to serve Krishna.
What can I do for serving Krishna? So by keeping the focus on that which is practical for us and not on that which is unverifiable for us. Prabhupada removed bhakti from the realm of from the realm of just some faith in the air and he brought bhakti to the level of a process of practical transformation. The devotee is, not many devotees in Vrindavan claim to have seen Krishna.
But after seeing devotees many people feel Krishna must be acting otherwise how did this person get transformed like this? And people who are completely addicted to all kinds of things just got transformed. So the magnificent transformation that happened in people’s life that itself is a sign that Krishna has been experienced. bhakti is a process.
What does it give? It is a process that delivers us experience of Krishna. And what is the result of that anubhav? One becomes detached from other things. I don’t want to do this, do that.
I don’t crave for these things. So we can’t know whether anyone is having anubhav of Krishna or not. That’s internal.
The experience of God is the internal symptom of bhakti. Is the internal result of bhakti. But the external result of bhakti is viragtir anyatra ca That one becomes detached from chasing after this worldly pleasure, that worldly pleasure.
And we see many many devotees who have become detached from that. So that external symptom, that viragtir anyatra ca And it is not that the devotees, for example, follow the regular principles. It is not that they are constantly tortured.
I don’t want to do this, I can’t do this. No. Many of the bad habits that they have is effortlessly given.
So that viragtir anyatra ca that we see that is an indication that paraeesha anubhav is there. Prabhupada, I’ll conclude with this point. Shivram Maharaj, one of the Prabhupada’s disciples, tells this story that in London there was this big festival at one time at the anniversary of the manor, which is the biggest Hindu temple over there.
So a British government minister came over there. It was quite an elderly person, 70 years old he was. So before he came, he wanted to know what is going on.
So he was given some books. So he read Prabhupada’s biography, the book Prabhupada. And when he came, he met Shivram Maharaj.
He says, you know, you cannot understand how glorious your spiritual master is. Maharaj writes in his ashram offering over there. He says, okay.
He says, I gave my life to him, how can I not understand? So he said, you cannot understand because you are not old. He was at that time 40, 45. He says, when you become old, 55, 60, 65, 70, the body undergoes a miracle of the wrong kind.
And then to do anything becomes very difficult. So at that age, what your spiritual master did is incredible. So here there is a person who is not even a devotee.
He is appreciated. He says, what is this extraordinary? So we cannot know what Anubhava person is having inside. But we can see externally.
Prabhupada is completely devoted to Krishna. Tirelessly working day and night. All day, he would speak about Krishna to the people who came to meet him.
And practically all night, he was speaking about Krishna to the people who had not come to meet him. By writing books for them. So this was his devotion to Krishna.
The practical dedication that he demonstrated was extraordinary. And that, for a discerning observer, is a far greater convincing evidence of the connection with Krishna than somebody’s claim, I have seen Krishna.