Sharad Purnima Significance

[Sunday feast class at Portland, USA]

Video:

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
Hare Krishna Great to be here today on the start of the auspicious month of Kanakamukha. Today I am going to speak about the sacred location of Shalipur, Himachal. I will focus on how the Bhakti tradition reveals an integral vision of God.
I will speak based on two things. A verse from the Bhagavad Gita which talks about the position of God and a verse from the Bhagavatam which talks about the disposition of God. So, the Bhagavad Gita, 10th page It states that I am the source of everything.
Everything emanates from Knowledge, especially in the spiritual realm is not the only creation. It is about transfiguration. If we get knowledge about Krishna that knowledge leads to a certain amount of transfiguration.
What is transfiguration? While we understand Krishna as Bhajan Deva He is sort of becoming devoted to me. With their whole heart, their entire being we see hundreds of attractive things in the world. If we understand that everything attractive comes from Krishna then we can contemplate how attractive Krishna must be.
Everything attractive in the world is like if we are in a desert dying for water and all the attractive objects in the world are the drops of water. Immensely attractive but then the water gets there for thirsty person and drops get into the ocean. If there is drops of water this drop must be coming from somewhere.
Where are we coming from? From the ocean. Then we go there. So, similarly, if you understand that God is the source of everything that means whatever we are attracted to in the world whether it is beauty or whether it is wealth or whether it is power or whether it is influence all the attractive things come from God.
And then instead of getting captivated by the drops we pursue the ocean. That’s the meaning of this verse that if you understand that God is the source of everything then we can really start using our everything to attain God. This is the position of God.
He is all-attractive. And Buddha is wise, enlightened. In the Buddhist tradition, Buddha is considered the enlightened one.
The Bhagavad Gita describes who is a good one. One who understands that everything attractive comes from Krishna and therefore our best thing is to become attracted to Krishna not anything else in this world. Now, what it would mean when we say Krishna is all-attractive.
Sarva-apta-rishita-mukha-krishna At one level we say, okay, as I said, everything attractive is present in its fullness. So there are many beautiful people in the world but the beauty of Krishna doesn’t just supersede the beauty of individuals. Rather, there is one conception that is like a competitive conception.
Okay, this person is this form, this is beautiful, this person is beautiful, this person is not beautiful. And the top of the hierarchy is God. Somebody is this form, somebody is this form, somebody is this form.
Like we have a tennis team. There are multiple players and then one particular player is number one. So God is not just the best of all beings.
God is the basis of all beings. He doesn’t just stay at the top of the hierarchy as the best of all beings but rather all beings, that is all existence is based on Him. Anybody who I think attracts you, that comes from God.
God is the basis of all beings. And when we understand this, we strive to become attracted to Him. Now how do we become attracted to Him? Many of us may think that love or devotion is just an emotion.
I sometimes feel emotion, sometimes don’t feel emotion. However, the bhakti tradition describes that in bhakti, devotion is not just an emotion. It is conscious, continuous cultivation.
It is an emotion that can be and needs to be cultivated. So when we come in satsang like this, when we come and go down to the Pooja of the Lord, when we worship the Lord, when we chant His holy names, all this is going to mean we are giving ourselves stimuli connected to Krishna and leading to the right dimension of devotion. And for such cultivation of devotion, certain situations, certain occasions, certain stimuli especially come.
We can say we all are forgetful beings. Suppose somebody has amnesia. And when they have amnesia, at that time, they have forgotten.
Maybe a millionaire’s son, a child, they have forgotten that they are living like a poverty-stricken person. Then the people who are treating with amnesia, they try to present stimuli from the previous life. Do you remember this phone? Do you remember this jacket? Do you remember this pen? And gradually, the memories start going away.
Similarly, we are all suffering from amnesia, from forgetfulness. And bhakti is a process of exposing ourselves to stimuli by which our amnesia is made. By which our spiritual memory is destroyed.
