Realization comes by moving up and down the ladder of abstraction – Pururava song analysis

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
Today we will discuss from the 11th canto of Srimad Bhagavatam, from the Uddhava Gita. The Uddhava Gita is the most broad philosophical section in the Srimad Bhagavatam.
It is the one place where over 23 chapters, Krishna instructs Uddhava. And while instructing, he not only gives philosophical analysis, but he also quotes past historical incidents. That is the difference between Uddhava Gita and Bhagavad Gita.
Bhagavad Gita is primarily a philosophical discussion. And there are just some references when Krishna says, that he has past times. But there are no historical incidents elaborately described over them.
There may be references to historical incidents. But in the Uddhava Gita, there is a lot of historical incidents. There is a story of Pingala, there is a story of Pururava, there is a story of the Avadhut Brahmana.
So all these are focused on preparing Uddhava to become detached from material existence. And to become completely attached to Krishna with his own heart. So the Uddhava Gita is spoken at a time when Krishna is about to depart from the world.
The whole Yadu Vamsha has been destroyed. And Uddhava is devastated by that. And he has also understood that Krishna is going to depart soon.
So at that time, to help him prepare for it, Krishna gives him instructions of Jnana and Bhakti. He says Bhakti is the best, by which you can not only become detached from this world, you can also become attached to it. But for those who cannot practise Bhakti, at least they should become detached from this world.
Because then they will be saved from suffering from this world. So as a part of his teachings over there, he quotes the song of Pururava. That is called as the Aila Gita.
So Aila is another name of Pururava. So this is the 26th chapter, one of the last chapters of the Uddhava Gita. So the Uddhava Gita ends with chapter 29.
And in that, this Aila Gita is chapter 26. So after that Krishna will talk about duty worship, Jnana Yoga and Bhakti Yoga. And the book will end.
The Uddhava Gita will end over there. So there was a famous king named Pururava, whose story comes in the 9th canto also. But that story is left incomplete over there.
It is completed here in the 11th canto. So basically he is attracted to a heavenly damsel, Urvashi. And then Urvashi makes him dance like a puppet.
And finally she leaves him and goes away. So we will not talk about the story today. After Urvashi leaves him and goes away, what are the thoughts? What are the visualisations that Pururava gets? So that is what Pururava will describe through his song.
That is called as the Aila Gita. So we will do it two ways. I have got a PowerPoint presentation on the summary themes of these verses.
So this actually extends over almost 14 verses. It starts from It starts from 7th verse and goes on to 23rd verse. So my plan was that we will be able to do it fully.
And we plan to recite each one of those. But that may not be possible. So we will recite some of the selective verses.
And we will discuss that today. So let’s start with the overview. Basically this goes from 7th verse to 24th verse.
So in the first two verses, he says, Oh, I wasted so much of my time. He says, I am trying to indulge with this Urvashi. I wasted so much of my time.
That is his first lamentation. And then the second lamentation is, Oh, how she humiliated me. And the story is that, He was chasing, he was unclothed and he was chasing after her.
And she just, He says that she actually left me like a straw on the street and went away. I was so humiliated by her. Now actually the first two sections are just material emotions.
Even materialists may feel these emotions. The whole material world is filled with frustrated love stories. Isn’t it? So even materialists may feel, Oh, I wasted my time chasing after this particular person.
And then, Oh, how I spent so much time trying to please and she humiliated me. So that these two emotions are material. But afterwards, because he’s a cultured king, Who knows about spiritual principles, Gradually spiritual wisdom awakens.
So then he starts thinking, But even if she had stayed with me, would that have made me happy? No, because lust is insatiable. She stayed with me for so long, still I was not satisfied. So even if she had stayed with me for, I would never have been satisfied.
So this is the first realisation that he gets. Lust is insatiable. So I had enjoyed so many times, I did not get satisfied.
Even if she comes back and I enjoy, I’ll not become satisfied. Because lust is insatiable. But then, okay.
Lust may be insatiable, but still I am attracted. Just knowing that lust is insatiable does not free me from lust. Still I am being tormented by lust.
How will I be saved? Then you get the second realisation. Only Krishna can save you. Om Shalya Paritam.
You come to those verses. Konvanya Mochitum Prabho. Who apart from the Lord will save me? Then, initially actually he refers to her very strongly.
This terrible woman, this prostitute and things like that. Om Shalya Paritam. But then he starts thinking, actually I cannot blame her.
It was my own foolishness because of which I went into illusion. He said, if a person makes mistakes, snake for a rope or a rope for a snake, it is not the blame of that person. It is that person who is to be blamed.
Similarly, it is I whom to be blamed. And then he says, but if I am to be blamed, then what was the cause of my mistake? Well, I saw her as irresistibly beautiful. Then he goes deeper into philosophy and he says that actually, this beauty is an illusory superimposition.
It is an Adhyas. We will discuss about what is Adhyas. Actually, I am mistaking the beauty to be here where the beauty is actually somewhere else.
And then what is his conclusion? His conclusion is तस्मात संगो न करतो वियं स्त्री शुस्त्रैने शुचार्थमे विशयेंद्रिय संयोगान मनक्षुब्बिति न अन्यथा He says, you should not let the senses associate with the sense objects. Why? Because inevitably the mind will get agitated. मनक्षुब्बिति न अन्यथा So, we will discuss.
We will focus on the last part. But we will discuss the earlier part briefly. So, from 16th onwards, we will go into little more detail.
The first part, I will go through a little fast, because I will not be able to complete everything otherwise. So, from each of these sections, we will just recite one verse together. We will not be able to recite all the verses.
So, here it is. नाहं वेदा भी निर्मुक्तः नाहं वेदा भी निर्मुक्तः सूर्योवा बिदितो मुया सूर्योवा बिदितो मुया मुशीतो वर्षपुगाना मुशीतो वर्षपुगाना बतानिगतान्युता बतानिगतान्युता He says, नाहं वेदा वेदा means to know. I do not know.
What I do not know? अभिनुर्मुक्तः सूर्यो He says, I did not know when the sun rose and the sun set. I was so absorbed in enjoying with her. And how long were they enjoying with her? मुशीतो वर्षपुगाना मुशीतो means stolen away.
Hundreds of years were stolen away from my life. बतानिगतान्युता So generally speaking, sometimes we decide to watch a cricket match. An India-Pakistan cricket match is there and we watch it.
And at the end India loses. Then we feel, I wasted my time. Isn’t it? I wasted so much of my time.
So normally speaking, if we spend time on sense gratification and we get some pleasure, we don’t think it is a waste of time. But when we don’t get pleasure, then we think, why did I waste so much time on this? So this is simply material frustration. He says, I wasted so much of my time in just this indulgence.
So basically, first he feels I have wasted my time. And then afterwards he goes forward and says, I was so totally humiliated. So, he says, somebody says, you are such a great king.
Where is the question of humiliation for you? So he says, actually she treated me like a toy. क्रिदा मुर्दश चक्रवर्ति I was the king of the whole universe. But she treated me like a play toy.
She made me dance here and there. And then she just rejected me. And then finally he says, we will decide this one.
