The antiquity accessibility and glory of the Vedic spiritual path SB 3.22.33

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
Hare Krishna. So today morning, we are now discussing the concluding part of the pastime of Swayambhu Manu. Swayambhu Manu will, after this, make an appearance briefly at the start of the fifth canto, where there is a conflict of interest between him and his son, Priyavrata, about whether he should become the king or not.
And then that is resolved, Priyavrata agrees to become the king, because Uttanpada’s dynasty ends. Uttanpada and Priyavrata are the two sons of Swayambhu Manu. And after this, Swayambhu Manu will directly appear in the eighth canto of Srimad Bhagavatam, where he will be taking one of us.
So at that time, when he goes to the jungle, then Yajnamurti comes and saves him from the Rakshasas, who are going to come to eat him, devour him while he is in silent meditation. So in this canto, Swayambhu Manu has appeared earlier in the 12-13 chapters, where he describes how he is an obedient son to his father. So he very respectfully obeys the instructions of his father that he should act as a procreator.
And then he, along with his wife Chaturupa, they start the process of procreation. And then Brahmaji is very pleased with him for his obedience, for his cooperation in helping him fulfil the instruction of the Lord. And then after that, the Varahadeva pastime is there, and the fall of Jai Vijay is described.
And then again after that, brief reference in the middle of the canto, again in 20-21-23 chapters, Swayambhu Manu has appeared again, where he is now arranging for the marriage of his daughter. So now, Devahuti has gone, she’s been married to Kardam Muni, and Swayambhu Manu has come back. So after this chapter, this remaining canto will focus on Devahuti and Kardam Muni.
This is the concluding part of the discussion about Swayambhu Manu. Now, in the description of Swayambhu Manu, the introduction is quite interesting. That, okay, there is a son who is obedient to the father, he’s one of the primable beings in the universe.
And then after that, the focus is quite extraordinary, that normally, a father wants a compatible match for his daughter. Father considers it to be a very great responsibility. And it’s quite surprising, from an objective perspective, that a person who is practically bigger than the emperor of the world, that person would want to choose as his son-in-law, a poverty-stricken person.
So, through the speech of Swayambhu Manu, some of his inner values are revealed. But now, Shukadeva Swami will throw further light on why Swayambhu Manu made such a choice, is talking about his personal way of living. And we see how spiritual values, devotional values, are integral, are foundational to his way of living.
So, actually speaking, what we value become our values. Whatever we value, they become our values. So, if we value wealth a lot, then wealth becomes our value.
So, we use the word value in a monetary or in a measuring sense, and values we use in a deeper ethical sense. But the two are connected. People may not readily say that, okay, money is my most important value.
People may say, I value morality, I value family, I value God. But ultimately, depending on the priorities that they choose, depending on the actions that they do, we can understand what they actually value. And what they actually value are their actual values.
So, we all have some values to which we pay lip service. We speak about those values. And there are other values that we live according to.
So, there is that conflict. Now, that conflict is there, that conflict can be hypocritical if one is not trying to bridge the gap between it. That means one is speaking one set of values and is not aspiring to go towards those values.
One is just living a materialistic life. And for example, say talking about spiritual values, then the conflict can be hypocritical. However, in the life of a sadhaka also, there is this conflict between the values that a person aspires to live and the values that a person is actually living according to.
So, we know functionally that Krishna is the most important thing in our life. But then there are so many other things which become important, our eating, our sleeping, our bodily activities, they become important for us. And especially what we value most becomes most evident at the time of our chanting.
Because at the time of our chanting, we are just confronted with our unvarnished reality. We are faced with ourselves for what we are. Chanting brings a mirror in front of us which doesn’t allow us to hide who we are.
So, how much we have advanced in Krishna consciousness can be judged by how much we are attracted to Krishna. So, when Krishna is manifesting as the holy name, and our mind goes everywhere except to the holy name, so then that indicates that we have not yet learned to value Krishna so much. Of course, this is not necessarily hypocritical because we are trying to be attentive.