Now some stimuli are more powerful than others. If somebody had a life which they have forgotten, just show some house, and everybody has the same house. But show them their own house.
And then they are different. The stimuli are more powerful. But different stimuli can have different power.
And different stimuli can also have different power based on their time. Say, if somebody used to go out for walks in a garden, in the early morning. And then you take them, early morning the same garden, would have, oh, three-year-old.
So, the potency of the stimuli vary according to time period. And Karthik, is a time when, by the Lord’s grace, every spiritual stimulus is much, much more potent. And this time, in this month, if we expose ourselves to devotional stimuli, whether it is by chanting the holy name, whether it is by hearing Lord Krishna, whether it is by coming to the temple, and beholding the darshan of Krishna, singing the Nama Karashtakam, by all these stimuli, the potency of those stimuli is multiplied manifold, by the Lord’s grace.
And our spiritual energy becomes activated faster. So, this is the background. First, I talk about the conception of God.
And I talk about this month of Ram Navratri. Now, the month of Ram Navratri begins with a beautiful festival called the Sharipuri. And this is the time when Krishna performs one of his most celebrated rasas.
And that is the Rasamrita. So, this is the first time, a Leela, where God’s disposition is revealed. There is a verse from the Bhagavad Gita.
This is the first verse, 10.29.1, which describes the Lord’s thoughts when he is about to perform the Rasamrita. So, it says, bhagavad-gita-ratri sarva-dodh-pulya-mallika viksharantam manas-chakra yogamaya-pavasita-bhava bhagavad-gita-ratri That is his God. He is complete.
He is all wonderful. He is, as I said, all wonderful, all beautiful, all wise. He doesn’t need anything.
And yet, bhagavad-gita-ratri What happened for him? He saw the beauty of the Sharada night. Sharada-dodh-pulya-mallika He looked at the sky, the autumn moon over there. He saw the flowers, the mallika flowers, blossoming.
At that time, what happens? viksharantam On seeing, the desire arose in him. Manas-chakra In his mind, the desire arose. The desire for? Performing the Rasa-dodh-pulya-mallika.
And then, yogamaya-pavasita-bhava yogamaya-dodh-pulya-mallika He took shelter of the Supreme. This is a very amazing concept. Because God is a shelter-bearer.
God doesn’t take shelter of anyone. I take shelter of everything. He doesn’t need to take shelter.
But, the whole conception of Nidam is that God exhibits His love through exhibiting His wonder-ability. What do I mean by wonder-ability? Whenever we want to have a relationship with someone, there are various aspects to the relationship. One is that we want to see whether this person really cares for us.
Whether this person really values us, respects us. But one important aspect is also we want to feel in the relationship. The need to be valued and also the need to be needed.
The need to be needed means that God supports we are in a relationship with someone and that person doesn’t even notice our presence or absence. You are there to God. You are not there to the man.
Isn’t it? It’s really a real relationship. Now, at one level, God doesn’t need anyone. But, imagine if there is some person who is very awkward.
The person solves the problems of that person. There is one problem, they solve it. Another problem, they solve it.
And now we may be in awe of that person. How embarrassing! And in general, we live in the world, we often have to put on a facade to somebody’s daughter. A front.
That we are ambitious, that we are we are intelligent, that we are competent. One of my friends is in I studied in IIM. IIM is one of the top management institutes in India.
So, he said they had a whole course on how to write your CV. And they said that if you are walking by a road and you see a tap which is dripping some water, and if you turn off that tap, you can put that in your CV. I am a water conservation activist.
So, the idea is that in the world, we often try to portray that we are better than what we are. And we put on a front. And actually, we have to to a large extent, hide our weakness.
Because the world is competitive. And not just competitive, it is brutally competitive. Imagine a boxing match is going on, and the boxers are just testing each other out throwing some initial punches.