So, So, So, अनुभव अनुभव in Hindi means experience, But in Sanskrit it means power, potency. So kutasthasya anubhavasya, so actually he is having an internal dialogue with himself and he is saying, somebody may say that I am such a great king, he says what is my greatness, what is my royal kinghood, where was my teja, where was my anubhav, where was my ishvatva, why what was wrong with, yo anubhavakshyamsthriyam yantem, that what did this woman do, kharvat padatadi taha, kharvat is like a donkey, like a donkey kicks a she donkey, she just kicked me and went away. So he says where is my power, where is my wealth, it is all useless.
So actually speaking, the result of lust is that it makes us dependent on something external which is not in our control. What does lust do? It makes us dependent on something external which is not in our control. Because we become dependent on the female form for enjoyment and for females it is the male form for enjoyment.
So this is not a tirade against women, it is a tirade against lust in general. So lust makes us dependent on something external which we don’t have control over and in seeking that enjoyment, we practically have to become beggars. So, lust makes the wealthiest, the strongest, the cleverest into dismal beggars.
No matter how wealthy a person is, no matter how strong a person is, no matter how clever a person is. So Alexander was a world conqueror and his teacher was Aristotle. So Alexander, this is an anecdotal story, some people say it is dubious, some people say it is actual, but whatever it is, it illustrates a very important moral.
So Alexander’s teacher was Aristotle and Aristotle trained him very nicely and you know, Alexander was very attached to a prostitute named Pinus, a society, and Aristotle strongly chastised him. He said, now if you want to conquer the world, you should not waste so much time and energy on this. You know, so Aristotle was asked by his students, when should we have sex? So he said, whenever you want to be weaker than yourself, whenever you want to be weaker than yourself.
So it weakens us physically, it weakens us emotionally, it weakens us intellectually. So then this woman, Phyllis, she got very angry with Aristotle because Aristotle had taken away her most powerful client. So she decided to seduce Aristotle and she went outside Aristotle’s house and she started dancing and singing and seducing him over there and Aristotle tried to niggle at her, but he couldn’t niggle at her and finally got tempted and then he told her, he actually besieged her and when he besieged her, she said, yes, I’ll satisfy you, but on one condition.
He said that on a donkey, you should ride behind me throughout the city, after that I’ll satisfy you. Now by that time, Aristotle was so infatuated that he just couldn’t, okay, whatever you say. And then Aristotle started going on a donkey after her and the whole news spread through the town.
And then Alexander himself came out and when Alexander came out, he said, how is this sir? So the legend has it that Aristotle replied, see, this is the power of lust that even an elderly philosopher like me can get control like this and what about a young politician like you? You should be more careful. He said, I am trapped, don’t become trapped. So he had his philosophical sense, but even that philosophical sense was lost at that particular time because he was so infatuated.
So a person may be very clever, but even a very clever person can get infatuated and lost. No, somebody can be a very strong and powerful person, as Prabhupada tells in the Bhagavatam Purports, the fourth canto, I think about how, when there was this interstate rivalry between the Mughal rulers and the Peshwa kings, powerful Peshwa king and then he, the Mughal rulers sent a society girl to seduce and he was so caught with her that when the enemy troops came to attack him, he was not paying any attention, he was infatuated. And that was one of the decisive losses for the king.
So one may be very powerful, but one may get overpowered, one may get lost completely. One may be the wealthiest person, but there was one, this is just a story from this year itself. There was one politician, he was about to become the president of France, very influential, he was the chairman of IMF, International Monetary Fund, and he just went for one confluence to one city in America.
And in many of these hotels in America, they have serving maids, who clean the rooms and everything. And then if the clients want, then they offer their own bodies also for them. So what happened was, now this was a Puerto Rican poor woman, and then he did something with her, and then he had his confluence, and he was about to leave, and suddenly the police came and arrested him.
And then he said, what happened? He said, this woman has claimed that you have raped her. Now, eventually, you know what happens in the privacy between a man and a woman, how can that be proven? So whether that was consensual or that was forced, there was no way, it just became her word against his word. And he became so disgraced by the whole thing, that he had to resign as the IMF chairman, he lost the opportunity to contest as the French president for the presidency of France, and his whole career was lost.
And eventually, it was proven that that woman, actually the whole thing was consensual, but she thought that she can fleece him out of money. And she wanted an out of court settlement, where he would give her a huge amount of money. And that’s how she would get rich.
So basically, the point is, this person was extremely wealthy, extremely influential, but he lost everything. First, he became a beggar for a little enjoyment, and then he became like a criminal. So this is not just something which is talked about in history, it is an eternal principle.
So actually, there’s one more verse in this, he says, everything else is useless if one gets controlled by this. kim vidhya ya kim tapasa, kim tyagena srutena va, kim viviktena maunena, sthreebhir yasya manoritam. So he’s saying over here, six things become useless, all these six are valuable spiritual assets.
But sthreebhir yasya manoritam, if one lets one’s mind be caught by a woman, then all these six become useless. kim vidhya ya kim tapasa, one may have vidhya, one may have knowledge, one may be performing austerities, kim tyagena srutena va. So tapasa means austerity, tyaga means renunciation, they are two different things.
Tapasa is what we voluntarily accept for some specific thing, but tyaga is what we renounce. kim tyagena srutena va. So vidhya ya is cogitation of knowledge, srutena is hearing of the scriptures.
kim viviktena maunena. So vivikta means one goes and stays in seclusion, I don’t want temptation, so I’ll go in a secluded place. maunena, one says okay, even if I talk, I might get into prajalva and mundane talk, I’ll not talk also.
So all these can be useful in the spiritual path, but all of them, they become useless if one gets infatuated by this worldly pleasure. So in this way he’s saying, actually he’s saying, it’s not that I had all these things, I had wealth, I had power, but I became useless. And it’s not I alone who became useless.
It is not only these things that become useless, everything else becomes useless. Generally wealth and power may not be considered to be very great spiritual assets. We don’t consider somebody’s wealth or power, that person is spiritually advanced.
But if somebody is learned, somebody is practising austerity, somebody is living in seclusion, you may think that is spiritual advancement. But he says, even that is useless if one lets oneself become illusion. So this is very sobering section of realisations.
And then after that, so he goes on and speaks something else. So the first section was, I wasted my time. The second section was, I have been humiliated.
The third section is, he’s now thinking, oh if she had stayed with me, it would have been so nice. No, even if she had stayed with me, it would have been of no use. Because it is insatiable.
So I have savoured, I enjoyed, for 100 of years. And he is using a little graphic language, Adharasavam. Adharasavam means the nectar that is there in the lips.
So I enjoyed this for 100 years, but what happened? Natrupyatya, not satisfied. Atmabhukam, the kama that was there in my heart. And how was it? A standard example will be given.
How lust is insatiable? It’s putting fuel in fire. Vahane rahuti periyatha. So now, Vahane is fire and Ahuti is oblation that we offer.
Now somebody may argue that actually, when the mind is agitated and when one indulges, the mind becomes peaceful. Isn’t it? When the agitation is there, if we indulge it, the mind does become peaceful. Yes, it becomes peaceful.
But that peacefulness is only temporary. It’s like if there is a flame burning and I put a huge log of wood in it, temporarily the flame seems to become less. But as soon as that log of wood will catch fire, it will burn further.