We are trying to fix the mind on Krishna. To go back to Godhead, a pure devotee is one who has no desire other than the desire to serve Krishna. Now, even if we don’t become pure devotees by the end of our life, at least our desire to serve Krishna, our desire to be connected with Krishna, should be more than our desire for other things.
If our desire for Krishna is the strongest desire, then according to the law of last thought that Krishna talks about in 8.4 and 5 in the Bhagavad Gita, whatever we think of at the time of our death, we will attain that. So, the whole idea of spiritual culture is to keep in mind that we are going to die. However, it is said that when we are living materially or materialistically, we should live as if we are going to die today.
We should not get entangled too much. We should focus. However, when we are living spiritually, when we are doing devotional activities, we should live as if we are going to live forever.
If we are studying scripture, and we are thinking, I am going to die today, we will not be able to focus. Scriptural study requires time. And if we study scripture in the mode of passion, where we are just one eye is on the book and the other eye is on the watch, then we can’t really study scripture.
To study scripture, we have to absorb ourselves. So, now, it is unlikely that we may die today. It is possible.
That is the way most of us may live for many years. It is not unlikely. It is impossible that we will live forever.
But these attitudes are conducive for devotional life. So, the underlying principle of bhakti is whatever is favourable, we accept and whatever is unfavourable, we reject. So, in material life, actually, the nature of material life is that the more time we allocate for it, the more time it gobbles up.
That is how it is. There is some law. There are sociologists who make their laws.
Their laws are not empirical, deductive laws, but they are just their own conceptions. Their law says that work expands to occupy the time available for it. So, whatever work we are doing, if I decide I’ll do it in one hour, it can be done in 20 minutes.
If I allocate one hour, my mind will wander here and there. I’ll do this, I’ll do that, and it will take that much time. So, actually speaking, when we are doing material activities, we need to make them deadline bound.
This much time I have to do, let me do it as well as I can. But when we are doing spiritual activities also, we cannot wish away the deadlines. The deadlines will be there.
But when we are doing the spiritual activities, actually we should focus. So, actually time is a manifestation of Krishna. And when we are doing material activities, if we are time conscious, then that is one way we are Krishna conscious.
But when we are doing devotional activities, we don’t have to be time conscious. At that time we can be directly Krishna conscious. We can be directly Krishna conscious.
So, when we are chanting, we may keep a track of how much time I am taking for my chanting per round, so that we will be aware that maybe if I am sleeping, if my mind is running too much, I just stop uttering. So, I can keep a track on the watch sometimes. But primarily when we are chanting, we are not time conscious.
We are Krishna conscious. That’s why while doing material activities, we should act as if this will be the last day of my life. Let me do it as quickly as possible.
I have to do it well, no doubt. But let me do it as quickly as possible, so that I can return to home territory. I can return to devotional activities.
When we are doing devotional activities, we need to absorb ourselves. And actually one characteristic of absorption is unawareness of time. Awareness, we are aware of time when we are not absorbed in something.
So, if we are absorbed in something, we are not aware of time. So, here we see in the life of Swayambhu Manu, what are his values? Prabhupada describes in the Purport that his values are centrally, fundamentally spiritual values, devotional values. So, he is ruling the kingdom, which is quite a formidable responsibility.
But he is beginning his day with spiritual activities. As it is said in this verse, Usha is the goddess of dawn. So, in the Vedic literature, especially in the Vedas, in the Puranas, Usha Devi doesn’t come so much.
But in the Vedas, her mention comes several times. So, she is the goddess of dawn. So, Pratyusheshwa, that means at every morning, what happens? Anupadhena, Rudashranvan Hare Katha So, it’s interesting, Shranvan Hare Katha, he is hearing the pastimes of Lord Hari, but it is not Karnena Shranvan, it is Rudashranvan.
So, he is hearing not just with his ears, but he is hearing with his heart. That means, actually his heart is attached to Krishna. And he is hearing because he wants to know more about Krishna, so that his love can deepen, that his remembrance can deepen.