And suppose a punch hits an opponent boxer on the jaw. It’s a light punch, but the boxer wins it. As soon as the other boxer moves forward, you see I think he has already some movement, some ground and delivery.
Then, the other boxer just moves that point and beat and beat and beat and beat that boxer to the beat. So, generally, in any competition, the basic rule is hit where it hurts. That might not be a typical rule, but that’s the functional way people function.
So now, we all want to actually, to some extent, put on a gun. And, we all carry big burdens. Sometimes we are travelling, we carry a big burden on our back.
But the heaviest burden that we carry is often not what we carry on our back, it is what we carry on our fists. The heaviest burden is often a mask. When we put on a fight, and, functionally in the world, we don’t have to put on a fight.
But we need some people close to us, so close to us, that we don’t have to put on a fight. We can take it on. So, a person who solves everyone’s problems, and then, when we go to them, and then we start expressing their concerns.
We say that, oh, actually, this issue is going on, and this issue is going on. Maybe we will try, we will try this out, which will be fine. Actually, if we have that idea that, oh, this person is perfect, then we can go on.
If you are perfect, you are not always perfect. That might lead to a decrease in the image. But, if we want a real relationship, actually, when somebody takes on their front, you need to value it, you need to trust it.
That means, if you trust it so much, you trust it, you really want it, you trust it so much, that you are admitting your vulnerability amongst it. In every relationship, it actually becomes, it thickens, when we are ready to admit vulnerability. Because then, the other person feels valued, trusted, needed.
So, now this theme dynamic applies to God. That, although God doesn’t need anyone, all the Om Om Om Om Om Om Om Om Om Om Om Om Om Om Om Om Om Other gods comprehend all respects. But the concept of Leela is that God voluntarily conceals His vulnerability.
And thus, He acts as if He needs someone. So, in a sense, a leela is like a drama. But it’s not drama in the sense of something unreal.
It’s a drama in the sense it is there is reality, there is unreality and there is something which is supra-reality. It is a reality above reality, it is a supreme reality. So in the drama that is Krishna Leela, Krishna often acts as if he is not God.
When he is crying because he is hungry, Mother Krishna runs and gives him food. At that time, if he is God, why should he be hungry? Everything exists within him. One of the pastimes which we adore in the Damodar Mantra, the pastimes of Damodar, where Krishna is tied by Madhavishnu and he is tied because he is so mischievous and he is so hungry that he breaks some bones.
How can God be hungry? But the idea is that God hears us and acts as God. So I am explaining the work of Yoga Manayam Maharshi, that God is the shelter of everyone but he takes shelter of Yogis. Now, if we consider the example of a drama, in this drama, there are the actors, there is the hero, then the heroine, the chief actors.
Now the actors, they act according to the guidance of a director. So in Krishna Leela, Krishna is the hero and Yoga Manayam is the director. So Yoga Manayam Maharshi says that Krishna is the shelter of Yoga Manayam.
Now we say, ok, if Yoga Manayam is the director and Krishna is being directed by Yoga Manayam, what is Yoga Manayam? Yoga Manayam is the divine energy of the Lord. The word Yoga Manayam is actually an oxymoron. Does anyone know what is the meaning of the word oxymoron? Any other kids? So oxymoron is when two words which have opposite sense are brought together.
If you tell somebody, that was a brilliantly stupid thing to do. What do you mean? Was it brilliant or was it stupid? If you have two opposite ideas brought together. For example, suicide is an act of courageous cowardice.
To end your life requires courage. But to end your life because you are unable to face the problems of life, that is cowardice. So courage is cowardice.
So Yoga Manayam is two opposite words brought together. Why? Yoga is connection. Yoga is the process by which we establish connection with the divine.
The finite consciousness connects with the infinite consciousness. Whereas Maya is all about illusion and disconnection. Maya is the agency which makes us forget our God.
And it gets us deluded in this world. So then Yoga is connection, Maya is disconnection. So what is Yoga Manayam? Maya is illusion that causes disconnection.