It will burn further. So, actually, sensual indulgence is like a loose, loose game. Why loose, loose game? If I try to indulge in it, it is insatiable.
I cannot end it by indulgence. But if I try to give it up, I cannot give it up because the desires are so strong. So they are insatiable and irresistible.
Insatiable means I can’t satisfy them. Irresistible means I can’t give them up. So both ways I am trapped.
Both ways I am trapped. I just cannot become free from these sensual desires. So now some people feel that actually I am very agitated.
And indulgence is a way to become free from this agitation. So, is it? There is the brahmacharya ashram and there is the grahastha ashram. So if a person is very agitated in the mind, suppose somebody said, okay, I will become a grahastha.
And then the person has more facility for enjoyment over there. But will that free a person from agitation? Why not? To understand this, we have to understand the concept of a ladder of abstraction. Ladder of abstraction means, you can imagine a ladder.
At the top of it are abstract universal concepts. And at the bottom are specific tangible incidents. So, to understand this more clearly, if I say that in the rainforest of Brazil, the percentage of squirrels has decreased from 23 to 21 percent.
Okay, what is that going to do with me? So, this is such a specific detail that if the specific detail is not, if I am not living in that forest by killing squirrels and maybe wearing their skin, nobody does that, but unless it is directly relevant to me, it is such a specific detail that it doesn’t matter to me. So, on the other hand, if somebody says, an abstract detail, it means, the planet is in trouble. The planet is in trouble.
But this is such a general statement when we have heard it so many times. Everybody thinks that the world is a problem. Economically it is a problem.
Ecologically it is a problem. Population-wise it is a problem. Gender-wise it is a problem.
So, it is such a general statement that it doesn’t have much impact. You understand this point? At the top of the ladder of abstraction, there are very general statements. And at the bottom of the ladder of abstraction, there are very specific statements.
So, actually, learning happens when a person moves up or down the ladder of abstraction. Learning happens when we move either from bottom to the up of the ladder of abstraction or we move from the top to the bottom. That… So, if we dwell only in specifics or dwell only in universals, then learning doesn’t happen.
Learning happens by moving from specifics to universals and universals to specifics. For example, so somebody may say that I said that the population of squirrels has decreased in the rain forest. And then if somebody says, from this specific, actually the population of squirrels is a very good indicator of the rise of temperature in a particular place.
Because the squirrels cannot tolerate much temperature difference. And then this indicates that temperature is increasing. And what does the temperature increase indicate? That actually there is global warming on the planet.
And global warming indicates that the water level is going to rise. If the water level is going to rise, Calcutta is going to go underwater. Now it becomes irrelevant, isn’t it? So, how does learning spread? From a specific incident, I moved up to abstract.
What is the abstract? Okay, the temperature of the planet is increasing. Then another abstract point is, the general point is, ocean levels will rise. And then from the abstract, I come down to the specific.
Calcutta will go underwater. So, then learning happens. So, learning happens by moving up and down the ladder of abstraction.
From specifics to universals, from universals to specifics. That’s how all learning spreads. So, the daily news that is there, it only gives specifics.
They just report, this happened, this happened, this happened. So, it may just lead to information, but it doesn’t lead to any learning or wisdom. Because it dwells only in specifics.
Now, when we talk about realisation. So, the scriptures generally give us universals. Generally, they give us universal principles.
For example, Krishna is telling, दुखालेव अशाष्वतम् That this world is a place of misery. Or, he may say that, यही समस्पर्षिजाभोगा दुख्योन येवते That sense gratification is the womb of misery. So, now this is the general principle.
So, now from this general principle, we are also given, So, this is at the top of the ladder of abstraction. Now, this Ayala Gita, the example of Pururava, how he was humiliated when he pursued sense gratification, that is at the bottom of the ladder of abstraction. That is a specific example.
So, now, what leads to learning is, from specifics to universals. So, if I don’t draw any learning from specific to universal, then I say, okay, this is the story of how a king got frustrated. What has that got to do with me? It’s got nothing to do with me.
But, when I link, actually, he got frustrated because he tried to enjoy sense gratification. He was controlled by lust. And I am similarly controlled by lust.
So, from the example of the king, I come to the universal, that is the power of lust. And then I come to the specific, oh, I am also under lust. So, then I understand, okay, this is relevant for me.
I may also become humiliated. Now, to some extent, we do this automatically. We do this linking automatically.
Now, we move from specific to universal, universal to specific. So, for example, we may, when we talk about pastimes, and how, say, certain devotees are behaving in such a manner, we can understand, okay, they were so forgiving, I should also be forgiving. So, from that specific incident of forgiveness, we move to the universal principle of forgiveness, that is, we climb up the ladder, and then from there we climb down the ladder and say, I should become forgiving.
So, how is this relevant to our discussion? See, anybody who lives in the material world experiences the misery of material existence. So, everybody has specific examples and experiences of misery. But, most people don’t climb up the ladder of abstraction and conclude that this world is itself a miserable place.
Why is that? Because the whole culture, the whole media makes us feel that, yeah, I am miserable, but the next person is happy. I am miserable, maybe the neighbour is also miserable, but the people who are in the holdings, they are happy. Isn’t it? So, what happens, I have a specific experience, but I am bombarded with so many other contrary specific experiences or at least promising experiences.
Are all of you able to hear me or is it difficult? Difficult, right? So, in general, we move from the bottom of the ladder of abstraction, we are at the bottom of the ladder of abstraction, we have specific examples. I experienced that I became miserable or I may have experienced that my friend was there, he tried to get into this thing and he became miserable. But then, there are so many romantic stories which are told about in novels, there are so many movies about that and they seem to promise pleasure.
So, what happens is, because as it is, we have a deep rooted desire to enjoy, so, we assume that our miserable experiences or our observations of other people around us becoming miserable, they are exceptions. And the rule is that actually this brings happiness. Actually, this brings happiness, but whatever I experience, that is an exception.
So, that way, we never move up the ladder of abstraction. We think, okay, enjoyment is the norm, but I am getting misery. When I try to enjoy, the pleasure is so little, but actually there must be a lot of pleasure, maybe I am doing something wrong, that’s why I am not able to enjoy.
So, we don’t move up the ladder of abstraction because we think our examples or our observations, they are exceptions, they are not the rule. So now, that’s why, actually everybody who engages in self-gratification, everybody experiences the misery of material existence. Now, for example, there are doctors.
Doctors see death and disease and terrible suffering every day, but does that make all doctors into very serious philosophical devotees who understand this world is a place of misery? No, not necessarily. But they think that, okay, this patient is miserable, that patient is miserable, but I am healthy and I will enjoy. You know, the extent is sometimes so bad that the doctors are treating a patient and at the same time, the doctors are also sort of flirting with the nurses.
So, although there is misery in front of them, I mean, I am not saying all doctors are like that, but my point here is not about to criticise doctors or anything. The point is that actually, although there may be numerous specific examples, the nature of the conditioned mind is to actually assume that the misery is an exception and pleasure is the norm. And I will get pleasure, others may get misery.
And if I do get misery, then I think that, okay, I got misery, but this misery is an exception. In the future, when I change something, I will become happy. So, that’s why we are just not able to move from the specific example or specific experience to the universal principle.