So, it is because Swayambhu Manu has such deep spiritual memories, he knows what is most important in life. And what is most important is actually, one’s bhakti, one’s connection with Krishna, because that is the basis of real happiness. Now, without a spiritual connection with Krishna, no matter how much we have, we will never be satisfied.
Now, people who do not have wealth are considered poor. But, people who have wealth are also poor if they are infected by greed. Because greed forces us to see what we don’t have.
It doesn’t allow us to see all that we have. It forces us to see all that we don’t have. And that makes us miserable.
So, greed makes the wealthy into the moneyed poor. They are poor with money. So, what happens is, that’s how greed works.
So, those who have materialistic values, they can never be satisfied, no matter how much they have. So, when Swayambhu Manu chose Kardan Muni for his son-in-law, that was because he saw that this person, he may be materially poor, but he is spiritually rich. He had direct darshan of the Lord.
And that’s why he is a worthy bride for my daughter, bridegroom for my daughter. And then after, so his spiritual values are depicted in his personal lifestyle, that his life is centred on Krishna. So, we will focus, so Srila Prabhupada in the Purport focusses on three aspects, the antiquity, the accessibility, and the glory of devotional culture.
So, let’s look at these three aspects. The antiquity, antiquity means it’s ancient, it’s time-honoured. Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita, after describing his descent, Hidaya Dahi Dharma, saying 4.7 and 8, then he reassures Arjuna, 4.9 he says that, I descend, not just to deliver the people at that particular time.
Because 4.7 and 8 are the verses which many people quote, many Hindus quote. But if you see, Prabhupada quotes 4.9 much more than 4.7 and 8. 4.7 and 8 are that, Krishna descends, Hidaya Dahi Dharmase, Paritranaya Sadhunam, Meenasai Duskrtam. That Krishna descends to restore religion.
But Srila Prabhupada quotes 4.9 much more. 4.9 is, Janma Karamachame Devyam, Evam Yo Vetti Tattvataha, Tattva Deham Punar Janma, Naiti Mameti So Arjuna. So, actually, why is this verse more quoted by Prabhupada? There’s many reasons, we can’t know the mind of a pure devotee, but if you look at the import that he gives, purport that he gives, we see that, actually, when Krishna comes and reestablishes dharma, that is for that time.
But when Krishna comes and performs the pastimes, those pastimes can be heard at all times. And, that is the real benefit of Krishna’s coming. Because otherwise, the benefit of Krishna’s coming will be limited only to that time.
And Kunti Maharani also in her prayers, in the eighth chapter of the first canto, chapter 1.8, 18-43, there in 32-35 verses, she describes various reasons why the Lord appears. And she concludes also with, My dear Lord, You come to revive the process of devotional service, of hearing and chanting. Now, if we look at it, Bhaveshmin Klishyamananam Avidyakamakarmabhi Shirvan Svaranarhani Karishanithikechana That, You come to relieve the people in this world of misery.
Bhaveshmin Klishyamananam Those who are suffering in material existence. Avidyakamakarmabhi They are suffering because of avidya. They get caught in material desires.
And because of material desires, they do karma. And karma causes bondage. So, Shirvan Svaranarhani Karishanithikechana So, Shirvan Svaranarhani So, if people hear about you, they remember you.
Now, if we look at Krishna’s life, Krishna himself, he himself does Krishna Katha also. He does Bhagavad Katha. He hears about the pastimes of the lord of the sages.
But primarily, he performs many pastimes which others can hear. So, that is the lasting benefit of Krishna’s descent. And that is the culture that Shrila Prabhupada created through his time.
So, after describing this, that those who hear about my pastimes, in truth, they will become liberated and they will come back to me, then Krishna also talks about the antiquity of this process. In 4.10 he says, he says, Bahavo Gyaana Tapasa Poota Madh Bhavam Angataha Bahavo, many, many people have become purified. It’s an interesting phrase, Bahavo Gyaana Tapasa.
