The greatest danger is the danger of forgetting the danger

[Reflection at Gainesville, USA]

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
The reason is the danger of forgetting the danger. When we are fighting a war, at that time, there is a good danger on the war field. But that danger is becoming a problem.
After a very long time, we forget that we are in war. We forget that we are in war. The reason of normalcy increases the danger many more times than what it would normally be.
This reason of normalcy that we need to counter carefully if we are to ever overcome the danger that is there in the war. If we start with first things first, we need to recognise that this is danger in the war. This is danger of forgetting the danger.
This is danger of not forgetting the danger. When we are fighting a war, we need to recognise that we are in war. because it is going to go on.
We can hardly fight a war whose existence we are not aware of. We are being overcome and the inner war is so insidious that often we don’t realise the inner war is going on. When that happens we need to be extremely careful to protect ourselves appropriately.
And keep ourselves focused purposefully so that we can raise our consciousness towards Krishna especially when we are in spiritual life. suppose there are desires to give up alcohol at that time then even a moment of attention can now when the lower desires are recognised as lower are recognised as dangerous when the need for fighting against them is recognised then one becomes has to become alert an alcoholic who is trying to recover but is not alert will not succeed in overcoming the illusion in not succeeding because at any moment the desire may pop up and if there is no caution then the desire will be overcome. The desire will overcome then.
The desire will turn out to be overwhelming that’s why the so they need to be aware there is a war going on and now in a war basically alert fighting spirit is needed and fighting spirit essentially means alertness alertness to look to notice when the enemy is attacking and of course readiness to fight whenever it is required to not be squeamish about fighting so war is sometimes said to be hell it’s hard it’s painful, it’s bloody literally as well as blood spills over in the war and then also emotionally what bloody can be used as expletive as well as a describer so both ways it applies over here and you need to be ready for that. When we start fighting a war then we become more ready to face attacks we are more ready to be bruised and battered once you understand say that I am inside the boxing ring and I have to box back I have to fight so that I can stay protected if I don’t box back then I am going to be hit anyway the enemy is not going to stop boxing me just because they have because I have stopped fighting they will keep fighting and it is for us to work towards defending ourselves in a boxing match even when we are fighting back still we will be hit what to speak of if we are not fighting back at all if we are fighting we will still be battered if we are not fighting back we will be slaughtered so we may be battered but we don’t have to be slaughtered now when we understand this point then the willingness to fight itself is very significant and so most of the times worldly desires catch us by ambush ambush attacks are those when the opponents are not prepared for the attack so especially when the enemy has better weapons the enemy has better resources to fight then often it is the slaughter is the battering it is ambush attacks that work that means when we are not alert when we are complacent that is when we are most vulnerable to attack so illusion covers us and then covers the covering means we don’t even realise that we are in any kind of danger we think that things are normal and when we find that things are not normal that something is harmful by that time we have already been harmed so we need we need that alertness to face problematic situations sometimes in say two wrestlers are fighting at that time one of them may just throw dust throw sand in the other player’s eyes and the other person cannot see during that time the other wrestler swoops down on that person and overpowers and of course this is unfair it is not allowed by the rules of wrestling but when it is a real war they say all is fair in war and love so although ideally people should fight according to the laws of warfare according to the rules of warfare but people may not and the forces of illusion when they fight against us they first blind us but what they do is even worse they not at least we stop seeing where the enemy is where the enemy is going to attack us but then they do something worse they not only cover they not only cover us they also after that cover the covering that means they act in a way by which we don’t even realise that there is a danger we don’t even understand that actually we have been blinded in normal situations if we don’t see that then we think oh something is wrong I am not able to see but in the case of the ambush attack of the enemy we are blinded we are blinded to complacency and when we are blinded to complacency at that time we don’t even realise that there is a danger that the danger is undeniable and the danger is rigid and it needs to be countered as quickly as possible we start feeling life is comfortable and in fact sometimes the very sense objects that are the vanguard of the attackers the very sense objects that I am going to put as an illusion they look so attractive that we get captivated by them and thus we are blinded to not recognise the danger of sense objects to think of them blindly and simply as pleasurable that is a great illusion because there is some pleasure in fact you could say there is a lot of pleasure when we hold attractive sense objects at least it appears to be a lot of pleasure but that pleasure is not meant to make us happy pleasure is meant to trap us just like a bait contains some flesh and a fish and a fish wants that food but that bait doesn’t nourish the fish the bait causes the fish to perish similarly when we enjoy the sense objects that doesn’t lead to our flourishing or even our nourishing or our flourishing it leads to our perishing because therein behind the enjoyment is the entanglement