Spiritual Perspectives on Material Beauty (02)

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
So, today morning, we are discussing from the Srimad Bhagavatam, the realisations of Pingala. And I’ll continue on the theme that I took yesterday about spiritual perspectives on material beauty.
Yesterday, I spoke about how the human culture is that which helps to bring out the higher side, not the divine side, not the lower side, which is the bestial side. And unfortunately, in today’s environment, there is systematic propaganda by which lower desires of people are triggered. And at an individual level, when this happens, it’s bad enough, people end up doing things which they would normally never do.
But when at a societal level, it happens, systematically, there are industries which trigger people’s lower desires, then society hurtles on the path of self-destruction. And the human… our interactions with each other should be in such a way that we help to bring out others’ lower side, not their… to bring out their higher side, not their lower side. So, now, Pingala, in the previous verse, stated that how unfortunate was I, how abominable was it that I was using my body to seduce men and hoping that I would get some pleasure through that.
And now, she is looking at the same body and she’s saying that, what is this body, actually? So, it is a very… at one level, it can be a very jarring conception to consider the body as… basically, first level, he says it’s like a house. It’s just… the skeletons are like mambos. And then, okay, house is… it’s a reasonable metaphor.
But then further, he says, actually, this is not just a house. In a house, people may be staying, there may be furniture, there may be attractive stuff. But inside this house, he’s saying that there is foul-smelling substances.
And what is the evidence that there are foul-smelling substances? They come out of the holes in the body. And then, there is a very good cover-up job done. So, if we look at the body of a person, now what do we see? We see the skin and we see the hair, the two primary coverings of the body.
And the third is nails. Now, somehow, all these three are in such a way that people get attracted. The skin… people are attracted to the skin, the complexion.
Then the hair is often decorated and dressed up in a way that it looks attractive. And nails also, people polish and things like that. So, there is a very systematic cover-up that is done by which what is inside the body is not seen.
Now, sometimes in scripture, when we hear words like vina and mutra, urine and stool, you know, what is this? I’ve come to a holy place, a temple, where such jarring words are even being talked about. Actually, scripture often tells us the unvarnished truth. The unvarnished truth… see, there are euphemisms which are sometimes useful for softening a harsh reality.
But there are sometimes euphemisms. So, there are euphemisms. Euphemism is basically a softer expression of a harsh truth.
But euphemisms can be used as softeners of reality or as they can be used as concealers of reality. They can be used as distorters of reality. So, many times, people, for example, say there are slaughterhouses.
Those slaughterhouses are so jarring. So, this meatpacking industry. It’s as if, it sounds so harmless.
You’re just taking up something and packing it. So, or for example, yesterday I mentioned about pornography. Now, the word sounds a little jarring.
So, it’s called adult entertainment. It sounds, it’s not adult entertainment. It’s actually adulterous entertainment.
But when you go and become adult, you get a licence, you get the right to vote. And then, is it something so natural? It is not. Sometimes euphemisms are used to cover up realities that should be known.
So, the scripture doesn’t do that kind of cover up. They use blunt words so that we are jolted to become aware of reality. So, yes, the body that we are infatuated with, if we actually consider what its internal contents are, then we see that it is not all that attractive.
In fact, among some Buddhists, Buddhist monks, they have a form of meditation for enhancing renunciation. And what is that meditation? That they take a person who looks very attractive and then they visualise removing all the skin from that person. Not that visualise, but they have pictures like that.
With the same person with all the skin removed. And all that we see, the lungs and the intestines and even the face, if the skin is removed, it’s not at all attractive. In fact, it can be very scary to look at.
Now, the idea is that way they try to jolt their mind out of infatuation with the bodily form. Now, broadly speaking, the path of bhakti does not go to such extremes. Now, this is a verse which is there, but this kind of verses where the body is seen very negatively.
So, at one level, it requires a very high level of detachment for anyone to look at one’s own body with such a vision. And especially for a woman, for whom usually most of their sense of self-worth and self-identity comes from how attractive they are, for them to look like this, it requires a significant amount of detachment. At the same time, this is not the steady way in which one looks at one’s body.
This is more like a shock treatment when one is too infatuated. But the healthy attitude is to see this body neither as a source of pleasure nor as a source of trouble. To see it as a medium of service.
So, that is a broad approach towards the world also. There are materialistic people. Broadly, there are three strands of thought within the Vedic culture.
In the Vedic wisdom is karma, there is jnana and there is bhakti. Karma is the path of pious material enjoyment. You want to enjoy, but you want to follow dharma and enjoy things.
Jnana is where one understands, introspects with intellect, one understands that actually everything in this world is temporary. So, one becomes detached from the world. And bhakti is where one engages oneself and the world in the service of the Lord.
Now, on the path of karma, people romanticise the world. Romanticise means, think, oh, you know, this world, if we just do this, it’s so happy. It’s like when there’s romance, people have the idea, if we just find the right partner, then we will have our happily ever after.
So, like that, in karma, we romanticise the world. We just do this, do this, do this. Then we will attain happiness.
In the past, the idea was that if we did some proper yajnas, then we could go to heavens. And then in heavens, we will have so much enjoyment. Now, people think not about heavenly paradise.
They think about, they don’t think about celestial paradise, they think about technological paradise. They think that there’s more technology that I can get. Everything by the pushing of buttons, I’ll enjoy.
So, although science has a significant intellectual aspect to it, the underlying worldview of science is that of karma, not of jnana. In jnana, the worldview is that one understands, studies the world and becomes detached from the world, seeing it to be temporary. Science studies the world and gives rise to technology, which is used to enjoy the world better.
So, traditionally, jnana leads to vairagya. But in the case of modern science, often the jnana is used to increase not vairagya, but its opposite, raga. Raga is attachment.
People find newer and newer ways to enjoy this world. So, in the past, if somebody had lust, they would just probably go to the local rock hell or something like that. But now, if people have lust, all the garbage from the people’s minds all over the world can be accessed just by clicking a few buttons.
So, what has happened is technology has been used to enhance the facilities for material enjoyment. So, that means science and technology are also part of the karma worldview. Jnana, in jnana, so in karma, people romanticise the world.
In jnana, people demonise the world. This world is so terrible. This world is a place of misery.
This world is a place of deception. This world is a place of treachery. We have promised pleasure, but we have delivered trouble.
And the jnana worldview is demonization of the world so that we just get out of the world. So, there are the shamic traditions, Buddhism, Jainism, especially the renunciates, they focus a lot on this jnana aspect. They demonise the world.