Tapasa is austerity, Gyaana is knowledge. So, the austerity of knowledge. And then Poota, Poota means purified.
So, purified by the austerity of knowledge. So, what is the austerity of knowledge? And Krishna is not talking about the Gyaana of the Gyaana Yogis. He is talking about the Gyaana of the Bhaktas.
So, in the process of Bhakti Yoga, cultivating spiritual knowledge is also an austerity. Because the spiritual knowledge is centred on Krishna’s glories. And that is not very appealing to the conditioned soul sometimes.
The conditioned soul wants to focus on his own glories. So, that knowledge, Gyaana Tapasa, Bahavo Gyaana Tapasa, Poota, many people have become purified by that. And then, in 4.15, Krishna emphasises that same point more explicitly.
Here, 4.10, Krishna is only informing. You know, Krishna speaks in many tones. Sometimes, he is informing.
Sometimes, he is contrasting. Sometimes, he is warning. Sometimes, he is explaining.
Sometimes, he is instructing. So, statements, which are directly saying, you should do this, they are instructions. So, not all statements in scriptures are instructions.
For example, This is not an instruction. This is an educational statement. Krishna is educating us.
This is how I appear. So, Vishwanatha Chidambaram explains that among the various statements in scriptures, the instructional statements are the most important. Those statements, you direct instructions.
This is an instructional statement. This is an informational statement. Scriptural information is also important.
But among the scriptural statements, the instructional statements are most important. So, 4.10 is information. Krishna is telling that many people have become purified and come back.
But 4.15, Krishna says, you should follow them, then you will also come back. So, Krishna says, as the people in the past have acted, you also act, as the great souls have acted in the past, you act, and by that you will also become liberated. You will also come back to me.
So, this purvakrtam karma, this refers not just to 4.10, which Arjuna is referring, Krishna has spoken in that chapter, it also refers to 3.19, where Krishna talked about even karmanaivahi samsiddhin astitajanakadaya lokasandrahamevapi sampasyantatmarasi That kings like Janaka also, they became liberated by doing karma, they became liberated. By doing karma in an exemplary way for a lokasangraha. So, lokasangraha is a very important consideration in the Bhagavad Gita.
Lokasangraha, it has an etymological meaning and it has a contextual meaning. Sangraha means accumulation, something which is accumulated for the sake of maintenance. So, lokasangraha actually means maintenance of the world.
So, Prabhupada explained that it is for the example for the world. So, actually, it is the example of the great souls that maintains the world in its order. Everybody needs models.
So, the order of the world is maintained by the examples that are set by the great souls. So, therefore, Krishna is telling Arjuna, lokasangraha, that the great kings have to act in an exemplary way because that will maintain the world. Lokasangraha me vapi, sampashyam kartum arhasi, that same mood which Janaka has displayed, which Bhagavad Gita talks about, that same is talked about as Vayambhamani, that great saintly people, even if they are kings, now the word Rajarishi, Sri Prabhupada translates as saintly kings.
Generally, previous Acharyas as well as Chandragita commentators, they translate it literally. Rajarishi. So, Raja is the adjective, Rishi is the noun.
So, the literal translation is royal sages. Whereas, Prabhupada translates it as saintly kings. So, Sri Prabhupada puts the adjective first, sorry, noun first and the adjective later.
So, Rajarishi, Prabhupada translates as saintly kings. Why? Actually, there is no difference. Essentially, it is a matter of emphasis.
So, Sri Prabhupada emphasises the point that they are kings. They are kings and they are in the world, but still, they are also practising spiritual life. They are living saintly lives.
So, both ways, the emphasis is that there is this aparadharma and paradharma which is combined together. Sri Prabhupada, now in this word, Anyavirodhataha, Anyavirodhataha, the previous Acharyas Glosset, Glosset means, explained it to be that he had no opposition by any other kings. Sri Prabhupada glosses it differently.