So, even if a person enters into householder life and gets the facility for material enjoyment over there, just by that alone, one will not be able to arrive at a general influence. That one will become detached. At best, what may happen is, and actually, when a male body and a female body come in contact with each other, actually, after some time, the illusion vanishes.
Whatever that illusion that there is some enjoyment, that will vanish. So, all that may happen is, one becomes detached from that particular body. But one doesn’t become detached from the principle of enjoyment.
That’s why there are so many extramarital affairs that happen. Why? Because people are not satisfied with their spouses. Why are they not satisfied? Because they didn’t get enjoyment over there.
But did they learn that there is no enjoyment available? No. They thought, okay, I didn’t get enjoyment, this is an exception. If I develop a relationship with that person, there will be enjoyment over there.
So, what has happened is, there is no climbing up the ladder of abstraction to learn a universal principle. So, how will we learn the universal principle? It is by hearing and purification. It is not by experience.
So, even in Rahasashram, gradually one becomes realised and renounced, that is not because of the indulgence. That is because of the hearing and purification that one does in Granthashram also. So, by hearing, we keep repeatedly exposing ourselves to the universal principles.
This world is a place of zero gratification and increases of energy. So, someday, when we keep hearing repeatedly, we will link our specific experiences with the universal principles. Till now, we have not linked that.
Till now, if we had linked it, we would reject the opportunities for enjoyment that come in our life. Now, when I am speaking all this, I am able to give a philosophical analysis very nicely. But, who knows, there are many aristocrats in this world who can give good instructions.
I am not saying that I am renounced. I am just saying that we all have to learn this. And we learn this, it is not that I am giving instructions.
I am just sharing an analysis which all of us have to by hearing and purifically, all of us have to internalise and realise that. So, actually, when we become purified, what does purification mean essentially? Purification essentially means we link the specific with the universe and then we get to realise. This was my… I got this misery, I understood.
This is filled with misery and I am not indulging it. So, this is not theoretical. Theoretically, I may get experience that I am miserable and feel, oh, after this, I got this wound in my body, after I get well, I will enjoy a lot.
That’s why this realisation that okay, I was not satisfied by indulgence, this experience many people get. But from that, to get the inference, I will never be satisfied by indulgence. That is a major leap.
And when that happens, then we will become steady in our spiritual life. For that to happen, what do we need? Hearing and purification. We keep hearing, hearing, hearing, universal principle keeps coming.
We are reminded of the top of the ladder of abstraction. And then whenever we experience the bottom of the ladder of abstraction, we connect them. Then we become free.
So, this is the first realisation. That last is insatiable. Then, okay, I understand that I can’t satisfy it.
That won’t make me happy. But then I can’t resist it also. So what should I do? Only the Lord will save me.
That is the next verse. So, My consciousness has been stolen away by this Pumshchala. Pumshchala is actually a society girl.
Who can save me now? Till now, there has been no reference to Krishna or God in his analysis, in his realisations. He is Atmarama. He is self-satisfied.
He is self-satisfied. He is Eshwaram. He is supreme controller.
He cannot be controlled by illusion. He is beyond illusion himself. So, he will save me.
He is beyond the senses. Only when he gives his mercy, by his grace, I will be saved. And actually, this is like a turning point.
When he just thinks about the Lord, till now, this person humiliated me. This person is so terrible. But now, his whole attitude changes after this.
So, we will discuss the next verse. But before that, an important point. When we say, only Krishna can save me.
There is a Christian idea of saving and there is a Vaishnav understanding of saving. They are very different. What is the Christian idea of saving? That I have accepted Jesus as my saviour.
Whatever I do, now I am saved. But that is not the Vaishnav understanding. What is that? Actually, Krishna saves us by giving us the opportunity for emotional service.
So, when we engage in devotional service, then we are saved. We are not saved just by accepting the saviour. So, actually, that means when we say, Krishna should save me.
How will he save me? By giving me opportunities to engage my mind in productive ways and automatically, by that, become free from agitating engagements. So, Prabhupada writes in the Ajaman section that a devotee should always stay under the protection of the Lord by engaging in devotional service. So, when we say, always stay under the protection of the Lord.
But how to stay under the protection? It is not that Krishna will come over and put Sudarshan Chakra around us. It is not like that. How does Krishna protect us? By giving us engagement in devotional service.
So, our idea is that the opportunity to engage in devotional service itself is protection. And if we engage in devotional service, we become protected by that. So, now, let us see what is his next realisation.
So, he says, how can I blame anyone else? sukta vakke na durmate hai sukta vakke na durmate hai mano gato maha moho mano gato maha moho na payatya jita asmanaha na payatya jita asmanaha So, actually in the ninth canto, it is described that when he was attracted to Uruvashi, he told her that we women are like foxes and jackals. And if you come under our clutches, you will suffer. Please now remember it.
She did not seduce me. Actually, she warned me. So, how can I blame her? modita syapi devya me So, now, that same woman who was punkshalya, she has become devya.
Devya means godly lady. devya me She actually enlightened me. modita syapi devya me sukta vakke na durmate Sukta vakke means appropriate words, good words.
But I was durmate. I was completely infatuated. Manogato Mahamoho It was a great, great illusion.
Because of which, na payatya jita asmanaha I could not control myself. So, now we will look at how a transcendentalist should look at the opposite sex. So, there are attitudes towards women.
So, look at karmi attitudes, jnani attitudes and bhakti attitudes. So, at the karmi level, at the vikarmi level, at the sense gratificatory level, a man sees every woman as a sense object. Men treat women like sex machines.
Women treat men like ATM machines. So, that is the only way of looking at things. And it is not restricted to one’s spouse.
Everyone one tries to enjoy. So, that is the gross sense gratificatory attitude. But in a cultured society, in karmi, we generally use the word karmi in a very negative sense.
But actually, we use the word karmi in a broad sense as karma kandi. The way we use karmi, actually we are referring to vikarmi. When we use the word karmi, we are referring to people who are doing vikarma, bad karma.
But karmi can refer to those who are doing karma kanda for the sake of sense gratification. So, even the karma kandis, they also have to follow dharma. And a principle of dharma is that one treats matravatparadareshu.
So, actually, this is not a very elevated platform to treat all women as mothers. This is actually the platform, even in a cultured society, that may be centred on sense gratification. One understands that, okay, I have all my sense gratification in my spouse, but then all other women, I have to treat them like mothers.
So, now, what is the idea of treating women like mothers? Basically, women are defined by two defining characteristics. One is their maternal aspect and the other is their sexual aspect. Women can be sex objects or women can be mothers.
So, the maternal identity is sustainable for men, women, and all of society. If a woman self-identifies as a person who attracts men through her sensuality, how long can she keep doing that? Maybe for a few years or few. And after that, she doesn’t have any sense of self-identity or self-worth.
What am I living for? So, similarly, if a man is always seeing women as sense objects, then he will stay in a perpetual state of agitation. On the other hand, if a woman actually, my goal in life is not to attract men, but my goal is to serve as a mother towards men. Now, a woman can continue to be a mother throughout her life.
A woman cannot be a sex symbol throughout her life. So, a woman can have a respectable self-identity if she takes up the role of a mother. And a man can have decent dealings with everyone if he starts treating women as mothers.