Yoga is the process that brings about connection. So what is Yoga Manayam? Yoga Manayam is the illusion that increases connection. It is an illusion but it is an illusion that increases, that intensifies our connection with the Lord.
So, Mother Yashoda actually loves the Lord, loves Krishna. But under the influence of Yoga Manayam, Mother Yashoda thinks that if I don’t feed Krishna, then Krishna won’t stay hungry, Krishna won’t become sick, He won’t even die. I must feed him.
So that’s an illusion. But an illusion that increases our absorption in Krishna. So that’s Yoga Manayam.
It is a divine, it is an illusion that increases devotion. So Yoga Manayam is not just an illusion that increases devotion. Yoga Manayam is the agency, is the divine personality who brings about this divine emotion.
So I said Krishna is like the hero. And Yoga Manayam is who? Director. When she is the director, at that time, we may say that Krishna is working according to the director’s direction.
Then how is Krishna in charge? How is Krishna under control? Well, that’s the twist. Now the director also directs according to a script. Which is written by the script writer.
So in Krishna Leela, Krishna is the actor, Yogamaya is the director and Krishna is the script writer. So Yogamaya directs Krishna according to Krishna’s script. And that’s why Krishna is in control and Krishna is not in control.
When Krishna enters into the Leela, he forgets that he is God. But his forgetfulness is not like our forgetfulness. Whenever he wants, he gives it up.
In the down of the Leela, Krishna is tied up and he can’t untie himself. And then suddenly, he remembers, oh, my devotee Narada has promised these trees that I will deliver them. So whenever he wants, he can manifest his ability.
That’s the meaning of it. It’s a Leela, it’s a drama. Now in the Leela, why does Krishna have to perform all this elaborate drama kind of thing? That is to reciprocate love.
Love is increased when one exhibits vulnerability in a love relationship. So the whole arrangement of Yogamaya, the setting, is done so that even God can exhibit vulnerability. So Krishna exhibits vulnerability when he discloses to Mother Yashwini, I need food, if you have to give me food, give it now, I am hungry.
So similarly, that idea that vulnerability fosters in people, that we can then easily understand with respect to Krishna in the Vatsalya’s, when he meets his mother. But Ram’s Leela brings this one level higher. And what is that one level higher? Which are called by the Tamil, when Krishna begins his pastimes with the devotees, with his conjugal associates.
So Krishna sees the beautiful setting of Rindavan, beautiful moon, flowers, and he longs for the association with God. And then he starts blaming God. Now the idea over here is that Krishna, although he is God, and God means that everything that he does is flawed.
It is flawed. That is the fundamental thing we need to understand. My appearance and actions are free from any selfish motivation.
This we have to understand. My action and appearance are free from all selfish motivation. Those who know this truth with full conviction, what happens to them? Those who know this truth with full conviction don’t return after death in the cycle of reincarnation.
But attain eternal life with me in devotional relationship. Krishna says that if you understand, you will become a better devotee. So the idea here is that often this attraction between the male and the female, there is a basic principle of material existence.
But that attraction can also cause a lot of delusion, lot of entanglement, lot of distress. People do so many things in the name of love, which are often not very loving. So they get captivated and deluded.
But the loving attraction that we have in the world is the reflection of the pure love that is present between the soul and Krishna. And that love is depicted as purity and fullness in the love between Krishna and the goodness. So if you consider, there is x-axis and y-axis.
So now in the y-axis there is negative and there is positive. So often the attraction, the infatuation in the world which is there, that is negative axis. Because it makes us forget our identity as beings.
It makes us obsessed with bodily consciousness. And it is meaningless. But different from the negative axis is the positive axis.
In the positive axis, where the greater the infatuation, the greater the attraction, the greater the gratification, the greater the delusion. So there is what Krishna is exhibiting. Krishna is attracted.
Krishna calms the devotees. He calms them by playing his flute. And when he is playing the flute, he is inviting them to come and perform.