He said that the life that he practised was not, there was no virodh between it, he was living a materialistic life, he was living a material life, not materialistic life, living a material life, but Anyavirodhataha, there was no conflict between his material life and the principles of Dharmarthakama and Dharmarthaka. So, there is Aparadharma and there is Paradharma. Aparadharma is lower, Paradharma is higher.
Aparadharma is material religion. Dharma artha kama and moksha. Aparadharma.
And Paradharma is actually spiritual religion, that is directly pure devotional service. So, now, Aparadharma and Paradharma, both are important. If there is a conflict between the two, then Paradharma should be chosen.
But in general, Paradharma and Aparadharma should go together. So, for example, if somebody takes to the renounced order of life, somebody becomes a brahmachari or sanyasi, then for that person, the Aparadharma, say taking care of parents, taking care of family, that has to be given up. But the people who give up Aparadharma for the sake of Paradharma are few.
For most people who are householders, they have to balance between Aparadharma and Paradharma. They live in the world, they have worldly duties, so Aparadharma. And then there is a part of Aparadharma.
Varanashram itself is not transcendental, whereas Vaishnavism is Paradharma. So, the Aparadharma and Paradharma, for most people, they have to be harmonised. Now, the Bhagavatam gives examples of people who give up Aparadharma for the sake of Paradharma.
That is done to highlight the point that Aparadharma is the highest dharma. So, we will see this throughout the Bhagavatam. Bali Maharaj refuses to obey his spiritual teacher, Prahlad Maharaj refuses to obey his father, the Gopis refuse to obey their husbands, then there is, then we have the Kumaras also refuse to obey their father.
These examples are there. But why are these examples given to highlight the point that for the sake of Aparadharma, Paradharma can be given up. But such examples are exceptions.
For general people, the Aparadharma and Paradharma need to be harmonised. What does it mean? That means that one lives in the world and while living in the world one has to follow the principle Dharmartha Kama. While doing that, one does Dharmartha Kama in such a way that it does not conflict with the Paradharma.
That is the practise of pure devotion service. Now that is the balance which every devotee, every sadhaka has to strike at an individual level. And depending on one’s inclination, depending on one’s commitment, when Krishna says, 4.11, generally Prabhupada quotes the first part, the Mayavadis quote the second part of 4.11. The first part is According to how we surrender, Krishna will reciprocate.
The Mayavadis they focus on 4.11. And this all people are on my path. Of course, the Mayavadis mistranslate this as all paths lead to me. However, it doesn’t make sense grammatically or logically because 4.11. This adjective is next to 4.11. It is next to 4.11. It is not next to vartama.
It is not next to path. It is next to people. So, all people are on my path.
And it is not logical to say that everybody is on Krishna’s path. Because there are atheists also who are going away from Krishna. So, it is not right to say that all paths lead to Krishna.
Because atheists are on a path that will take them away from Krishna. And every verse has to be understood in context. If all paths lead to Krishna, then there are so many verses which tell something else.
9.5, 25 tells one goes this way, one goes that way. And so many other verses, if you follow scripture, one thing will happen. If you don’t follow scripture, another thing will happen.
So, contextually, semantically, logically, the idea that all paths lead to the same goal is not sound. Semantically, the adjective is not present there. Logically, all paths cannot lead to the same destination because different paths have different destinations in mind.
Now, somebody who doesn’t believe in God, how can that person go back to God? And contextually, the Bhagavad Gita gives a different message. So, that’s why, but what this verse means is very important. Actually, when Krishna says, all people are on my path, what it means is that Krishna is very accommodating.
Krishna is accommodating. That means, from your place, at your pace, join the race. So, what it means is, from your place, at your pace.
From your place means all of us are situated at different levels within three months. All of us have different psychophysical inclinations. And, we are situated at different levels.
Krishna doesn’t say you have to come to this level only then you can connect with Him. You can practise the path of transcendence from your place. And then, at your pace.
At your pace means that there are people, not everybody can practise spiritual life at a very high level of intensity. And that is accepted in scripture. It is recognised that different people have different kinds of desires, have different levels of spiritual samskaras from their past lives.