is the distress resulting for an alcoholic the alcoholic may look very attractive in fact the alcoholic may look at the most attractive thing in the world because that’s what mind has become habituated to as a source of pleasure so at that time to have the determination to resist alcohol is not easy but if someone can somehow resist for some time then gradually the illusion fades and one starts remembering that this sense object has caused me so much distress this attraction with sense objects is actually a deception so the challenge with the war with the inner war is that because the enemy is not only not visible the enemy doesn’t look dangerous because first of all the war is not visible directly you are not fighting physically and the enemy doesn’t look at all dangerous the enemy looks actually innocuous the enemy looks very pleasant in fact the enemy looks the source of irresistible pleasure because of this it’s relatively speaking very easy to forget that there is an enemy at all that we need to fight and we may start thinking that everything is fine because that’s what we have come to believe we don’t realise the danger because the danger is not visible and the pleasure is visible especially dangerous situation to be in and there are no easy shortcuts to come out of it the only way to deal with this situation is by recognising that we ourselves need to be alert over time as we indulge in the sense objects and we suffer the consequences even if there is no karmic reaction even if there is no long term consequence in terms of if a person drinks alcohol but doesn’t get doesn’t become doesn’t get any disease because of that doesn’t get any tickets or warnings or fines for driving under influence still even if there is no such consequence externally still there is a consequence that the desire to drink becomes stronger and stronger it actually becomes more and more strong craving which becomes more and more difficult to resist actually one more thing that happens is when we habituate ourselves to indulgence the response time becomes very less so before we go to the response time let’s continue and complete this point about the fact that we may not be caught for our wrongdoings but we will be caught by our wrongdoings that means just the very indulgence in the wrong creates a habit of further indulgence in the wrong and then that habit becomes stronger and stronger then it becomes more and more difficult to resist so even if there is no external consequence even if somebody is engaging in an enjoyment that is not all that difficult to give that doesn’t have external consequences still so we may not be caught for our wrongdoings we may be caught by some external agency somebody may promise on seeing the dangers of alcoholism may promise some alcoholic may promise I won’t drink to their family members or to their counsellors, their mentors and still they may drink and they may think that I can get away with this as long as nobody catches me but the point is the alcoholism has already caught the person the danger is not so much in the in the fact that there is resisting in the fact that somebody will catch that is a sound impetus a strong impetus for not indulging but that doesn’t have to be the only impetus because actually we get caught by various things in life and the consequences are not just when somebody catches us and then punishes us we are caught by our wrongdoings themselves that means our very wrongdoings subject us to illusion our very wrongdoings subject us to bondage and thus that itself is a tribulation even if there is no other tribulation even if we don’t experience anything else as a consequence we experience that as a consequence and thus we suffer so the way we overcome the suffering is by purification is by raising our consciousness to a higher level of reality where we can fight off the things that are tempting us that are dragging us down so if we don’t do that the alcoholic does not create some higher motivations for fighting alcohol so one motivation can of course be that oh I don’t want to be caught by others I don’t want to get into trouble after being caught by others but then the mind may say that ok we will just be clever enough that we are not caught by others but then that is not good enough to think that we are clever in escaping the consequences of our wrongdoing shows that we are foolish to think that we can escape the consequences to think of escaping the consequences of scheming to escape the consequences of our wrongdoing as cleverness is actually foolishness squared foolishness aggravated because it’s one thing like I saw a cartoon, a joke which said that it was a traffic joke the person was caught speeding and then the cop asked didn’t you see the speed limit so the person replies that I saw the speed limit, I just didn’t see you I just didn’t see you that means that person is having this idea that if I am not caught then I can do whatever I want they are thinking the main issue is not not speeding they are thinking the main issue is not getting caught by speeding this is a serious misunderstanding because speeding has its associated dangers so often say there are children in an area then it’s a school area there are children in that area then speeding in that area can cause death of a child which unpredictably just comes onto the road suddenly so actually it’s dangerous and it can be deleterious so therefore it’s important that speeding not be done because one recognises the intrinsic virtue of driving cautiously if you think that if I can get away without get away beyond the speed limit I just need to be careful enough that there is no cop around then we are actually not recognising the true nature of the danger so sometimes we may say that I can speed and if there is no cop there is no problem but then that creates a habit of speeding and sometime or the other cop will catch and not only that the cop may catch worse than that sometimes we may drive too fast in the area where such driving is dangerous and driving above the speed limit may get us into trouble so the habit that is created by wrongdoing is a far greater danger than the wrongdoing than the particular wrongdoing itself so when we engage in sensual pleasure essential thing that happens is we get captivated