And he is about everything and everything. Sarva-dharmam viputim jnanam. Amitabha Krishna, Nirmala Devi, the devotees got everything and everything from Krishna.
And this is what it really means. How a soul, what is devoted soul of Krishna, that is love. There is nothing more important than Krishna.
And then the devotees come and tell this. At that time, Krishna is waiting for them. And then they have this celebrated dance of divine love.
It is called the Rasa Nidra. Now how would you describe this Rasa Nidra? This is the first verse of the Bhagavad Gita. Of the five chapters.
10th, 11th, 12th, 13th chapter. This is the first verse. And the last verse is the 33rd chapter.
And to understand the significance of this, let us go to the last verse now. And in the last verse he says, It says, It says that, At any point of time, here he is passing with Krishna. This will be love certainly.
He is devoting his pastimes for all the Vishnu. Because Vishnu is God in his majesty. You don’t think this is just an ordinary God.
This is God. And who understands his pastimes. When he speaks during his pastimes, And he describes, What will happen? When you are encroached with devotion, You have to come forward with devotion.
And then, That the worldly attachments, The worldly desires, When Vishnu does, His worldly desires will all go away. He becomes free from them. So, it’s a very striking description.
Normally, if somebody is born and watches a movie, And the movie is filled with, say, romantic or erotic scenes, Then in the hearts of people, similar romantic and erotic desires will come. But here the Bhagavad Gita is describing his pastimes of Krishna devotees. And that might seem romantic.
But it seems that all erotic desires in the heart, Or sensual desires will be cleansed away. So, how is that possible? If all the desires go back, How do you do this? So, there is a big difference over here. And understanding the difference is key to appreciating Krishna.
So, in the Bhagavad Gita, it is especially appropriate to Krishna’s pastimes. That is, the Bhagavad Gita says, This word is a reflection. In 51 A.D. it is said that this word is an upside-down mantra.
Upside-down means, that’s what we say is a reflection. So, now, imagine somebody sees a mango in the reflection. And, oh, this mango is so delicious, I don’t want it anymore.
And they jump into the reflection of the mango. They rush towards it. And they reach the mango.
And they find the mango is not there. And they reach out for it. They reach out for it.
And it is not there anymore. Again they see it. Again they reach for it.
So, that is often the way worldly pleasures are viewed. They are always in view. They are never in experience.
You keep seeing them. But when you try to experience them, what happens? Most of, if you look back at our long lives, many of the pleasures that we dreamt about, that we strived for, when we achieve them, they turn out to be advanced and antibiotics. All that we thought was so wonderful, is just over in a few minutes.
So, the idea from the Bhagavad Gita is that this world is a reflection. Everything attractive and pleasing is like a reflection of a human. So, somebody chasing the reflection of the mango, I will keep, I don’t like it.
And they disturb themselves. It is like, here is a river, and there is a tree, and there is a mango over there. So, all the mango looks so obvious over here, and the mango appears over here.
Both the mangoes, they appear exactly the same. But, to get to the real mango, one has to go in a direction opposite to the one which one was going, when they were chasing the reflection of the mango. So, what the Bhagavad Gita is saying is, when it says, that if we hear the constant of Krishna, at the real mango, and, once somebody gets to have the real mango, once they taste the real mango, then, their attraction to the illusory mango automatically goes.
Illusory, I don’t need it. I want the real mango. So, what happens in the Bhagavad Gita is, if we hear properly the pastime of Krishna, and understand it, and come to it, then we start getting a taste of the real mango.
Once we get, once we get this taste, taste of the real Krishna, of Lord Krishna, that taste is so captivating, so uplifting, so enriching, that you feel, that all your beliefs, and your belief, now comes the real thing, what is that? Once we taste the real mango, all the reflections, the manifestations, the taste, is the potency of Krishna, that if you hear Krishna’s pastimes, that if you get attracted to the real mango, experience the real mango, and all the illusory mangoes, and if you get attracted to that, they lose their power also. Unfortunately, in today’s world, the number of illusory mangoes, have multiplied so much. May be in the past, if people wanted to entertain themselves, there might be one community, one big channel.