And if we consider Bhagavad Gita and the Bhagavatam, both of them are essentially bhakti books. In bhakti, we go beyond romanticising the world and demonising the world to utilising the world. We see the world, yes, it can it can give pleasure, it can cause trouble, but the pleasure is temporary.
And ultimately, we should not be infatuated by this pleasure. We should actually focus on serving the Lord. And the Bhagavatam, in the bhakti path, there is a balanced attitude.
The Bhagavatam in the 11th canto itself, Krishna tells Yuddhava that, na ati sakto, na ati nirvinno, na ati sakto, do not be too attached, na ati nirvinno, do not be too averse. Basically, in bhakti, we don’t want to be emotionally invested in the world. We want to be emotionally invested in Krishna.
So, attachment is a form of emotional investment. Now, this is so good, this will give me so much pleasure. But aversion is also a form of emotional investment.
This is so bad, this is so bad, but then what is happening? If I’m averse also, I’m thinking of the same thing. So, just as if you’re attached to someone, we constantly think of that person. We think of them in a positive sense.
So nice. But when we are averse to someone, when we are resentful of someone, when we are hateful of someone, you know, at that time, also we are constantly thinking of that person. So, both ways, we become emotionally consumed.
So, bhakti is that where we want to be emotionally absorbed in Krishna. At least, we want to be emotionally available for Krishna. But if we are emotionally invested by worldly things, either by attachment or by aversion, then it becomes a problem.
So, the bhakti path is the path of balance, neither romanticisation nor demonization, but utilisation. Now, the Bhagavad Gita and the Bhagavad Gita are very different. The Bhagavad Gita is spoken in a context where Arjuna needs to fight the war, because that’s his duty.
So, the Bhagavad Gita is in that sense a very world affirming book, because that’s what the context requires. In fact, there are very few verses in the Bhagavad Gita which recommend renunciation of the world, because it’s focused in that every scripture has a central message and has a contextual message. Central message is what its essential message is.
Contextual is what relates that central theme to the context. So, contextually, the Bhagavad Gita’s focus is on karma. Arjuna, you have to do your duty, but not just do karma, do karma with the mood of bhakti.
Karma means, karma can mean activity in general. Karma can mean also fruitive activity done for getting worldly pleasure. Krishna tells Arjuna, do action, but do it in a mood of devotion.
The Bhagavatam, on the other hand, has a context which is very world rejecting. Pariksit has been cursed to die in seven days and he has accepted that curse. He has decided that I’m not going to try to avoid this curse anyway.
So, once that decision is made, then the whole of Bhagavatam’s thrust is to help him to focus on Krishna, to reaffirm that decision. So, in that sense, there are many sections in the Bhagavatam which are strongly world negating. The Bhagavad Gita is world affirming.
The Bhagavatam in many of its sections is world negating, because it’s spoken primarily to a person who is about to die. The central message of bhakti is neither world affirming nor world negating. It is world utilising.
So, to give an example, say, you know, some devotee is young and healthy and that devotee says, you know, I just want to renounce the world. I want to go to Vrindavan. I’ll chant 128 rounds every day.
We’ll tell them, don’t worry about it. Don’t do that. You have energy.
You do practical services. You chant 16 rounds, but you do practical services. You have energy.
So, for them, we will tell them, you have to do practical engagements in this world. But, say, somebody has got cancer and it’s incurable. And then they are thinking, you know, oh, I have to do this fundraising.
I have to build this temple. I have to distribute these books. They can’t even get out of bed.
Now, at this stage, just focus on hearing about Krishna. Focus on remembering Krishna. The principle is same, service to Krishna, but the practise of how that principle will be applied will vary.
Similarly, the Bhagavatam and the Bhagavad Gita, the principle is the same, that we have to direct our consciousness towards Krishna, but the practise varies. In the Bhagavatam, Shukadeva Swami selects those stories which will reinforce Parikshit’s determination. Just not think of the world, to focus on Krishna entirely.
Now, when we are living in the world, we have to engage in the world. So, when, as I said, most of us tend to be infatuated with the physical body. So, these kind of verses are good for getting jolted out of the infatuation.
But, at a normal level, if we start thinking, you know, this body is so disgusting. It’s filled with this and that and that. That’s not a very healthy contemplation.
A healthy contemplation is that Sharira dharma sadhanam. Sharira, the body is dharma sadhanam. The body is what I need to practise dharma.
Sadhanam, it is the means. In the Bhagavatam, twice, in the 8th canto, as well as the 10th canto. In the 8th canto, when Shukaracharya is speaking to Bali Maharaj.
In the 10th canto, when Vasudeva is contemplating how to save Devaki. So, in that discussion, twice it is said that the body is like a tree and it is on this tree of the body that the fruits of dharma, artha, kama and moksha grow. If the tree is cut, the fruits will not come.
So, like that, if the body is destroyed, then we will not be able to practise dharma. We will not be able to become purified. Of course, we can say we’ll get another body, but it’s a laborious process to leave this body, go into another body and then practise dharma.
So, in those contexts, it is said that maintaining the body is important. So, a healthy attitude towards the body is to see it as a tool for service, a tool for dharma, a tool for bhakti. And while practising bhakti, sometimes the body will give us pleasure, sometimes the body will give us trouble.
Just accept both and move on. We don’t go out of our way to seek pleasure, nor do we go out of our way to seek trouble. It is not that bhakti is not about torturing the body.
Bhakti is ultimately about transcending the body. So, torturing the body means whatever the body wants, we just deny those needs. We deprive it.
So, that doesn’t work. Why it doesn’t work? Because ultimately, for this lifetime, this is the only body we have. Many devotees in the early years of our movement, they work very hard.
They’ll just sleep a few hours, three, four hours or whatever. And then, they did a lot of service, and that service definitely purified them. But later on, the body creates so many problems, and it becomes difficult to function.
Srila Prabhupada writes in a letter that if you don’t take care of your body now, then even if you are enthusiastic, you will not be able to serve Krishna in future. So, we have to take care of our body. Srila Prabhupada was so spiritually advanced, so exalted, and he would sleep so little.
But still, even he took care of his body. Every day, he would take a massage. Every day, almost every day, he would go out for morning walks.
Now, both of these, he spiritualised them. He went for a morning walk. At that time, he would instruct devotees.
And his morning walks were celebrated for many of the insightful discussions which he would have with disciples. And the massage would be a time, usually, he would be silent. He would introspect.
Hari Shauri Prabhu, in his Transcendental Diary, writes that when Prabhupada would get the massage happening, especially in a holy place like Mayapur, then it was almost like Prabhupada was not in the body. It was like a person who has a car, and then they know that the car needs servicing. So, they park the car at a mechanic’s place, and they go out for a stroll.