And, accordingly, they will have different levels of seriousness. But, from your place, at your pace, join the race. It’s a race because ultimately we are racing against time.
Death is going to come. So, it’s a race that is not going to end with this life. It is going to go on for many, lifetimes.
If you want to end it in one life, then you have to be very serious. But, even those who are not serious, they are accommodated within Vedic culture. So, how they are accommodated? They are given different paths.
They are given different paths. dharma, artha, kama, is a gradual path for spiritual advancement. It may take many lifetimes before spiritual persons are understood.
So, this is a gradual path for spiritual advancement. And the path of bhakti yoga is the swift path. But, when people are living in this world, we see that the bhakti is actually balancing the two.
So, why is this path accessible? It’s accessible because it allows us to practise according to our life. And then, what is the glory? The glory of this kind of dharma, those who renounce the world, they are often held in high esteem in the scriptures. Even the kings respect them.
But, we will see that the scriptures focus not on the renunciates, they focus on the kings. The scriptures reveal to us the glory of the renunciates by the fact that even the kings, who are respected by everyone in the world, the kings respect the renunciates because the renunciates are not going to be the models for all of society in a literal sense. So, that’s why the kings are the people whom other people look up to.
And if they are saintly, then that creates appreciation for saintliness, for spirituality in the general society. And that’s how society becomes spiritualised. So, when Shri Prabhupada met George Harrison, you know, he quoted the 3.21 of the Bhagavad Gita, he said that you are influencing so many people and you become spiritually influenced and so many other people become spiritually influenced.
Now, you know, I conclude with this point that when we practise spiritual life, there has to be an individual choice, an individual decision that actually takes us off on spirituality. The spiritual life is not something which can be institutionalised. The support systems of spiritual life can be institutionalised.
But spiritual life ultimately is a matter of the heart. Now, when the soul desires to serve Krishna, then actually spiritual life takes off. And that will depend on individual inspiration.
So, if you understand that life is temporary and has such a long distance to go, that will inspire us to take our spiritual life seriously. But ultimately it’s up to us to choose. Now, they said that life takes off when we understand how soon life takes us off.
What that means is, life takes us off. So, imagine if we are in a car and we have got the car only for five hours and we want to go from here to that hotel. And I see some nice mountain.
Let me go around and see that mountain. Now, if I just start going around, what will happen is, I will be only half way by the time the car is taken away from me. So, this body is like a car.
And we have it for a finite time. So, when we remember that I have this car only for a finite time, then, when we understand how soon life takes us off. Now, we are here.
How is this? In one moment, we might just be taken off from this stage of life and transported somewhere else where we have to again start off, again take off from where we had left. So, when we understand how soon life takes us off, then, life takes us. Then we recognise what is important and we take spiritual life seriously.
So, by remembering our mortality, by remembering that the opportunity that we have is so precious, we can get that sense of urgency in the practise of spiritual life and then take off from the journey back to Vishnu. So, I will summarise and you can have a few questions if there are any. I started by talking about how, what we value reflects our values and we discussed about Swayambhu Manu.
Because he had spiritual values, so, he was able to choose an appropriate bride room for his daughter and then we discussed about how our values are reflected by our actions, irrespective of what we speak and then we discussed about the antiquity, the accessibility and the glory of the path of Bhakti Yoga. So, antiquity, we discussed how Bhagavad Gita says this is going on for a long, long time and Krishna says follow this, follow this example of others then you can also make spiritual advancement and accessibility we discussed that there is aparadharma and there is paradharma. So, the Vedic culture is such that it accommodates all people.
So, from your place, at your place, join the race. It’s accessible for everyone but the glory is that it can in one life take us to the highest destination. For that, we need to have a sense of urgency and that comes when we remember our mortality and then we can really take off in our spiritual journey.