But now, normally there are hundreds of channels, now in internet, there are thousands and thousands of sites, and our minds start believing, then, something somewhere must be enjoyable, and then they keep searching, one, two, three, four, five, keep on exploring, exploring, exploring, yes, some things may be more enjoyable, some things may be less enjoyable, and I can make one after you, you know, nothing in me, that is my fault. There is nothing wrong, it is not against entertainment, but you have to see that, entertainment doesn’t become an alternative to God. It doesn’t become, something which we think, this is what I need, I don’t need, it leads me to understand, I don’t need God.
So the bhagavatam, this particular pastime, which is, performed by Krishna, which I have poured in my life, plays a pointer, is a director, is an attractor for us, towards the ultimate reality. So the great devotees of the Lord, they are so attracted to, remembering Krishna, loving Krishna, because as long as you are in Krishna, that, they feel nothing else matters. So I will teach in my next session.
Ok, thank you. I do not know any happiness, that can compare with the happiness, of remembering Krishna. Absorbing my consciousness in Krishna.
Krishna is like an ocean of nectar. We are struggling in the world, to get some drops of pleasure, but Krishna is like an ocean of nectar. If we can absorb ourselves in Krishna, then, all other pleasures, all other troubles, will fade into insignificance.
And we will experience, the supreme, drenching of happiness. Life will often have its troubles, but if we are absorbed in Krishna, then life’s troubles, won’t trouble us. Because we will be experiencing, something much better, much deeper, much richer.
The world can hurt us in many ways, but, when we are absorbed in Krishna, that absorption is so healing, that we will realise, greater than the world’s power to hurt, is Krishna’s power to heal. And that, accepting that, even in entrenching moments, in Krishna, is the opportunity that we all have, in this inclination of the heart. Beginning with this, extremely sacred opportunity, which we are told right now.
And we all pray, to the Lord, that we can increase our connection, increase our devotion, increase our absorption in Him, during this sacred moment. So, I will summarise. I spoke today, to this topic of, how, Krishna is all-attractive, and how we can understand the position, and the disposition of God.
So, God is not just a remote controller, existing somewhere. God is, the source of everything, that we find attractive. And, He is not just the best of all means, He is the best of all means.
So, everything attracts Him, like a drop of water. And, God, Krishna is His only Krishna. So, whatever pleasure anything else gives us, Krishna will give us that, and much, much more.
So, that knowledge of Krishna, which will lead to a transformation, that I want to become devoted to Him. And for becoming devoted to Him, Bhakti Yoga is a process, that cures our spiritual condition. And, Bhakti Yoga is Krishna related stimuli, which we export ourselves to, and then start to build, our life with Krishna, our love for Krishna.
And, during this sacred month of Kartik, every Bhakti stimuli, its potency becomes multiplied manifold, by Krishna’s grace. And, it activates, and accelerates, our eventual journey towards Krishna. Okay.
And, in that, in this particular, under this particular, Rishabh Purnima, what exactly happens, that there is the Lord, who performs, His pastime, where He exhibits, The world is a tough place, and often, we put on a front. The heaviest burden, that we carry is often, not on our back, but on our face. So, the world is tough, and it, where it hurts, is often a, ruined, amidst ruthless competition.
But this front, can be a little exhausting, and with no true love and trust, we take off our front. And at that time, if somebody very powerful, exhibits wonderment within, it actually increases the connection, which is ruthless. So similarly, although God is all-complete, all-powerful, or an intimate connection, with His devotees, it is often ruined.
And how do we exhibit that? For that, there is the arrangement of Yogamaya. The Bhagavatam says that, Krishna took shelter of Yogamaya. He is the supreme shelter.