So, like that, he said, Prabhupada would withdraw his consciousness. And when the massage would be going on, I would feel as if Prabhupada was not there in the world. He was going to Mayapur Dham, looking around.
So, relish Mayapur Dham. He says, Prabhupada, when he was taking the massage, if somebody else would be present, apart from the person doing the massage, Prabhupada would be a little uncomfortable. He would be conscious.
Otherwise, Prabhupada would be very withdrawn. So, Prabhupada spiritualised the time that he was using for the body, but he did do exercises. He did exercise in terms of, he did go for morning walks.
He did do massage. So, we have to, to some extent, fight against the body. But at the same time, we also have to live in this body.
So, we have to make peace with the body. Make peace with the body means that, especially with respect to the body’s needs, in the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna says, in the sixth chapter, 6.16 and 17, he says that, नात्यश्णतस्तु योगोस्ति नचैकान्तमनश्णतः नचाति स्वप्नशीलस्य जागृतो नईवचार्जुन He says, नात्यश्णतस्तु योगोस्ति One who eats too much cannot become a Yogi. This is easy to understand.
If you eat too much, then what happens? Then you just sleep. Sometimes we hear that taking prasad is also a devotional service. Yes.
Prabhupada once asked that, Prabhupada, if we eat prasad, then what happens to the germs in the stomach? Prabhupada said, they get in contact with the germs, they also become purified. So Prabhupada said, when you are taking prasad, you are doing social service. But the point is, taking prasad is not the only form of social service.
We want to do prasad so that we can do the service of taking prasad so that we can do other services also. So if we eat too much, then we oversleep, we spoil our health, we become sluggish. So it’s easy to understand that eating too much, if those who eat too much cannot become Yogis.
But the same verse says, One who eats too little also cannot become a Yogi. It’s interesting that this verse, 6.16, 17, 18, this is spoken in a section meant for Ashtang Yogis who have renounced the world. So in 6.11 Krishna says, He says, they go out of the jungle, they sit in a secluded place, So even for people who have renounced the world and gone to the jungle, Krishna is telling, if they eat too little, they cannot practise Yoga.
Because food is simply a need of the body. And if you are constantly feeling deprived, deprived, deprived, then you cannot function. And similarly Krishna says, If we sleep too much, then we can’t become Yogis.
Nor if we sleep too little, can we become Yogis. If we sleep too much, then that just creates Tamoguna. Even after waking up, we feel lethargic.
We feel like not doing anything. It just infuses Tamoguna. But then he also says, those who sleep too little, sleep too little, they also cannot practise Yoga.
Why is it that if we sleep too little? Because the point of Bhakti is not how much we sleep or how much we don’t sleep. Point of Bhakti is how much we remember Krishna. But if we have not had enough sleep, then we are constantly just battling sleep, trying to just stay awake.
If we are just struggling to stay awake, then we cannot be available for Krishna. So whatever the body needs, we give that body that much and move onwards towards Krishna. So we cannot cheat sleep.
The body has its need and it will take that need. If I sleep only 4 hours at night or this much time, then what happens, throughout the day we are dozing off, we are drowsy. And eventually the body takes what it needs.
And if we don’t give it what it needs, it keeps us lethargic throughout. Eventually that can harm us also. So we need to give the body enough rest.
I saw one joke. There was a pastor, there was like a children’s school, Sunday school. And the pastor was asking this new child, when we come to the church, when the discourse is going on, we should be silent.
Why? The child thinks, because everyone is sleeping. So the thing is that we need to be awake. We need to be alert.
We need to be available for Krishna. So sleep is what we need to give the body. So basically, yes, there are certain bodily drives, the urges for pleasure, which we need to restrain them.
But then the body has certain needs which need to be fulfilled. And as devotees, we cannot have an adversarial attitude towards the body. The body is not our enemy.
The body is not our friend also. The body is simply a tool that we have. So the basic point when Bhagavatam says that don’t be too attached, too averse.
Don’t eat too much, eat too little. The whole point is that the body and its needs should not become a competitor to Krishna. So if I am too attached to food, I am constantly thinking, what will be the next food I eat? When will I get it? When will I eat it? So I am constantly contemplating on food with a desire to eat it.
Then instead of always, Krishna says, man mana bhava, always think of me. But what happens is, you are always thinking of food. When will I get food? So there food has become a competitor to Krishna.
Conversely, if we don’t eat at all, just deprive the body of food, we may say that, you know, I am fasting, I am so sense controlled. But what is happening? I may be sense controlled and I am not eating food, but I am not mind controlled. Food, food, food, food.
So in Nikad, sometimes we fast, we are fasting, Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, we are chanting. The mind is saying, food, food, food, Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, food, food, food. So externally, physically one chant is going on, but mentally another chant is going on.
So then we are not focused on Krishna. So it’s good to fast as much as we can, but the point is, we don’t have to torture the body. So if we are feeling too much the need for food, then better take some food and then come back and start thinking of Krishna.
So basically, if we give too little food or too much food, then food becomes a competitor for our attention. Food becomes a competitor to Krishna for our consciousness. And when that happens, then we cannot fix the mind of Krishna.
So whatever is the optimum level of food, whatever is the optimum level of eating, whatever is the optimum level of sleeping, so that, that just moves out. It moves out of our zone of obsessing our mind. So that we can fix the mind on Krishna.
Similarly, Prabhupada says, the purpose of marriage is to make the mind peaceful so that one can advance in spiritual life. The mind is very infatuated. Then, okay, provide that, and then say, it’s not such a big thing.
The mind is so excited, it imagines so much. You find, actually, it’s not such a big deal. You move on.
So the idea is, the body has certain needs, the body has certain cravings. We have to ensure that they don’t become a competitor to Krishna. So if you are too attached or too averse, in both cases, the body and its drives become competitors to Krishna.
But if we just see the body as a tool for serving Krishna, then, shariram dharmasadhanam. With that attitude to the body, we can just steadily move onwards. And while we are practising bhakti, the nature of the mind is to get infatuated.
Because earlier, yesterday I talked about how, in today’s world, there is systematic propaganda. So there is infatuation, there is aversion, and there is utilisation. So you want to focus on utilising the body for Krishna’s service.
But in today’s world, there is a lot of infatuation. Where the images of the physical forms are depicted in a way that is meant to trigger people’s desires. So at that time, we have to regularly hear scripture.
In the Bhagavad Gita, what it depicts is, Arjuna is ready to fight the war. He has come with full determination to fight the war. But then he tells Krishna, Krishna, take me in between the armies.
And in that section from verse 21 to around 28, again and again the theme of the eyes comes. He says, I want to see. I want to see.