Are there any questions? Yes. So, it is said that the thought of death inspires us to take shelter of Krishna seriously but then I said when you are doing spiritual activities, we should not think about death. See, the point is that as devotees, we are not meant to be paranoid.
Paranoid means, you know, somewhere, sometimes if you hear that some place there might be terrorist attack. Everybody is fearing, fearing, fearing. You know, we don’t want to live in fear consciousness.
We want to live in Krishna consciousness. So, the remembrance of death is to help us fix the mind on Krishna. But when you are fixing the mind on Krishna, there is no need to remember death.
So, the point which I was making is if you are engaging in spiritual activities, then at that time there is no need to remember death. We remember death so that we engage in spiritual activities. Yeah, so the remembrance of death can keep us engaged.
But when we are doing spiritual activities, at that time, it’s like a patient has to know the disease so that he takes the medicine. But the focus is on taking the medicine. Focus is not on just remembering the disease.
So, death, the thought of death is meant to help us think of Krishna. It is not that just by thinking of death, we are going to become purified or elevated. So, actually, sometimes the thought of death may seem to be very pessimistic.
But in the Vedic philosophy, if there is any pessimism, that is only initial. Initial pessimism pushes us towards the optimism of spirituality. So, yes, Chanakya Maharaj says that we should always think of death.
But the idea is, why do we want to think of death? So that we have impetus for thinking of Krishna. But when I am thinking of Krishna, I don’t have to think about death. The gopis are not thinking about death, they are simply thinking about Krishna.
The sages, when they are absorbed in remembrance of Krishna, they are not thinking about Krishna. They are not thinking about death. So, the point is that we have to focus on Krishna.
And whatever helps us in focussing on Krishna, that is good. So, if we are chanting, at the time the mind starts wandering, then we can think of death so that we can bring the mind back to Krishna. But the focus, we are not meant to be time conscious, we are meant to be Krishna conscious.
So, to the extent the thought of death helps a person in thinking of Krishna, to that extent, it is unhelpful. That is also possible that we may, it may happen that there are positive support systems that create a sense of complacency. And that’s why they become distracted in the remembrance of Krishna.
Yeah, that is happening, then we have to seek out time, place and substance. So, the point is that fear is not a steady platform for practising. So, remembering death is practising spiritual life at the level of fear.
Fear, desire, duty and love. So, remembering death is practising spiritual life at the level of fear. It may be an initial impetus, but that is not a steady impetus.
We want to rise to the level of duty and ultimately love. So, if the mind is wandering so much, you know, I have taken a vow for my spiritual master, I should chant 16 hours attentively. That is the motive of duty.
If I love Krishna, naturally I will chant. But if ultimately, Rupa Goswami gives us the fundamental, somehow or the other. So, think of duty, think of love, think of desire, think of fear.
Anyway, at whatever level we can think of Krishna, think of Krishna. But there is a higher level also, you know. Enakena prakarena is one level, but then he also says Anya vilahita shunyam jnana kanvadhenavara.
That is the definition of bhakti. So, we want to rise to the higher level. So, if that helps us, keep the mind fixed on Krishna, that’s wonderful.
But also we need to know that we have to rise to higher levels. Okay, renunciation is the goal of practising Rajarishi also. Why is renunciation not given focus? Actually, Kshatriyas when they renounce, they take vanaprasthi and they don’t take sannyas.
Brahmanas take sannyas, but either way, the point is that the world is influenced by people who are in the world, not people who are outside the world. Primarily. Primarily.
People who are outside the world may also influence the world, but their influence is secondary. Primary influence on the world is by people who are in the world. So, yes, the Rajarishi, if you see most of the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, they are centred on characters who are kings, who are in the world.
Now, they also go to exile because of some trouble and because of that they suffer, but the fact that even the sages are going to renounce the world, even the saintly kings are going to renounce the world, that is significant. That is not denied in the scriptures, but it is also emphasised how they live. So, that is the example which is said for everyone.