by it, we get habituated to it and that habituation itself is the catch when we say that is the catch means we often use the word catch to refer to some problem there is a catch here that means there is a problem here but catch can also refer to the fact that something that is caught so because of the catch in sense enjoyment we become the catch so because of the catch we become the catch that means we get caught by sensual desires and we get trapped by those desires because of the inbuilt principle of illusion because of the inbuilt principle of increased desire that is there within them we are caught by our wrongdoings even if we are not caught for our wrongdoings and recognising this brings gravity so brings gravity and urgency to the inner wall recognise that there is no escape way, recognise that there is just indulgence creates a habit of indulgence and by repeated indulgence the impulse becomes compulsive, for example if somebody is driving at that time the response time is very important to have it as best as possible if we see suddenly somebody changing their lane in front of us without giving a signal they are wrong but it is not important whether they are wrong or right at that point the important thing is to avoid the danger and that means we have to hit the brakes as fast as possible so the right reaction can be life-saving and the wrong reaction is somebody somehow instead of hitting the brake they hit the gas that can be life-taking life-threatening or life-taking there are three things one is a fast right reaction second is a slow right reaction and third is a fast wrong reaction among these three the fast wrong reaction is the worst a slow right reaction is also bad we need the right reaction and we need it fast similarly for us when we are fighting the inner war we need the fast right reaction not the fast wrong reaction and not even the slow right reaction what do we mean by all this say for example a tempting sense object comes before us if we have forgotten that a war is going on then maybe just let the sense object activate us renew us and we will get enamoured we will just rush towards the sense object oh here is pleasure let me enjoy this pleasure that is like a person rushing into danger on seeing on seeing some other vehicle in the path let’s say somebody hits the gas and they hit the gas that spells doom we cannot afford to hit the gas because the vehicle will go faster and we will meet disaster so that is the wrong reaction unfortunately that wrong reaction becomes habitual and it almost happens without thinking when we are addicted when we are very strongly attached or addicted we always have free will but based on the way we have used our free will the free will becomes habituated to functioning in particular ways so for example for a person who is alcoholic they do have the free will not to drink alcohol but the habitual instinctive response is that they will drink alcohol that is what their thoughts will go towards instinctively that is what they become habituated to so this habituation is a serious problem and the way to deal with it is by by first of all alertness that fast wrong response as soon as I see an alcohol as soon as I see a bottle of alcohol immediately I drink it that fast wrong response that fast wrong response is extremely dangerous it is disastrous so that is what happens when we are when we are habituated to something and we are not alert of the danger of that thing we choose the wrong response because the sense objects appear attractive and because we are habituated to it so the wrong response becomes instinctive hmm so that is extremely dangerous just as hitting the gas when a vehicle has come in front of us is extremely dangerous having moved forward from there what is the next step the next step is that another danger ok if we are alert if we know that the war is going on and even if the wrong response is habitual to us then we will be alert we know oh this is a car I cannot go fast over here I have to drink so even if we are aware that war is going on still we may not be able to resist if we lack alertness that is if we lack the presence of mind to fight off the desire so as per the regular study of scripture and scriptural knowledge the vision coming from scriptural knowledge has to be at the forefront of our consciousness not at the background of our consciousness first of all it has to be there in the consciousness and not only does it have to be present it has to be present in the foreground the forefront not in the background that is the big challenge for us how do we get it to be present in the foreground so scriptural knowledge has to be in the foreground of our consciousness we often see things based on our perceptions we don’t see them based on our perceptions alone we see them we see them based on the conceptions we have acquired before the the conceptions that we have acquired beforehand so for example a person for example when we see a graph, an economic graph going down at that time that is just a just a line on a computer screen but that can cause us it can cause some people heart attacks it can cause panic attacks why? because we have education that makes sense of the perceptions words that means the stock market is crashing that means we are going to lose money or we may have already lost money so we don’t just see the visual data we see we make sense of the perceptions with our conceptions and our conceptions are often misconceptions so when we think of sense objects as sources of pleasure that is a misconception because the sense objects they offer little pleasure followed by a lot of danger, a lot of trouble it may offer some pleasure but in our but in the long term we will be there so if the perception that sense objects are sources of pleasure that is almost a required perception because sense objects often look attractive in materialistic culture they are made to look attractive and further, when we are attached to something, that also shapes our vision and it looks more attractive than what it is. So there is a natural attractiveness in the sense objects, there is the attractiveness is enhanced by the culture which is around us, which profits from our captivation in the sense objects and thereby wants us to be captivated even more.