How can He take shelter of Yogamaya? Like a drama, in which Krishna is the actor, Yogamaya is the director, and Krishna is also the scriptwriter. So Krishna and family is in control, and not in control. And in this way, when Krishna is under the influence of Yogamaya, Yogamaya is often involved.
That is, the illusion that increases connection. And Yogamaya comes over Krishna, and comes over Yashoda also. Yashoda means Krishna and I, if I don’t feel, and Krishna means, I will die, if I don’t get food, I need it.
And in that way, their bonding becomes perfect. And similarly, as in Krishna and the gopis, for which I was recording in my night, Krishna sees the beautiful setting, you know, the beautiful forest, from the beautiful moon, the beautiful flowers, and He used to perform Rasa Vrindavan, and play this flute. And He exhibits a unique need for his purest devotees.
And the Mahabharata says that, if we hear the Asita properly, with proper association and guidance, then it will free us from sensual desire. How does that happen? Because this is not about sensuality, this is about supreme spirituality. Sensuality is the negative axis, pure spirituality is the positive axis.
Sensuality is like a reflected mango, pure spirituality is the real mango. So the Rasa Vrindavan uses a vivid picture of the real mango, a vivid experience of what pure spiritual relationships look like. And then once we get a glimpse of that, then the infatuation with worldly desires, the worldly cravings, that’s complete.
The moment we get connected with Krishna, by exposing ourselves to Krishna, we get to know that the world among us can become enriched. And this enrichment is so powerful, that although the world promises us pleasure in many ways, it doesn’t deliver. The world’s best love is anticlimax.
And the world is in a lot of trouble. But if we are enriched with our connection with Krishna, then the world’s troubles will no longer trouble us. The world’s illusions will no longer hit us with enrichment.
Because we will have found the supreme Krishna. And God has given an opportunity to accelerate, to activate and accelerate our journey towards that ocean of divine satisfaction. And to enrich.
Hare Krishna. Are there any questions? Any questions? Okay. So how do we have a relative example of a workplace where the doctor is going to enhance? The difference is, every individual needs to be trained on their own particular role and responsibilities.
And you have to act in a way that is appropriate for that role and responsibilities. Suppose somebody is a doctor who is treating a very sick patient. Now sometimes the symptoms of the disease will be so confusing or complicated that the doctor may not exactly know how to treat it.
But if the doctor just shows up and says, I don’t know how to treat you, then the patient will become more demoralised. Now if the doctor just gives some treatment without telling, without actually knowing whether it will work or not, then that may be even a deception. But in front of the doctor, in front of the patient, the doctor will just encourage and calm the patient.
And you can send some experts. Maybe there’s somebody more experienced than them. So when we say a friend, it’s not necessarily always a bad thing.
To some extent, all culture, all civilisation, means we put on a front. We all have certain desires, cravings, emotions, which are very unwholesome. Imagine, all of us, we can’t see each other’s thoughts.
And we can’t see each other’s thoughts, desires, cravings. And that’s a great blessing. If we started seeing each other’s thoughts, desires, cravings, we’d say, if you think like this, you have this kind of desire.
Not a single relationship could be sustained. It’s ridiculous. So, at the level of the mind, our mind is wide.
But culture or civilised behaviour means that even if the mind comes up with uncultured or uncivilised desires, we restrain it, we discipline it. Now, there is an inner emotion, there is an outer action. And there is some regulation in between.
There is some regulation in between the two. And that regulation itself is a sign of culture. But now sometimes that regulation may lead to hypocrisy.
Culture means, I don’t want to act in an uncivilised way. I don’t want to exploit someone. That’s culture.
But if we keep the internal the way it is and then act differently externally, so that we can exploit the other person, then that is hypocrisy. That is deception. But if we are restraining the internal to gradually remove the internal, then that is a civilised behaviour.