I want to see with the eyes. And then what happens? Arjuna becomes bewildered. He says, how can I fight? He puts aside his bow.
He says, I can’t fight. By the end of the Bhagavad Gita, he actually raises his bow, ready to fight. So what the Bhagavad Gita’s setting depicts is that the eyes are often the path to illusion.
And the ears are the path to enlightenment. So the more we perceive with the eyes, the more we will get infatuated. The eyes are the path to illusion.
Not always. When you come in front of the temple and take darshan of the deities, the eyes are also the path to enlightenment. And if we hear gossip, the ears can also be the path to illusion.
But on a prominent level, the eyes are the path to illusion. The ears are the path to enlightenment. And because we are so exposed visually to things, sensually in general, but visually especially, that’s why to counter the infatuation that comes through the visual gateway, we need to hear regularly through the auditory gateway.
And the more we hear, the infatuation goes down. We start seeing things in reality without being too infatuated by them. I’ll make two more points.
You can have questions. Sometimes in scripture also, we may see things, we may hear sections which may seem to be infatuated. Say sometimes in the Mohini Murthi, pastime is described in the 8th canto.
And there seems to be quite explicit description of the beauty of Mohini Murthi. Or for example, in the Ramayana, when Ravana is trying to win Sita over to his side, before he finds that he cannot change her mind and he abducts her. At that time, Ravana, in order to flatter Sita, describes Sita’s beauty in quite explicit ways.
Sometimes we may find some things in scripture also, or most prominently the 10th canto. We find descriptions in scripture that may also agitate our mind. So now there we have to understand that we may think, is it why scripture is describing such things? It’s agitating my mind.
So there is, we don’t have to become paranoid. Even within say depictions of physical beauty, there are levels. According to contemporary ways of thinking, which is more or less in agreement here with the traditional way of thinking, there is romantic, there is erotic and there is pornographic.
So romantic means, see romance, the male-female attraction is just a fact of life. And then if the female is attractive, that is described. So there are many stories within the scripture which talk about romance.
And at that time the beauty of the female is described. So in romantic, the point is not to trigger people’s desires. It is just to create a setting for whatever story is being described.
In erotic, there is especially a large emphasis on sexuality. In pornographic, the only purpose is sexuality. The only purpose, mostly when pornographic movies are there, there is no story, there is no plot.
The whole thing is just to trigger people’s desires. So sometimes when we are too averse to things, we conflate all these three. Now it is possible that actually anything can trigger desires within us.
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu says in the Chaitanya Charita Amrit that even seeing a wooden doll can trigger a person’s desires. So anything can trigger a person’s desires. So what we have to see is what is the purpose of something.
So when scripture contains some description that seems explicit, they are not meant to trigger our desire. So scripture is telling us certain narratives, certain stories. And while telling those stories, the particular description of female beauty may come in.
In Mohini Murthy’s description, the whole storyline twists based on, say, the demons, they have won the victory, they have got the nectar pot. And then suddenly they just willingly give the nectar pot to Mohini. And Mohini Murthy, this is Lord Vishnu in that female form, he gives that to the devatas.
So how can somebody be so stupid? How can somebody be so stupid? So actually the very name of that avatar of the Lord is Mohini. One who brings Mohan. So the form of the Lord by which he deluded the demons.
So then for conveying the point of that story, now that description of Mohini Murthy is essential. Because that’s what describes how Mohini Murthy deluded the demons. Because she was so, she was not just beautiful, she was devastatingly beautiful.
So Prabhupada, he tells, I’ll come to that part a little later. Similarly, in the Ramayana, when there are some explicit descriptions, then see Ravana is captivated by Sita’s beauty. And Ravana is a typical materialistic male.
He thinks that if I flatter a woman talking about her beauty, she will come over to me. So basically he does, he does whatever a man does to attract, proposition a woman. He describes his own strength and wealth.
He describes her beauty. And then he derides the competition. He says, Ram.
He doesn’t even think that she is married. For him marriage has no sanctity. He says, Ram, he is just a poverty stricken person.
What can he give you to come to me? So there the description of Sita’s beauty is just a part of the storyline. So that the extent of the infatuation of Ravana can be understood. The purpose is not to trigger desires.
The purpose is to depict a particular theme, to highlight a particular theme. So another point is that many of these traditional literature, just like if we have sonnets, if a person is writing poetry or writing in a particular genre, say sonnets or whatever, then you have to follow the rules of that genre. You have to have the last words rhyming.
Or you have to have a particular number of syllables in a particular verse. So the Shastras are written, they are transcendental books. But they are written at a particular time in history.
And in a particular time in history, for a particular book to be considered a Kavya, to be considered a poetic work. Now one of the features that has to be there is Shringara. Shringara has many different meanings.
But Shringara means basically description of the beauty of the female form. That is basically a feature of literature. And so the Ramayana, the Bhagavatam, the Mahabharata, they accommodate that within their storyline.
The purpose is not to trigger people’s desire. The purpose is just to convey the storyline and where it is appropriate, that kind of descriptions are added. So if we are getting agitated, then we can skip those sections.
The Prabhupada even said that the Tenth Canto Shramad Bhagavatam, if we read the Gopi’s pastimes, if we are getting agitated by that, don’t read it. Because the Bhagavatam itself is very categorical. What it says is that, actually, those who hear Krishna’s pastimes with the Gopis, the whole chapter is describing, the 29th chapter to 33rd chapter, there are 5 chapters describing the Raas Diya.
And at the end of it, the Phalashruti comes. Phalashruti is the fruit of hearing. And usually the Puranas give effusive Phalashrutis.
You will become free from all sinful reactions. You will attain heavens for so many years. You will attain liberation.
You will attain this. You will attain that. So effusive promises are given.
You will get so much wealth. At this stage, after this whole pastime is described, what is the Phalashruti being told? So it says, if somebody hears this pastimes of Krishna, who is referred to by the name Vishnu, to remind us, don’t think this is just an ordinary boy enjoying with an ordinary girl. This is Vishnu, the Supreme Lord of Yajneshwar.
The Krida of Vishnu with the Vrajavadhus, when he hears this, चद्धान्वितो अनुश्रुनयाद अथवर्णयेद्य If one hears them faithfully or speaks them faithfully, what will happen there? पक्तिम्पराम्भग्वति प्रतिलभ्यकामं पक्तिम्पराम्भग्वति Attraction to the Supreme Lord, devotion to the Supreme Lord will awaken in the heart. And what will happen by that? प्रतिलभ्यकामं Kama is selfish desire, lust. रुद्रोग, this is the disease of the heart.