For example, with respect to alcoholism, the alcohol industry profits in all this big money out of our alcoholism. So you want to market the alcohol as attractively as possible. So similarly, all sorts of objects, they are made to look as attractive as possible.
So there is a natural attractiveness, there is the enhanced attractiveness because of the cultures, religion, culture and then further, that attractiveness is even more enhanced by our conditions. So when we are attached to something, that looks even more attractive than what it is. An alcohol bottle will look far more attractive to an alcoholic than to an alcoholic.
That distortion of perception is a result of attachment. Normally when we do a distortion, say a concave mirror distorts our image. So we don’t look as good as we are when the image is distorted.
That’s what it normally means. So distortion normally used to refer to the perception becoming less attractive. But that’s not necessarily the only implication.
Distortion can also cause the perception to be more attractive. So an alcoholic will see a bottle of alcohol as irresistibly attractive. And that distorted perception is illusion.
So we have these three factors which make us more and more vulnerable to illusion. Firstly, that the objects themselves are naturally attractive, their attractiveness is enhanced by the culture and further, their attractiveness is enhanced by our conditions. This makes us enormously vulnerable.
And if we are not cautious, if we are not alert, then we can be easily overpowered by this. We can be knocked down by this. We can be knocked over by this.
So because the sense objects look so attractive, so we may end up pressing the gas instead of pressing the brakes. We may rush towards the sense objects and thus get ourselves into a huge amount of trouble. There are no shortcuts for avoiding this trouble.
The trouble is there, the trouble is troublesome. And all that we can do is hope for the best. Hope that we don’t get deluded by it.
That we can resist it and most likely we won’t be able to resist it. That’s why we need to change our perceptions. We need to change the conceptions which shape our perceptions.
And that is where the spiritual knowledge plays such a vital, life-saving role. When we learn to see things through the eyes of scripture, then that knowledge reminds us, although this looks attractive, this is destructive. Although this looks attractive, a bottle of alcohol looks attractive, but it is destructive.
I can’t afford to get attracted to this. I will not get attracted to this. That resolve, that determination is what will protect a person.
And that resolve is lacking, then basically protection is lacking. So, we very much need to have the scriptural knowledge. We can’t afford it to be just mere theoretical knowledge.
It has to be realised knowledge. It has to be something which we are since contemplated, created, deliberated, and thereafter we provide it. So, that’s why it has to be the foreground of our practise.
It is the background, the whole thing. It will not come to our dispute in time when we need it. It will be too late.
So, either we press the gas or we do not press the brake fast enough. That’s why when we regularly study scripture, I don’t just study it as a cultural fashion, as a part of the Bible. I study it because it’s going to give us the knowledge that will save our life.
So, we study it with great seriousness. So, it’s time we ensure that we stay protected. That we don’t get overwhelmed.
That we don’t become serious. That we don’t get cheated. That we don’t get overcome by anything.
We are going to discuss now. It’s very strong determination. Knowing that this is the way for our ideal frontier.
So, rather than letting negative perceptions overwhelm us, we stay strong and secure. So, as soon as a temptation attacks us, we hit the right buttons. We need to ignite that this is a danger.
We need to protect ourselves from the danger. So, we move onwards towards doing what it takes to protect ourselves. This kind of educated regime is vital if we do not wish to be overwhelmed.
To the extent we can have an educated regime, to the extent we can be protected. To the extent we don’t have an educated regime, to the extent we are in danger. To the extent we will do things which will get us into trouble.
So, coming back to the whole point. So, we all need to have our alertness radar set high. We need to be extremely cautious so that we don’t succumb to unthinking indulgences.
We don’t give in to temptations that need to be resisted. Rather, certainly firstly we don’t rush into those temptations. And secondly, not only not rush in, we take measures to protect ourselves.
So, when we are aware that there is a war going on, then that awareness itself brings a certain level of cautiousness. And that cautiousness keeps us in a good state. Cautiousness protects us from instinctive wrongdoing actions.
That’s how we can move onwards towards Krishna, even amidst whatever may be attempted. That’s how we can live according to our principles. And in many cases, living according to principles is not some lofty standard of living.
It is the basic, what is required for our own survival. When we don’t live according to principles, we hurt ourselves. So, the scriptures are meant for providing us protection.
Not forcing restrictions upon us. And this we can understand when we have the right education. When we have the right understanding, that’s when we can choose properly.