So, this is required even in a cultured human society, even if that society is not a transcendentally orientated society. Now, these are two levels of karmic way of looking. At the journey level, one wants to reject the world.
And one starts thinking that actually all the sense objects of this world are traps. And so, I have to just save myself from the trap. So, there are some sections where it is said that actually sense objects are so, the snake’s body is very soft and cool, but actually the snake will bite.
So, similarly, the female form is like that. There are some verses like that in some places. But this is the Jnani perspective.
And this Jnani perspective is based on aversion towards the sense objects. So, this is not a Bhakti perspective. Although occasionally it might be referred to in some places, but that is not a Bhakti perspective.
There are three levels within that. Now, basic principle is we understand I am a servant of Krishna, others are servants of Krishna. So, whether they may be in female clothes right now or male clothes.
Actually, those are just clothes. But below those clothes, male or female, is a soul who is ultimately a servant of Krishna, just as I am a servant of Krishna. So, with this understanding, one can see women at different levels.
So, if a woman is an upcoming devotee who is interested in Krishna consciousness, and we see this soul is trying to serve Krishna. This soul is seeking Krishna. And if the person is already a practising devotee, then one understands that this is actually a Vaishnavi.
And if one is very advanced, like we have Radharani associates, they are also in female form. But they are actually meant for Krishna’s enjoyment. They are the associates of Radharani and Krishna.
So, actually, the devotional way of looking… So, that means, the sense-graphic way of looking is what is their connection with me. This is for my enjoyment, this is not for my enjoyment. Or everybody is for my enjoyment.
That is based on that. And then the Jnani way of looking is OK, I don’t want to get entangled. So, what is this like? This is like a trap.
But the Bhakti way of looking is what is the connection with Krishna? What is the connection with Krishna? Now, we cannot artificially jump to higher levels of perception. That’s why at our level, we treat all women like mothers. We try to.
And while doing that also, we minimise association. We’ll discuss that. as I said, these are different ways of seeing the opposite sex.
But the best policy to see is to not see. Isn’t it? Because when we see, there is a particular level of vision that will come up. Because we are at a particular level of consciousness.
When we are seeing, it’s more of an intellectual mode of perception. It’s not a sensory mode of perception that we are talking about over here. So, he is saying, I cannot actually see.
He tried to advise me, but I did not take the advice. Why did I not take the advice? Because I was so caught up with the infatuation, with the beauty. Then he comes to the next part, that is the beauty.
So, So he is saying, I was infatuated by the beauty, but what is this beauty? Ayam means this. It is actually filled with flesh and dirt. It actually gives all bad odours.
It is unclean. What good qualities did I see in this? What did I see in this? Whatever I saw it was. By avidya there was a adhyas.
Adhyas means, adhyas is different from abhyas. Abhyas is study. Adhyas is superimposition.
Superimposition means something is present here, I am looking here, I see a reflection of that here and I think that is present over here only. Just like a mirage in a desert is a adhyas of jala. It is a superimposition of water.
So, actually what is our understanding from the philosophical perspective? That everything attractive in this world is a reflection. A partial, fragmental reflection of Krishna’s beauty. It is a reflection of Krishna’s beauty.
So, what is the adhyas? The adhyas is that what is there is from the material level we can’t deny that there are certain things that are beautiful. Certain forms that are beautiful. But understand that this beauty is just a spark of Krishna’s beauty.
So, now we will discuss about what are the differences between this perception. So, we will compare worldly beauty and Krishna’s beauty. What is the difference between the spark and the whole? So, I will discuss three points in this.
So, worldly beauty agitates. Krishna’s beauty pacifies. Why is that? Because worldly beauty is limited and temporary.
It is limited because the number of people who are beautiful in this world are limited. And even they are beautiful for only a temporary period of time. Maybe only for the youth.
So, because it is limited and temporary when we depend on that beauty for our pleasure, then we are always insecure. Oh, maybe this will go away. Maybe somebody will take it away.
Maybe this will happen. Maybe that will happen. So, because of that what happens is we always stay agitated.
So, once Radhanath Maharaj was giving a youth meeting and he was asking he says so this was in a Maharashtrian town Kolhapur. So, many young people were there. They were saying suppose you marry the most beautiful person in Kolhapur will you become happy? So, now because it was sanyasi asking nobody said yes.
But face was telling the answer. So, Maharaj said no. You will not become happy.
Because all the boys of Kolhapur will become your enemies. Now, what does that mean? That means that in this material world there is the sense of enjoyment whatever is available is limited. And because of that it causes competition.
There is a Bhagavad Gita story of the Kurara of a bird. It had a piece of flesh and everybody was looking at it. And it was miserable.
And he just gave up that piece of flesh and he became so peaceful. So, like that in this material world there is the enormous struggle for existence. The struggle for existence is the struggle for food, for clothing, for shelter.
But just one decides like the Kurara of a bird give it up. So, actually if one excels Brahmacharya Ashram the whole struggle for existence practically ends. Because the largest struggle for existence is centred on earning a livelihood and creating financial security.
One just gives that up and so much anxiety is lost. And it’s a very good loss to lose anxiety. Isn’t it? It is one thing which we all want to lose anxiety.
So, it agitated. On the other hand, Krishna’s beauty is eternal and eternally available. Now, Krishna is eternally beautiful.
It’s not that he is going to old and he is going to lose his beauty. And he is always there for each one of us. Now, when Krishna is there in the heart of in your heart, that doesn’t mean that he is not there in my heart.
He is not a limited finite person like everybody else. Similarly, the worldly beauty dissatisfies. Krishna’s beauty satisfies.
So, first is we may not get the opportunity to enjoy only because it is limited in temperance. But even if I get the opportunity to enjoy still that beauty is finite. It is just a spark.
Imagine I am in darkness and somebody gives me a spark. Okay, there is some light by that. But the light of the spark cannot illuminate the room.
It cannot illuminate my way. So, the worldly beauty is like a spark. Krishna’s beauty is like the sun.
So, when we get Krishna’s beauty then everything becomes illuminated. And we become satisfied. By worldly beauty we don’t become satisfied.
So, that’s why even when people get the best opportunities for enjoyment still they will not be satisfied because by nature it is finite. It is limited. And then not only that, worldly beauty pollutes.
Krishna’s beauty cleanses. What is the difference? Because when we indulge in worldly enjoyment we don’t get satisfied by that. Because it is so limited.
And that’s why we want more and more and more. So, what happens? It goads us into immoral and perverse imaginations and actions. Okay, I want more and I will do this, I will do that, I will do that.
And it makes us do immoral and perverse things. On the other hand, when we meditate on Krishna’s beauty we are simultaneously satisfied and simultaneously longing. How is that possible? Because Krishna’s beauty satisfies us and at the same time it creates a craving for us.
So, that craving Krishna tells Narada Muni in the first canto that your desire for me will free you from all other desires. So, that’s a very beautiful section in the first canto chapters 5 and 6. Krishna comes and gives a darshan to Narada Muni and then he disappears. And Narada Muni is a Narada boy at that time.
And he wants to see, how will I see again? He says, you will not be able to see me in this lifetime. He says, no I cannot live without seeing you, I am longing. He says, yes, this longing it will burn in your heart and what will it do? By burning in your heart it will burn away all other desires.