आश्व अपहिनोति It will be quickly destroyed. अचिरेन धीरह Soon it will be destroyed and the person will become sober. So normally when people talk about male-female interactions, what happens is, those who read about it, those who hear about it, those who watch it, they also become sensually agitated.
But here the Bhagavatam says by hearing Radha Krishna’s pastimes, our sensual desires will go away, kama will go away. How will this happen? So clearly, I’ll come to that, that is the last part of the class. But the point here is, the Bhagavatam’s intention is not to trigger desirousness.
The Bhagavatam gives the opposite promise, that by reading this, our sensual desires will go away. So scripture is meant to bring out our higher side. And somehow while reading some sections of scripture, our lower side comes out.
We have to understand that is not the intention of scripture. So we have to appropriately adjust our reading so that our lower side doesn’t come out. The Bhagavad Gita says that, so now the last point I’ll talk about is, what is the purpose of beauty being present in this world? I was giving a university programme in America.
So one person asked that, a student asked, is God a masochist? A masochist is a sadist rather, one who causes pain to others. You know, God makes beautiful objects in this world. God gives us senses which are attracted to beautiful objects, and then he tells us don’t enjoy.
Why has God made it like this? So I explained, not at all. The idea is that there is beauty in the spiritual world. This is a whole class in itself, but I’ll try to explain this briefly.
So the Bhagavad Gita says this material world is a reflection of the spiritual world. So whatever is present in this world is present in its pure form in the spiritual world. So there is male-female interaction in its pure form in the spiritual world.
And what is present in this world is a distorted reflection. It’s distorted because it can make us forget Krishna. It can fill us with illusion.
So if there is, there is a mango tree, there is a mango on top, and there is a river in which there is a reflection in which we see the mango tree. And now somebody doesn’t see the tree, they jump into the river and they try to eat the mango. They try to eat the mango.
And they just chase after it, chase after it. If there is a shallow river, they bang their head, they break their head. They don’t get the mango at all.
But that doesn’t mean there is no mango. The real mango is there. They climb up the tree.
So now, if somebody just did not have, their vision was just like this, they couldn’t see up on the tree. And if there is no river, there is no reflection, then they would never know that there is such a thing called mango. So, what the world is, there is beauty in the spiritual world.
Krishna is all-attractive. Krishna associates are sublimely attractive. And we as souls who are parts of Krishna are meant to be eternally attracted to Krishna.
Now, this world is like a reflection of the spiritual world. So the attractive forms of this world, when they attract us, there is some pleasure, but the attractiveness of the form themselves is temporary, the pleasure is temporary. And we are deceived when we chase these pleasures as the goal of our life.
But then, the reflection, if a person is asking, where is this reflection coming from? Where is this beauty coming from? So, Krishna explains in the Bhagavad Gita that everything attractive in this world manifests the spark of his supreme all-attractiveness. So, if somebody is attractive, somebody has a good-looking form, you know, yes, that is a spark of Krishna’s all-attractiveness manifesting within. It is not that we have… See, a spirituality is not meant to deny our experience of reality.
It is meant to deepen our experience of reality. So, if somebody has a beautiful form, we don’t have to say that. No, they don’t have a beautiful form.
They have a beautiful form. Beauty is opulence. Just like wealth is opulence, just like strength is opulence.
So, we know there are six opulences of Krishna. So, different, some people, by their past karma, are given wealth. And now, if they think of wealth as the source of happiness, then they will get into illusion, they will get bound.
But they have wealth now. There is no need to deny that they are wealthy. They are wealthy right now.
So, just as wealth is an opulence that comes with past karma, similarly, beauty is an opulence that comes with past karma. Some people are… Some men are beautiful, some men are handsome. Beauty is a result of past karma.
It’s not that we are meant to deny. No, it’s not beautiful. No, but the idea is that just as if I think wealth will be the source of happiness, wealth alone is the source of happiness, that will cause illusion and entanglement.
Similarly, if I think beauty alone is a source of illusion, a source of happiness, that will cause me entanglement. So, when we see beauty in this world, we naturally feel attracted. So, devotees think, this actually reflects the spark of Krishna’s beauty.
So, this is so attractive, how much more will the whole be attractive? So, instead of being attracted to the spark, we direct our attraction towards the whole. So, everything attractive comes from Krishna, but everything attractive may not take us to Krishna. Everything attractive comes from Krishna, but everything attractive may not take us to Krishna.
So, we have to have the appropriate vision. If I look at someone attractive, and I think, oh, this is so attractive, this will give me pleasure, then that will not take me towards Krishna. But if I look at an attractive person, I think, this is actually a spark of Krishna’s attractiveness, so let me become attracted to Krishna.
Let me focus on practising bhakti, by which I will become attracted to Krishna. Then, the attractive things of this world, they can become pointers to Krishna’s attractiveness, rather than becoming competitors to Krishna’s attractiveness. When they become competitors, they think, I want to get this, there is no need for Krishna.
Then it is a problem. But if they become pointers, then we don’t have to deny reality, we can deepen our experience of reality. So, now, as I was telling that, this world is a reflection of the spiritual world.
So, the reflected mango is meant to remind us of the real mango, and meant to inspire us to go towards the real mango. So, unfortunately, if we are not very philosophically convinced, then what happens is, ideally what should happen, the reflection should remind us of the reality. But if you are not very philosophically convinced, then the reality reminds us of the reflection.
That means, the people who are romantically involved, they come to the altar and say, Radha Krishna, there is a divine couple there, we are a couple here. And they think it is at the same level. So, if the reality is reminding us of the reflection, then what is happening, by actually reading Tantra, Kanto, we are becoming materially agitated.
Then we have to understand that, better let me not look at that aspect of reality. We can hear Krishna Leela, but we don’t have to focus on Krishna’s Madhurya das pastimes with the Gopis. We can hear other aspects of Krishna Leela.
And gradually, as we become philosophically convinced, about that this is the reality, this is the reflection, then rather, instead of getting emotionally invested in the reflection, we will try to become more and more emotionally invested in the reality. And all our eyes craving for beauty, all our hearts longing for love, all of that can be perfectly and perennially fulfilled in Krishna. And by the consistent practise of bhakti, our attraction to Krishna will become stronger and stronger.
And the stronger our attraction to Krishna becomes, then the deeper will be the satisfaction, the fulfilment, the joy that we will experience in that absorption in Krishna. So I’ll summarise. I spoke today about how these verses where the body is being described in very negative terms, as being filled with foul substances, this can be very jarring.
But the purpose is to counter our bodily infatuation with shock treatment. So some people may meditate on seeing the body without the skin. It’s not at all attractive.
But in the bhakti part, that is more like a negative vision of the body. In karma, people romanticise the world and the body. Oh, just some adjustment.