See, the scriptures talk about, the Bhagavatam focusses especially on the Paradharma because it has also a context. Shukadeva Goswami is telling those stories to Parishit Maharaj, which will help him to best fix his mind on Krishna at the time of death. That is the primary focus of the Bhagavatam.
So, if you say, the Bhagavad Gita in any ways discourages renunciation. Arjuna wants to renounce the world. But Bhagavatam discourages renunciation because the context is that Arjuna has to do his occupational duty of fighting.
So, that is why we have to look at the context to understand things. So, the renounced order is important. At the same time, they serve different purposes.
The renounced order serves the example of how, you know, how there can be people who live in the world but they are not attached to the pleasures of this world. At the same time, the household order serves the example of how one can live in the world but stay without getting entangled in the world. So, they serve different examples.
It’s not exactly Tanya. He renounced the world. So, there is no mention that he took up saffron robes.
It’s just that he renounced the world. So, actually speaking, Panapastu is also considered a renounced order. So, technically, if there is a pure devotee, then it is an exception.
But generally, Kshatriyas don’t take renounced. That’s the general meaning. So, as you told that inspiration is very important, but we see that we don’t get inspiration from a thing by which we are supposed to get.
So, what really induces inspiration? Well, who has supposed that certain things should give us inspiration? We can’t suppose anything like that. Everyone of us is individual. Krishna is an individual.
And how Krishna will give us inspiration is individual. We can’t say that because I chanted my 16 rounds of Tantra with Krishna, you have to give me inspiration. We can’t demand inspiration from Krishna.
Inspiration cannot be legislated in any way. So, that is what makes bhakti exciting and demanding. You know, inspiration can come sometimes from entirely unexpected sources.
And sometimes something we do, we expect to get inspiration, but we don’t get it. That’s how it can be demanding also. So, we have to accommodate the point that bhakti is a matter of relationships, a relationship with Krishna, a relationship with devotees.
And relationships cannot be made entirely meaningful. And that’s why we should be open, receptive for inspiration from wherever it comes. So, of course, apart from inspiration, there is conviction.
See, conviction is foundational. Inspiration is a further boost of energy. See, conviction is like the basic energy.
Sometimes people take food, there is basic food and nutrition is there. And something like that, energy boosters. So, something we take as an energy booster.
So, actually, if we study the philosophy properly, if we do our daily sadhana, that will reinforce our conviction. That will make sure that our basic philosophical conviction remains strong for the practise of life. But, beyond that, we get inspiration by various things.
So, that will vary according to person to person, according to situation to situation, according to our own inner consciousness at different times. So, if we are open to Krishna, Krishna will make sure that we do get inspiration so that we go on in spiritual life. But, we can’t assume that by doing this activity, I’ll get inspiration.
We can’t legislate inspiration like that. We should be open to receiving inspiration from Krishna from whatever source he gives us. Thank you very much.
Yes, last question. Manushyaha Partha Correct. Okay.
Can I explain that point? It’s a little technical. Mamma Vartama Anuvartante Manushyaha Partha Sarvashaha So, Mamma Vartama is path. Anuvartante is to follow.
So, follow my path. I said, if you don’t just spit out the word, follow my path. Sarvashaha is the adjective, is all.
Now, normally in grammar, the adjective is normally next to the noun that it is describing. We don’t have the adjective far away from the noun. That is created as a error of dangling describer.
Now, what is being described over there. So, that’s a common error in writing. So, now, Sarvashaha is close to Manushyaha.
So, all people follow my path. However, if we use that Sarvashaha to Vartama, then the meaning can become, all paths come to me. By following all paths, you come to me.
But that actually is a violation of the basic rules of grammar. So, that interpretation is not sustainable. So, I was saying that semantically, from the point of view of grammar, it doesn’t make sense from the way the words are written.
Sarvashaha is the adjective for Manushyaha. Sarvashaha is the noun which Sarvashaha is describing, not Vartama. Yes, they say that all paths lead to the same goal.
That’s a popular saying. And they base it on this verse. Correct.
So, to refute their point, semantically, it doesn’t make sense.