And you will become purified. So, this is the difference between material desires and spiritual desires. See, material desires burn, they burn they burn us only.
Now, what does it burn us? They burn away our inclusions, they burn away our wealth they burn away everything for us. Whereas, the spiritual desires they burn away our desire, they are all our other cravings and they purify us. The more we are attracted to Krishna’s beauty, the more we become purified from other things.
So, therefore, this attraction is very auspicious. This attraction is very auspicious. And then beyond that they so now, this is a long section, I won’t be able to go into all of it.
So, this is a very powerful realisation which he is having over here. So, Tvann maamsa rudhiras naayu Medho majasthi samhatao Vinmuttra puye ramataam Kriminam kiyad antaram The sweet sounding words build a very heavy voice. He says Tvann maamsa rudhiras naayu He is describing the contents of the body.
Tvann is skin, maamsa is flesh. So, he is saying these are the external coverings of the body there is skin, there is flesh, there is bones but internally Vinmuttra puye is filled with with all abominable substances urine and stool and sweat and everything and ramataam, I am enjoying that. If I am enjoying that, the last line is Kriminam kiyad antaram What is the difference between me and a worm? A worm is enjoying in the stool and I am enjoying a bag filled with stool.
What is the difference between me and that? Kriminam kiyad antaram So, How am I different from a worm? So, actually Maya makes us feel that sense enjoyment is so special and so rare but actually it is extraordinarily ordinary What does it mean? So, I will discuss how it is ordinary in three ways Frequency, Availability and Familiarity So, frequency means that actually there is nothing special about this particular form of indulgence It has been happening right from the beginning of creation but creation began with this only So, it has been happening right from the beginning of creation it happens at every moment throughout creation at every moment it happens millions of times So, it is actually such a common activity in terms of frequency Even now at this moment millions of people are doing the same activity all over the world So, there is nothing special about it, there is nothing rare about it It’s a very common place activity in terms of frequency Okay, it is frequent but I am not getting it right now, so it is special But actually it is available for everyone, in all species In all species it is available for everyone So, in that sense The dogs, the hawks, everybody is getting it So, how is it? Okay, it is available to everyone, there is nothing special about it And somebody will say Okay, it may be available to everyone but I have not experienced it till now But actually all of us have experienced it In all our previous lives That’s what we have been experiencing If we had not been experiencing that in our previous lives then we would have already been purified and gone back to God The very fact that we are here in this world means that we were chasing after that in our previous lives So, in that sense actually there is nothing special about it If there is anything extraordinary about it, it is so ordinary That is the extraordinariness But the power of illusion is that that which is so commonplace Maya makes us feel that it is so rare How can I live without it? How can I live without it? But actually in terms of frequency, availability and familiarity It is totally ordinary It is totally ordinary So, kriminam kiyadantaram So, actually when the mind gets agitated this is a very awakening verse to recite This is 11.26.21 You can memorise this verse Now, the last part is Never associate with women So, we will discuss that atha pinoka sajjeta atha pinoka sajjeta sthree shustraine shucharthave sthree shustraine shucharthave vishyendriya sanyogaan vishyendriya sanyogaan that the mind will always I will just tell the meaning over here mind will always get agitated shukso nopasajjeta don’t become attached because when the senses or sense objects come in contact vishyendriya sanyogaan manakshubhyati shubhyati means agitation na anyatha there is no exception to this invariably the mind will get agitated therefore don’t associate So, now again if you see this whole thing it’s not a tirade against a particular gender or something like that it’s against the principle of lust so that principle of lust will be agitated by contact by association that’s why it has to be minimised so now sometimes we feel I want to advance in my spiritual life but my attachments are holding me back but actually are my attachments holding me back are my attachments holding me or am I holding my attachments that is a serious question and how do we understand the difference between the two are my attachments holding me or am I holding my attachments that means all of us know that there are certain areas in which if I go I will get agitated certain situations, certain associations certain circumstances so now if I myself voluntarily without any effort on my part if I just find myself entangled in a situation then I can say my attachment caught me but on the other hand if I was desiring maybe I can go maybe if I could enjoy once it would be so nice and then I know that this particular boy in the hostel he keeps certain kind of magazines I know I shouldn’t see it but I will just go and meet him and if there are desires hopes and plans which precede any of these if they precede the indulgence then it is not that our attachments caught us it is what happened we are holding on to our attachments that means if without any effort on our part there is indulgence, there is fall then that means our attachments have dragged us but if we go into that direction then that means we are holding on to our attachments so now this is not meant to discourage us most of us will find if we are honest that actually it is we who are holding on to our attachments but this realisation can also be empowering why? because if for example right now I am in the temple and my thoughts are going towards sense objects then that makes you know I am so sinful no, rather than thinking of it that way we can think that actually it is the power of the mind that it can hold on to things even if they are not there in the vicinity that means if I just redirect this power to Krishna then I can hold on to remembrance of Krishna even when I am not in Krishna conscious surroundings so some people say that it is very difficult for me to concentrate in chanting it is very difficult for me to meditate so can you worry? worry? you know it is not can you worry everybody worries now if you think of worry most of the time maybe I am sitting in my room and I am thinking well who will win the cricket match in future and I am getting tension because of that so essentially what is happening in worry I am physically in one situation mind is in different situation and what is essentially meditation same thing I am physically in material world mentally I am in Krishna so if we can worry we can meditate it is only a redirection of the same principle and all of us can worry so all of us can also meditate so that is why this recognition that actually I am holding on to attachments means that I can hold on to things which are not in my visibility also so this if we recognise this power and redirect this power then wherever we are we can be Krishna conscious so we just need to so this doesn’t have to be a the recognition that I am holding on to my attachment doesn’t have to make us feel guilty or disempowered it can make us feel empowered and confident so now this principle of avoiding association with women so we will just discuss this last one so some people may say okay I will associate but I will not get agitated I will control my senses our goal is not to prove our sense control our goal is to serve Krishna so it is not that we have to go into temptation and come out unscathed and prove see I am so sense controlled well even if we become sense controlled like that it will only add to our policy goal it won’t add to our devotion so best is avoid provocation now avoid provocation then we will have so much more see even if we go into temptation and come out of it safe we may come out safe but our mind so much agitation has gone inside so we have wasted so much of our mental energy if we just avoid the whole thing all that mental energy can be used for serving Krishna so of course for those who are in grahastha ashram they cannot avoid at the home, at the office in the social circle but in brahmachari life we have the facility and this is not out of any hatred for anyone it is just that we want to focus the mind on Krishna and it offers a tremendous mental freedom when we just avoid it completely and fix our mind on Krishna so as devotees we avoid the association of all of us even brahmacharis cannot avoid but avoid association unless it is absolutely essential and i will conclude with this actually billy grahan is one of the most influential and popular christian preachers in the world now he has administered the oath of office to almost 4 christian 4 american presidents and he is almost over 90 now so and he is very popular, he was on television very popular talk shows, television shows he had so he became popular in the 80s when christianity was struck by 2 scandals there were 2 christian preachers jimmy swaggart and john conrad or something like that so one was a catholic, one was a protestant and in general in christianity they don’t have an unsold they have only householder priests very few they have monks but both of these were married people and they were strongly preaching sexual morality in terms of not having sex outside marriage but eventually it was found both of these very strong preachers of marital