I’m so happy over here. In jnana, people demonise the world. This is so terrible.
In bhakti, we utilise the world. So science, although it is intellectual, its purpose is largely like karma of that person similar to karma. It’s trying to enjoy the world.
So the Bhagavad Gita and the Bhagavatam both have a central message of bhakti. But in one’s context, it is one has to do action. So it is a world affirming book.
In context, it is much more world affirming. Bhagavatam, it is for one who has renounced the world and is about to die. So it’s much more world denying.
The essence of bhakti is neither world affirming nor world denying. It is world engaging. And the healthy way to look at the body is not to see it as a source of pleasure or a source of trouble, but to see it as a tool for service.
Shariram dharmasadhanam. And for seeing the body as a tool for service, we have to ensure that the body and its needs don’t become a competitor to Krishna. If we eat too much or eat too little, then we are always thinking of food.
When will I get it? When will I get it? Or if we sleep too much or sleep too little. Again, if the body’s needs become competitor to our focus on Krishna, then that is unhealthy. We just learn how much to satisfy the body’s needs so that we can go on with our service to Krishna.
And while functioning with the body, the healthy way is to focus on engaging the body, not obsessing on depriving or torturing the body. And then we discussed about the bodily beauty. It’s not that you have to deny bodily beauty.
It is a result of past karma and it is a real thing. But the illusion is that if this alone will make me happy, then it is a problem. So scriptures also contain sometimes descriptions of bodily beauty.
So they are not what in today’s culture there are many descriptions are pornographic, just simply meant to trigger a desire. The scripture contains just romantic, not even erotic. It is to emphasise the point of the storyline.
Like say Mohini Murthy’s beauty is central to describing how the demons got dehumed. Sita’s beauty is central to Ravana’s getting madly infatuated. So while studying the scripture, that purpose should be served.
Otherwise, that is not being served. We can pass over some of those sections in scripture. And then when I look at the 10th canto Bhagavatam, it says that far from becoming sensually agitated, the result that comes by hearing Krishna realise that Krishna’s pastime is a gopi, is that sensual desire goes away.
How does that happen? It happens when we understand that Krishna’s pastime is a gopi, they are the reality. Whatever happens in this world, main interaction is a reflection. So the more we become convinced that that is the reality, we become detached from the reflection.
So the attractive things in this world manifest a spark of Krishna’s splendour. But everything attractive, although it comes from Krishna, it may not take us to Krishna. Whether it will take us to Krishna or not depends on whether we are able to connect with Krishna or not.
So if we see, if we find that perceiving the objects of the world is agitating us, then we have to cut down the perception. If we are hearing Krishna’s pastimes with the gopi’s eyes actually agitating us, then we do not need philosophy to convince that it is the reality. So we steadily practise bhakti, and by that steady practise, our heart’s attraction gets redirected from the world towards Krishna.
And all our longing for beauty, longing for love, will be perfectly and perennially fulfilled in our absorption in Krishna. Thank you very much. Ray.
Sir, your question has been answered. Yes, my question. Sir, you are talking about the senses and the mind.
Yeah. You can speak. I will repeat the question once again.
So you are talking about the senses and the mind, but you know that there is contaminated intelligence and purified intelligence, and there is the description of intelligence as the whole direction of the world. So can you please explain the process of intelligence in this regard? Okay. So I talked about how the mind and senses can be contaminated.
What about the intelligence? Yes, the intelligence can also be contaminated. Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita says that in 3.40, that kama, selfish desire is situated in indriyani, mano, buddhah. Senses, mind and intelligence, all three.
What this means is, Prabhupada says in a lecture that we are meant to use our intelligence to control the enjoying mentality. But we are used to enjoying intelligently. Enjoying intelligently means we think I can enjoy in a way, clever enough that I won’t get the consequences.
But it doesn’t work like that. Because whenever we indulge, the impressions are created in the consciousness. And those impressions are going to pull us again and again.
So we may not be caught for our indulgences, but we will be caught by our indulgences. We may indulge, we may do something wrong, and nobody comes to know about it. So we think I was not caught by it.
I was not caught for it. We may not be caught for our indulgences, but we will be caught by our indulgences. Every time we indulge in something, then that desire becomes stronger and stronger.
By repeated indulgence, the impulsive becomes compulsive. And then that compulsive desire itself is bondage. Again and again, impel to do the same thing.
So essentially, with our intelligence, we need to understand that, understand based on Shastric study, that material desires, if I indulge in them, that will have damaging consequences. Not just spiritually, but materially, when people get too entangled in things, they become addicts and they suffer. So our intelligence, if it is not guided by scripture, we can assume that our intelligence right now is contaminated.
So the intelligence will plot and scheme how I can enjoy indulgence. It’s like, how close can I get to sin without sinning? That is the question that the intelligence that is deceived asks. But the intelligence that is wise, the intelligence that is spiritually guided understands that, why should I go to that danger? I might just get swept away beyond the line that I have decided.
So better not indulge in this. Better stay away from this. So the way to purify and purify our intelligence is regular scriptural study.
So when we hear regularly, study regularly, then our intelligence becomes two things. It becomes strong and it becomes sharp. Strong means that when the desire comes, we are able to resist it.
Sharp means when the desire comes, we notice it. Sometimes what happens, the desire comes and the desire makes us do things and we don’t even notice it. But so regular scriptural study makes our intelligence strong and sharp.
We are alert to catch it when the desire comes and we have the enough muscles to resist the desire. So although we have intelligence which is presently contaminated, but by regular scriptural study it can become purified. So for all practical purposes, you know, for us intelligence means, especially with respect to making choices in life, moral choices.
So intelligence means the words of Guru, Sadhu, Shastra. We may all have different levels of intelligence and say, how much, how fast we can do mathematical sums, how much we can remember people’s names, how much we can, we all have different kinds of intelligences. They are just karmic gifts.
And if you have them, we use them. But when scripture talks about intelligence, it is primarily talking about the discriminating and decision-making ability. This is right, this is wrong.
This is beneficial, this is harmful. That capacity is what is enhanced by regular scriptural study. So if we don’t do that, we are not hearing regularly, studying regularly, then our intelligence will be taken over by the worldly desires.
And instead of using the intelligence to stop sensual indulgence, we will use the intelligence to indulge sensually and then cover things up. Does that answer the question? When does the intelligence become firmly directed towards the law? No, the description is given in the second chapter. Intelligence is described as the form, direction of the law.
So when does intelligence become the form, direction of the law? You know the chariot body metaphor? The body is compared to a chariot. In that, what is the charioteer compared to? The intelligence, the charioteer. The passenger is the soul.