So, sometimes some desire… So, the front is not always a bad thing. It depends on the intent within the mind. The intent is to restrain whatever is a bad behaviour within us, then that’s culture.
The restraint is to hide it so that we can exhibit later and exploit others. That is deception. So, now in certain places, the front needs to be, as you say, put down.
For that purpose, we need to know who we trust, who will not misunderstand us, who will not exploit us. And it has to be done carefully. If we don’t, say for example, know how to do something, then we may have to ask someone else.
But we can do that in a way that doesn’t decrease other people’s confidence in us. It depends on what kind of relationship we have with that person. And we should like… In general, in every relationship, it’s we who first feel the pulse.
It’s like if we want to swim, we don’t know how cold the water is. So, we might just put our toes in the water and see how cold it is. Then we might put our foot in the water.
Then we might put our leg in the water. And gradually we may enter it. So, like that.
We feel our own instinct. We explore, we exhibit a little bit of vulnerability and what does the other person do? If they laugh at us, if they mock us, then we don’t do that. No, we are not going to laugh at others.
We are going to laugh with others. We are all in the same boat. I look vulnerable today, you look vulnerable tomorrow.
So, if we have that understanding, then we will be careful in exhibiting our vulnerability. We will be careful also when others exhibit their vulnerability. Any other questions? Yes, ma’am.
Okay. So, how can we similarly define Mahamaya? Mahamaya is the illusion in which we serve two purposes. It is experimentation and rectification.
Say, I was in Australia, somebody asked me this question that if God wants us to do good things, then why are the bad options so many in the world and the good options so few? So, I explained that’s how it is in every multiple choice exam. In a multiple choice exam, if five options, four are wrong, if the answers were chosen simply on probability, then the students could sue the teacher. You know, by chance I am getting the right answer only 20% and the other student will get 40% of the points.
It’s all the same. But the answers are not meant to be chosen on probability. They are meant to be chosen on education, on studying, on assimilation and so on.
Similarly, Yogamaya is that energy of the Lord which tests us. And she tests us by giving us multiple options. And most of the options are options which can drag us down.
Then if we understand that she is like a teacher, a teacher who is conducting the test. And the purpose of the teacher is not to fail the student. The purpose of the teacher is to promote the student.
But promote the student who is studying. So, Prabhupada says in lecture that Yogamaya allows those souls to go to Krishna who want to serve Krishna, not those who want to bother Krishna. Bother Krishna means, if somebody is very self-centred, not God-centred, then that will be a sabhas in the spiritual world.
That will not be according to the rule of the spiritual world. Everybody is trying to lovingly serve. So, our desires are purified.
If we have an impure desire, then we get tempted and we get diverted. If our desire is pure, we pass. So, the tests that are given by Yogamaya, Mahamaya, they, those tests, give those who are serious about spiritual life options to show their seriousness and to become more serious.
So, the tests of Maya make the serious more serious. And the tests of Mahamaya make the unserious more unserious. More casual.
More casual. Okay, this is for me. Like that.
So, that is also meant to ultimately take us toward Krishna. But the way to take us toward Krishna is by by giving us alternatives to Krishna and seeing whether we choose those alternatives or we choose Krishna. And if we choose Krishna, then we go to Godhead.
That’s why Krishna says, Karma maya duratyaya Maya may sound very difficult. But if we take shelter of Krishna, then Maya can be overcome. If we don’t, then it is difficult to overcome.
Almost impossible to overcome. So, Prabhupada once asked that, if our purpose is to serve Krishna, then why is Maya still so strong? Prabhupada immediately said, because this purpose is not strong. If we strengthen our purpose, Krishna, I want to serve you, I want to come to you, Krishna.
Then, all the alternatives the world is offering, we will give to individuals by which we can say no to them. As we give to individuals by which we can come to them. Does that answer your question? Thank you very much for your attention and participation.
Krishna Prabhupada ki, Garuda Bhakta Binda ki, Garuda Pramanda ki.