integrity both of them had extra marital affairs and that was devastating for christianity so billy grahan became popular at that time so he decided a rule for himself he said i will not talk with any woman in private except my wife and he is a householder he is in america and he followed that rule throughout his life and that did not affect his outreach or his preaching in any way he was one of the most successful preachers so in america can be so strict and somebody in america an outholder can be so strict you know why can indian brahmacharis not be strict isn’t it so we should not bend the rules just in the name of practicality sometimes practical necessity is there but sometimes we just extend the practical necessity so that we can we can get some pleasure or something like that but all that we will get is agitation of the mind and then we will have to pacify the mind afterwards so actually speaking we will just go back to the so this is mostly an analysis thing but the last part of it is how one has to so his conclusion is what the lord will save me i will go back to the summary of the whole section his conclusion is that the lord will save me but how will the lord save me i have to do some things to be saved so i wasted my time i was humiliated but this is insatiable from here philosophical relations begin so in waste of time we discussed about cricket match and things like that when we don’t get something we feel frustrated humiliation i discussed the apocryphal story of aristotle and alexander and then i discussed about how cleverest, strongest one example of each then from this point onwards the philosophical part starts oh this is insatiable so this was the main thrust of this class today from my perspective it was the ladder of abstraction now going from specific to universal so that will happen not by experience but by hearing and purification and then okay it cannot be satisfied but i cannot resist it also to resist it i need krishna’s mercy and krishna’s mercy comes in the form of the opportunity to practise devotional service so then in this particular section pururava does not talk so much about practising devotional service that he accepts that we have to practise but he focusses okay how will i deal with this particular force that has troubled me till now then subsequently okay i cannot blame them then we discussed about the karmi vision as everybody is for my enjoyment or all women are mothers and the jnani is as traps and the bhakta vision is as fellow servants of krishna so as soul seeking krishna as vaishnavis as gopis so we cannot have a hatred towards the opposite sex then we discussed about okay but this looks so beautiful how can i develop this vision and actually i see all of them as mothers or whatever this is a superimposition actually it is krishna’s beauty that is being reflected in a spark form over here so we discussed three points of comparison between krishna’s beauty and worldly beauty krishna’s beauty worldly beauty agitates krishna’s beauty pacifies worldly beauty dissatisfied krishna’s beauty satisfies worldly beauty pollutes or krishna’s beauty cleanses and then lastly we discussed about not associating or minimising the association in that we discussed that we are not here to try to prove our friends control we are here to serve krishna and that’s why minimise as much as possible so thank you very much are there any questions we may have time for just one or two questions who is in charge okay yes whoever is in charge can tell me when the time is over yeah we told that there is a relation between beauty and purification so somebody is going for a life of experience then can it be based on that so can it be said that we have not sufficient faith or we have not sufficient faith in the world that’s why we are doing this if somebody has to learn through experience but we know that realising will come only through hearing and purification then does that mean one has not developed adequate faith in the process of hearing and purifying yes that is true actually speaking there is a difference between naishtik brahmachari and upakarvan brahmachari naishtik brahmachari hears and accepts upakarvan brahmachari he hears I need to experience so he enters into grahastha life then he gets the realisation by that so at one level we can say it is an adequacy of faith but it’s not that everybody who enters into grahastha ashram is only for one reason that is carnal enjoyment some people may have some need for emotional intimacy which may not be possible in brahmachari life one may feel very obliged to one’s parents may feel that I cannot displease them so in principle it is true that if one has adequate faith in scripture one doesn’t have to entangle oneself but in practise there are always exceptions and we shouldn’t judge devotees as having inadequate faith just because they have entered into a particular ashram who knows they may have faith in a lot of other aspects of Krishna consciousness in which we don’t have faith because Krishna consciousness is not only centred on one thing I know many grahastha devotees who are so devoted to the deities and their devotion to the deities is far far greater than many brahmachari’s devotion to the deities so we shouldn’t judge a devotee’s spiritual advancement by just one particular teacher but in principle it is true I directly inspire brahmachari in this so one may take the higher faith in return for their spiritual progress in life but can it be stated brahmachari may not experience such a state of life and hence maybe not because they are not highly engaged but out of curiosity he may fall back because more open minded side by side because I was saying in this context that after getting this message it could never be done so okay so we say that the jiva fell from the spiritual world because he did not have the experience of worldly enjoyment and after getting the enjoyment he will leave and go back he will not come back again so similarly is it that if somebody is a brahmachari then because he didn’t have the experience of enjoyment so he will desire to enjoy and he may fall back to the grahastha but a grahastha who has the experience he may not want to he will be more firm in moving onwards towards krishna the two examples are not exactly similar for the main reason that actually when the soul comes from the spiritual world the soul has never tasted sense gratification whereas in our case even if they have become brahmachari that doesn’t mean they have not tasted sense gratification unless of course somebody has just recently arrived from the spiritual world you know but that is unlikely so that is not exactly accurate example so the two are different situations and again the point is that even in grahastha life it is not the experience that brings realisation in fact one of the greatest obstacles in grahastha life there are three main distractions in practising krishna consciousness one is the constant anxiety about money second is the unending social obligations and the third is the ever present opportunity for sense gratification so first is constant financial anxiety which is always I lose my job if somebody fires me if this happens this happens if my son falls sick so much money is required how will I get the money constant financial anxiety is there second is unending social obligations this relative’s birthday is there this relative’s marriage is there that is there so second is social obligations and third is ever present opportunity for sense gratification so that actually is a distraction that is not a point in favour so actually to a large extent out of sight means out of mind it is not a universal principle because if it is out of sight and I keep something in the mind then I will go towards it but if it is out of sight it is easier to keep things out of the mind also imagine if we are told to fast nirjal it is difficult any day but if we are told to fast nirjal and whole day we have to fast nirjal while keeping a plate of feast in front of us it is much much more difficult isn’t it so actually speaking that may not always be an advantage the only time it can become a disadvantage for a brahmachari is if a brahmachari becomes so agitated that he just can’t control senses so for a grahastha to engage in sense gratification is not devotionally favourable but it is not immoral but for a brahmachari to engage in that it will become immoral so now that means everybody becomes lusty but lust is maybe at this level normally before we came to krishna bhajan lust was at this level constantly we were agitated and we were indulging in it also by the practise of krishna bhajan lust has come at this level that means there is an agitation and sometimes that agitation becomes high it becomes like spikes so it just goes up but a person who wants to become a brahmachari should be confident that no matter how high the spikes go I am not going to indulge physically indulge physically means especially with a person in a physical act so if one has that much confidence that ok the spikes may go higher but they will never go so much or I will not succumb to those spikes so much that I will engage physically in an immoral act then one can become a brahmachari it is much better because then one can be saved from the whole constant distraction see the spikes may come because of one’s own past conditioning but if I have the external sense of objects that also creates spikes isn’t it so in that sense if one has that much confidence that I will not physically fall I will not physically seek out some person to fall down with if I have that much moral strength and determination then brahmachari life is much more conducive for undistracted practise of devotional service if we have got the higher taste is it very less likely that we will fall back to the lower taste out of curiosity yes