The charioteer is the intelligence, the horses of the senses, the reins of the mind. Now if you consider Krishna and Arjuna on the chariot in the Bhagavad Gita, there Krishna is the charioteer. So Prabhupada in a lecture states that when we surrender to Krishna, we make Krishna our charioteer.
So surrendering to Krishna means, we have our intelligence, but we make our intelligence in harmony with Krishna’s directions. So the more we learn to live according to scripture, the more scripture becomes the foundational matrix by which we make decisions in life. Then our intelligence becomes the form, direction of the law.
I’ll give the intelligence by which you can come to me. So essentially Krishna wants to guide us. But he is also seeing how much we want his guidance.
So he gives us guidance externally through Guru, Sadhu, Shastra. And to the extent we take that guidance, to the extent we live according to what he is telling us, we are showing him I want guidance. So when we take the guidance that comes externally, then Krishna guides us internally also.
But if we don’t take the external guidance, that means even when we know something is right, but we don’t strive to do it, if Krishna says you don’t want guidance, then I won’t give it to you. So the more we live according to Krishna’s guidance coming through Guru, Sadhu, Shastra, the more Krishna will give us guidance from within. And then our intelligence will become the channel through which Krishna is manifesting.
Does it become the form, direction of the law? Yes, please. How can beauty be utilised in Krishna’s service? It’s like any other opulence. See anyone who has opulence, they are attractive.
Somebody has wealth, they are attractive. Somebody has strength, they are attractive. Somebody has knowledge, they are attractive.
Knowledge means basically intelligence, knowledge acquiring faculty they have, they are attractive. So somebody who has beauty, they are attractive. So they, if somebody who is beautiful, they are devotees of Krishna, they speak Krishna’s message, then people are attracted to them.
So then they help people who are attracted to them to become attracted to Krishna. That’s how beauty can be used in Krishna’s service. Now, as I said that each of these opulences can be used or they can be misused.
Just as wealth, if somebody has a lot of wealth, they can use it in Krishna’s service. They can do so much service to Krishna. So similarly, but wealth can also be used to dominate, to control.
So like that, those who have beauty, they can use their beauty to control others, make others dance to their tunes because others are captivated by their beauty. Or they can use their beauty, those who are attracted to them, they speak Krishna’s message. And those who hear Krishna’s message, they are attracted by that.
So basically, if we identify too much with the opulence that we have, just like if I identify too much with my wealth, then what happens is I don’t have the distance and perspective to use that wealth in Krishna’s service. It’s mine. But if I understand this is a gift given to me by Krishna, it is with me, so let me use it in Krishna’s service.
So like that, beauty, those who look good, naturally people are attracted to those who look good. So then, if they are speaking Krishna’s message, then it can attract many, many people. So basically, we use that as a means for attracting those who are attracted to us to Krishna.
That’s how beauty can be used in Krishna’s service. Yes, ma’am. Thank you very much for your wonderful talk.
I have two questions. First is… Just speak, I’ll repeat the question. First question is… Correct, yeah.
But they are, despite their contemplation, they are very much devoted towards the Lord. And then, this is just a pastime to depict all of us, like a person can be of any background, but any time it can happen. Enlightenment, yeah.
But with us, there is so much devotional environment, but this doesn’t happen with us. But how is this, because this is Kali Yuga, and that was a different way of… That’s a good point, understood. One question later, let’s complete that.
So, although Sikha Chandra or Pingala did not have any devotional environment, still they got realisation. Now we have so much devotional environment around us, still we don’t get realisation. Why is that? We all are on our own spiritual journeys.
And we all are at different stages in our spiritual evolution. So, realisation is something which we can ourselves seek by the steady practise of bhakti. But realisation also comes at an appropriate level of spiritual maturity.
So that’s why, it’s not that, although different people may be in similar and dissimilar environments, two people may come at the same time to Krishna or Dr. Sweet, but then one person may just grow rapidly, another person may not grow that much. That does not necessarily mean that the second person is insincere. It may be that the first person already practised bhakti in a previous life, and they are going forward from there.
So basically, we focus on the practise of bhakti. And realisations will come gradually. We don’t know at what point we are in our spiritual journey.
Nor do we know at what point who else is in spiritual journey. All that we can do is, we move forward from where we are. And while practising bhakti, we can see if we are doing anything which is covering our realisations.
That means, if I am lighting a fire, and then I put water on it, and the fire will not stay lit for long. So like that, if we do devotional activities which awaken our spiritual consciousness, but then again we engage in sensual activities, then that’s like putting water on the fire. So we can try to minimise within our capacity, within our realisation, as much as possible, the activities that deaden us spiritually.
But overall, we just keep practising bhakti. Krishna’s mercy is ultimately ahaituki, it is causeless. So as we keep practising bhakti, suddenly there will be moments when we get it.
This is what I am meant to do. So what happens, there are moments of insight which we get in our life also. But sometimes we don’t cherish those moments.
So just like in material life, if people go to say, some Niagara Falls or somewhere, and they click photos, they want to have those memories. So like that, in our spiritual life also, we get moments of deep insight, moments of deep ecstasy, experiences which are profound spiritually. Sometimes we participate in some kirtan, it’s so blissful.
Sometimes some darshan just melts our heart. Sometimes we go to some yatra, and we feel deeply moved. So these are moments of great spiritual experience for us.
We need to conscientiously cherish them. We write them down. Because these are experiences, so we can’t click photos of them.
But we can click verbal photos by writing down what we felt. And then, later on when we feel a little bit down, we go back and look at it. The insight that we get, if we treasure them, then they will become deeper and deeper.
But the insight comes, sometimes we hear a great class, such and so nice, it’s a good class. And we sometimes make notes in our notebook. But there are so many notes, they just get lost.
But something which is really penetrated deep inside us, we keep a special note and refer to that. By this, we are showing Krishna, whenever you give me insight, you give me ecstasy, I treasure it. And Krishna will give it more and more.
In general, in our practise of bhakti, we don’t worry too much about why I am not getting realisations. We just focus on whether I am practising bhakti nicely. If I am doing that part, then gradually the realisations will come.
What was the second question? Often in classes, we have to work with the class. There are so many things to be done in a Prabhupada’s knowledge. And that has to be done very quickly, I am sure.
But sometimes, when we are in classes and doing some services, we are very much enthusiastic. But it not happens always. We were caught up of our worldly duties, family circumstances, and so many things.
So how do we balance all those things, so that it can be progressive towards our devotion? So when we hear inspiring classes, we feel inspired to do a lot of service. But then afterwards, our family, professional responsibilities come up, and then we are not able to continue. Firstly, we shouldn’t see the two necessarily as separate.
