SB 11.23.50 – When the teeth bite the tongue, the blame game never helps

Transcript

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mamahamit 11.23.15 janas tuhetu sukha dukha yoshchik kimatmanas chatrahibhoma yosthat jivham kochitsandh shatisvadakbes tanvedanayam katamaya kukhet the brahmana is continuing the introspective analysis of the cause of his suffering in particular and of human suffering in general and he states janas tuhetu sukha dukha yoshchit if I consider these people who are insulting and abusing me to be the cause of my suffering then kimatmanas chatrahibhoma yosthat in such a material analysis, based on analysis of material bodies, how does the soul come into the picture after all the soul that is trapped in the material world due to material identification gets reactions to its own past activities so he gives the example jivham kochitsandh shatisvadakbes jivham kochits this has the tongue sandhashati if this tongue is bitten by sudadbhes one’s own teeth tadvedanayaam when one experiences the vedana the suffering of that katamaya kupyed with whom will we get angry if our own teeth bites our tongue what do we do do we curse the food which we were eating while biting the tongue do we shout at the person with whom we were talking during the time when we bit the tongue do we punch our teeth with our fists we understand that ultimately it is we ourselves who are to be blamed katamaya kupyed whom can we blame so now this might seem to be a little self contradictory because earlier he has said the mind is to be blamed the mind is the cause of all suffering and now he is saying that actually it is I myself who am the cause of suffering so then who is actually the cause of suffering is it I myself or the mind actually the mind proposes and we accept so it is the mind certainly which is misleading us in various directions but it is we who are accepting the proposals of the mind therefore so ultimately the mind induces us to do various wrong things and when you do those wrong things we get consequences for those wrong things and those consequences are the cause of our suffering so that is the understanding that introspective person gets that ultimately my suffering is due to me only people who are externally causing me suffering are just the instruments through which my suffering comes upon me and this instrument which is causing me suffering is originating from my own past misdeeds therefore there is no point in blaming the instrument, I have to look beyond the instrument and recognize the source is I myself and while this might seem to be a discouraging and self-condemning sort of analysis it is actually self-empowering because when we understand that it’s our own actions which have brought the present reactions then we also understand that we have the power to choose the right actions and therefore avoid similar reactions in the future we recognize that by loving and serving Krishna and by surrendering to Krishna we can get the inner strength to break free from past conditioning past patterns of behavior and develop new healthy patterns of thinking and acting and thereby create auspicious future for ourselves actually resentment often creates a wall which cuts us off from all help from everyone if we build a wall around ourselves by which we seal ourselves then when the wall is built then all that happens is we are cut off from everyone else similarly when we resent when we resent people when we resent the world when we resent Krishna then we cut ourselves off from any help they can offer us and our resentment becomes a wall that cuts us off from everyone else and when we give up that resentment by acknowledging that whom can I blame when ultimately it is my own actions that are bringing reactions then by that we become we get a sense of release not that the problem goes away not that suddenly our habits change but the energy that was choked because of the feeling of resentment becomes freed released towards constructive actions so especially during chanting if our mind is wandering here and there it’s important to remember that on one side through chanting we are trying to connect with God and if we are holding on to the feelings of resentment then we are disconnecting ourselves from God through that resentment and both cannot go together so by being bold and humble enough to admit that our problems are our own doing and then giving up the resentment and trying wholeheartedly to take shelter of Krishna we can move forward in our spiritual life and create a better future for ourselves in loving devotion to Krishna