very very less likely unless we ourselves start fuelling the curiosity by some reason another possibility in some cases is for some people it may happen that some past life karma comes as agitation but generally speaking if you are surrendered to Krishna if we find that suddenly for no provocation from my side the agitation is coming up just like water is calm the water may get agitated because of two reasons somebody throws a stone externally or just some bubbles come up from fermentation below so sometimes our mind may get agitated without any external provocation so at that time if we find the mind getting too agitated then we should intensify our devotional service so that that doesn’t lead to any physical action and if we really intensify devotional service we will become free from that also so it won’t be curiosity it will just be our own choice that will take us there if we go back sometimes some devotees speak to us something harshly then we feel lonely and have a chance of fall down so what is the solution? yes actually generally speaking as I said we go towards sensuality when we are emotionally unfulfilled when we are emotionally unfulfilled we go towards sensuality because of just the carnal desire of lust but other times when we are emotionally unfulfilled then what may happen we need some sort of pleasure and we can’t go higher because we are not so well connected with Krishna so we may go lower so that’s why if we are insulted or if we are chastised strongly we may go towards that but what we need to recognise is that from going from emotional unfulfillment to physical fulfilment that is going to be a dead end it is not going to satisfy me now I am agitated because of this devotee speaking like this but if I do that I will become more agitated because then I will be filled with regret also so right now I can feel he is the problem but now I will have to feel I am also the problem so it will only make my things worse that is the first thing we need to understand clearly this is a very important point our mind tricks us by misdiagnosing the problem our mind tricks us by misdiagnosing the problem that means when I am disturbed my disturbance even when I am sensually disturbed that disturbance is not because lust is so uncontrollable that disturbance has come because I have not been Krishna conscious so when I am feeling lusty the cause of lust is not that lust is so powerful the cause is that I am so lax in my Krishna consciousness but the mind misdiagnoses the problem why am I dissatisfied? because I am not engaging in the activity that will give me satisfaction and that is self gratification that is what the mind misdiagnoses but that is why we need to have maybe some verses memorised some ready made ready made supplement for our intelligence and we say okay as soon as this happens I will read some verses or I will read some passages from Prabhupada’s Purpose or what I have read or heard from different devotees keep that as a ready made book not just our big notes but specific notes which will come to our rescue when we are agitated like it is a war if an enemy attacks at that time you can’t tell the enemy hey wait I will go in my camp and get my weapon then we will fight I will kill you before that so like that we can get agitated anytime and we can’t say okay all my philosophy is there in my books no the philosophy has to be there in the head or it has to be more accessible to us maybe in a pocket diary preferably in the memory itself some important verses some important sentences the sutras so keep them in mind so then we don’t allow the mind to be diagnosed okay I am feeling emotionally unfulfilled what is the solution let me associate with some devotee who will offer me emotional warmth I am agitated by this devotee who is the devotee in whom I feel comfortable let me call that devotee let me go and meet that devotee and solve the problem that way and if no such devotee is available then let me try to fulfil my emotions by taking shelter of Krishna maybe I can sing some Vaishnav songs which really touch the heart or I can chant some sweet tunes of Hare Krishna Maha Mantra something like that that will fulfil me emotionally so this will happen so it is not that insult is the problem it is a misdiagnosis of the problem that is the real problem so insults or chastisement don’t have to make that happen we can check that by reversing the Mohanayi’s false diagnosis and bringing a correct diagnosis over there any other questions last question quickly before you came to Vishwanath you said that you have seen many many bad images many many bad movies many many bad songs and you have completely covered us so now I am living through this some things come up in us and the next strategy is that we create for a moment we may not know that but we create those situations previous things which has caused us to cover us how can we deal with the past images that suddenly appear and agitate us firstly time passage of time will itself decrease it because say now we have been watching for 3-4 years maybe before that we were exposing ourselves to these worldly images for 5-6-7-8 years whatever so what has happened is comparatively speaking that time might be more interesting but as we keep practising Krishna Consciousness Krishna Consciousness also gives us worldly devotional images like beautiful Nithya Darshan beautiful Devotee Sangha going to beautiful holy places so as we keep practising Krishna Consciousness we will get in devotional impressions and those devotional impressions because they are more recent or whereas those non-devotional or anti-devotional impressions they are more remote so gradually these devotional impressions will erase them so we should not get too disturbed by that over a period of time it will go away so that’s the first thing second thing is that we should be confident that this is not going to be a lifetime problem for me it will go away with the passage of time second is while the problem is still there what should I do? I should make sure that I don’t stimulate those images myself I don’t stimulate those images myself some thoughts might come in the mind but generally what is that saying in English? whatever catches our attention catches us whatever catches our attention catches us this is just the English phrasing of Dhyayato Vishayam Kamsa Sangat Shukla Dhyayate so certain thoughts may come in our mind but if we let them catch our attention then they will grow bigger and bigger and bigger so when the thoughts come in when the images start wandering entering into our mind and trying to catch our attention we immediately redirect our attention to somewhere else so for example now in this section we saw some very nice verses Ajaman section is there where there are some good verses or there are some good prayers very beautiful prayers asking Krishna to free us from our material desires so we can immediately offer those prayers of course we can always chant Hare Krishna also but the only problem is when we chant Hare Krishna because we chant so often we often don’t absorb ourselves in it so chanting goes on at the same time mind also goes elsewhere but if we memorise some verses recollect those verses then even if our heart is not there see, I’ll conclude this answer at this point there is a sensual taste there is a devotional taste now what happens when the sensual taste overpowers us we just can’t strive for the devotional taste it’s not that devotional taste is not available but we don’t feel like striving for it because I think now I want to enjoy that so why should I go after that because if I go after that I’ll have to give this up so when the sensual taste comes although the devotional taste is available we don’t want to seek it only we want to enjoy the sensual taste that’s why to go from the sensual taste to the devotional taste often it is good to have an intermediate taste intermediate taste can be intellectual taste it can be musical taste so that means what there are some verses as I said which are very sweet to recite some kirtan tunes which are very sweet to recite now at that time we just start singing that kirtan or recite that verse then what happens, if it’s kirtan musically some taste comes over there that is connected with Krishna so it’s devotional but we are not going to it because it’s devotional we just want some other pleasure some other taste to get rid of this taste and then when we meditate on the meaning of the verse when we meditate on whatever meditate on the mantra that we are chanting then what happens that connects us with Krishna and that gives us a higher taste so often it is good for us to have, to search some intermediate thing that can give us taste even when our heart is not filled with devotion there is no devotion in our heart when our heart is filled with devotion all devotional activities will give us taste but even when there is no devotion in our heart still we will find at least one activity which gives us some taste it may not be devotional taste but some taste is there we read some book, we hear some devotee’s classes the way this devotee speaks the way this is written it gives me so much pleasure I like it so much it is not a devotional, it is not necessarily a purely devotional taste it is a mixture of taste but that transitional taste helps us to rise to the devotional taste so we can find out that way how we can redirect our craving for pleasure away from that object to something else so whatever catches our attention will catch it, so instead of letting these images catch our attention, we find out something else which will catch our attention, something within the devotional purview, although it may not be entirely devotional so when that catches our attention gradually we can move away from these images and then come to Krishna directly Thank you very much