Even our family responsibilities, they can also be spiritualised. Even our professional responsibilities, Krishna says, sva-karma-natham apy arju, through your work, worship me. So we don’t have to necessarily see that only directly devotional activities are devotional.
We have to bring the devotional intention into all our activities. Prabhupada would say, our children, this is Krishna’s children, the Vaikuntha children, special souls who have been blessed, who we have been blessed with, we have to take care of them. So like that, every relationship that we have, every obligation we can have, we can spiritualise it.
Because wherever we are, people are observing us. If we are conducting ourselves well, if people around us see, if our family members see, after becoming a devotee, this person has become a better human being, more kind, more gentle, more sensitive, more helpful. If people see that, in the office they see, this person has become a better person, better professional.
There is a certain human virtue which everyone appreciates. And if that happens, then people are getting attracted by that. They may not immediately become devotees, but they are getting attracted.
That is also service. It is preaching. I was in a university in India and one student asked, how can I help, how can I inspire my other students to become devotees? So I told him, by studying nicely.
If you study nicely, there is no guarantee that your friends will become devotees. But if you study poorly, there is a guarantee your friends will not become devotees. So, firstly we should see even our worldly responsibilities also as a form of service to Krishna.
Having said that, they are not the only form of service to Krishna. Because we do them in worldly circumstances, so it is very easy to get material consciousness when we do those services. That’s why we need direct connection with Krishna.
We need activities where we are directly connected with Krishna, devoted to Krishna. So, if we are inspired to do some service, and we take it up, it is vital to have like-minded people who are also inspired by that. By that service.
And they will inspire us. And it is also good if we are doing a particular service, to read or hear also about that service. In general, reading and hearing inspires, because it’s like food.
After I have food, I get energy, I work. Now after some time, if that’s natural, that energy goes away. And I have to eat again.
So at one level, to be enthusiastic about devotional service, we need to keep hearing regularly. But along with that, while hearing, we may hear so many different things. So if we are inspired to do a particular service, then we should try to hear or read about that service.
If I am doing deity worship, then I should read. Not just about specifics of how to do deity worship, but also why deity worship is important. Get a more spiritual vision of that service.
Associate with devotees who are doing that service, and then get an understanding from them. See how they are seeing Krishna in their service. Not just practical strategies.
Practical strategies are also good. Because they also give us guidance about how to do it. But also to get spiritual vision.
So three things. General hearing, specific hearing about our service, and associating with those who are inspired in that service. By that, we can maintain our inspiration for doing our service.
If we associate with others who are doing some other service, it’s good. But then our enthusiasm for our service will go down. If I am inspired to study scripture and teach scripture, and somebody else is inspired to do fundraising, and then they will say, Oh, I raised this much funds.
What is my scripture study doing here? So the easiest way to become insecure and unsteady in our service is to associate with those who are doing some other service, and their association disenthuses in our service. So even in association, we need to associate with like-minded devotees that we are inspired to do the service that we are doing. Thank you.
Okay, last question. Thank you for having me. Hare Krishna.
I wanted to ask, you said about the years of Chakras. Yeah, correct. And you spoke about attracting to Krishna.
So the Holy Name is the foundation, access to life being. So I wanted to ask a simple question. Yeah, please.
What does it mean to hear the Holy Name? Yes, generally, if I call someone, say I call somebody, and I call them, then as soon as I call them, I think about that person. Because for me, in my mind, the Nama and the Rupa are interestingly associated. I call Sunit, as soon as I knew Sunit, I remember it.
Why is that? Because the Nama and the Rupa are connected. And that connection of the Nama and Rupa is a sign of our being aware of them in a personal sense. Otherwise, that Nama is just a sound.
Isn’t it? So when we hear Krishna’s name, when we chant Krishna’s name, what should happen is that the Nama reminds us of the person. Now generally when we just mutter the sounds, Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Ram Hare Ram, Ram Ram, Hare Hare, what happens is we’re just uttering the sound but we’re not really thinking of Krishna. That’s why actually it’s not just speaking with the tongue, it’s also thinking about Krishna.
And so when, while chanting the Holy Name, we make the connection, in the sense we all know it, that I’m chanting Krishna’s name, but we don’t make the connection while we’re chanting. We’re just uttering the sounds. That’s why there’s one aspect is chanting Krishna’s name, another aspect is hearing about Krishna, so that our consciousness is filled with Krishna.
When we hear adequately about Krishna, then, so hearing about Krishna can mean philosophical understanding of how Krishna is the ultimate reality, and pastime of how Krishna is so attractive. Both of these can, then when we chant, we make the connection. So at one level, hearing Krishna, hearing Krishna’s name, that’s like a descending process.
When Krishna is pleased with our chanting, suddenly the Holy Name registers within us. Yes, this is Krishna. That can happen by Krishna’s will whenever he wants.
But from our side, we can make the effort to hear the sound, and as much as possible to try to connect the sound with the person. Now connecting the sound with the person, it is not just intellectual activity. We can do it intellectually also.
Before we start chanting, remember Krishna, I’m chanting your name, I’m praying to you. Please let me remember you. Please let me connect with you.
We can pray like that. But it’s not just an intellectual activity. It’s also something that results by purification.
The more we become purified, personal conception naturally results. So at our stage, we want to focus on Krishna. That’s the sound of the Holy Name.
The sound, it’s very difficult to focus because we still have a depersonalised conception of Krishna. So what it is good to do is around the point of concentration, we can create a circle of concentration. That means, if I can’t fix the mind of the Holy Name, I can have a picture of Krishna in front of me.
I can have the Hare Krishna mantra written down. I can have Tulsi Devi. We can have maybe the picture of our spiritual master or spiritual guide.
If I take an initiation, we can have a picture of the initiation ceremony. We took the Vavai chanting stream rounds. Or we can have some words glorifying the Holy Name.
We can have some philosophical insight which reminds us of the importance of chanting. So basically, the mind is going to wander. But it will wander all over the universe.
Instead, we let it wander within a circumference which is connected with the Holy Name. That way it goes, but it doesn’t go very far away. And whatever it wanders to, that helps us to bring it back to Krishna.
So that way, we can reinforce the Krishna connection of our consciousness while we are chanting. The Holy Name itself is one Krishna connection. But we can have further Krishna connections.
And by this, gradually, the Holy Name will start registering in our consciousness. And the more it registers, the more we are actually hearing Krishna. So ultimately, hearing Krishna means the hearing of the sound reminds us of Krishna.
So at one level, we can do it through our conscious effort. At another level, through purification, we just spontaneously emerge. Thank you very much.