That’s when we can act in ways that will be positive, not negative. That elevate us, that will not degrade or destroy us. So, by understanding these bare-bone principles of spiritual growth, we can move onwards in steadiness, in full determination, without letting ourselves be overwhelmed by incidental ups and downs.
Without letting ourselves be carried away by life’s inevitable challenges. So, life’s inevitable challenges refers to the challenges we face while going through our daily routine. And especially for us who are trying to resist some temptations.
The biggest danger is the danger that we forget the danger. That we forget that a war is going on and thus lower our guard and thus be slaughtered. So, to prevent this eventuality, we need very strong alertness.
We need very sharp sense of purposeful alertness. Without that strong sense of purposeful alertness, we will let ourselves get carried away by the lower desires and they will end up deluding us. So, as to prevent that from happening, we need to be aware.
We need to take things systematically, take things step by step and thus move onwards towards choices that help us grow. The more we take these choices, the more we choose right. So, going back to the earlier point with the wrong response, the right response, the wrong slow response, the wrong fast response, the right fast response and the right slow response.
We consider what we need is the right fast response. And that comes when we can, if we are alert. If we are not alert, then we cannot have the right fast response.
So, we need the right response and we need as fast as possible. To get the right fast response, what do we do? First of all, we need regular scriptural study which reminds us of life’s realities, which reminds us of the dangers we face and the necessity to be alert to those dangers. In a car, when we are driving a car, at that time, actually we don’t need anything extra apart from the car to choose the right response.
If it is fast enough, then pressing the brakes. If it is fast enough, then pressing the brakes. That’s good enough.
We don’t need anything more than that. But in the case of a war, when we are fighting, we don’t just need to be alert. We also need to be equipped.
The soldier may be very alert, but if the soldier does not have a weapon ready, then the soldier cannot win. The soldier cannot fight and win because the soldier is, at that particular point at least, unequipped. So, we need not just the understanding that we have enormous amount of danger which we have to face, but also that we actually have to face the danger in a systematic, careful way.
We can’t afford to let ourselves be distracted from the danger by other things. We need to be aware of the danger and we need to ensure that we do what it takes to protect ourselves from the danger. If we don’t protect ourselves, who will? Protecting ourselves from danger is our responsibility.
So, every soldier who is going to war, it is they who need to ensure that they carry the weapons with them. If they fail to carry the weapons, then it is they who are in trouble. It is they who will be deluded.
It is they who will be troubled. So, unless they recognise this, that it is they who are in danger, they who need to protect themselves, without an understanding, they will be slaughtered. So, we need to have an understanding that we are meant to be our own protectors.
No one else can protect us. No one else can do what it takes for protecting us. That is our responsibility.
By staying firmly determined in our responsibility with the light of knowledge, we can resist situations that may tempt or overcome us. We can resist situations that may otherwise elude us. So, what are the weapons which we need for fighting against these illusions? The most important weapon we need is the weapon of cautiousness.
It is the weapon of how do you keep the mood of service and devotion as attractive as possible. The mood of service and devotion is actually the best weapon for fighting against illusion because by this mood, we ensure that we don’t get caught. We don’t let ourselves get caught, but we still keep ourselves protected.
We keep ourselves on the alert by which we can, when we keep ourselves alert thus, then we can actually move forward towards slow but steady steps in our inner growth. Thus, by keeping things one at a time, we can move up towards keeping them on top. So, we need to keep things one at a time.
We fight one war at a time. We can’t fight more than one war. That means we all have many battles to fight in life and we can’t fight all of them simultaneously.
So, by remembering that we are in a fight, we won’t rush into situations that are more dangerous than what we can hope. There is an enemy danger in life which we can’t avoid. But when an enemy is attacking us, we won’t foolishly rush into enemy territory where we will have not just one enemy but 3, 4, 5 enemies attacking us.
We will cautiously keep our ground and fight against the enemies. We will keep our weapons with us. So, what is our weapon? Our weapon is spiritual knowledge again.
Our weapon is not just spiritual knowledge. यदनु भासिला आयूपता कर्मगंति निरंदिन। चिन्दं की कोऽविदा से से कोण कूर्या तफारति। Our weapon is actually the understanding that we are in danger in this world. But we can overcome the danger if we are ready to protect ourselves.
If we are ready to purify ourselves of whatever ups and downs we experience in life. So, if we purify ourselves, we see that there are dynamically things, which we didn’t expect to see. They are not because fate is in favour of us.
They are just reactions to what we have done in the past. And rather than resenting them, it’s calming to persevere when we do that. Praying to Krishna, begging for his help.
And moving on that way, we find the barriers that at one point feel irresistible, do get overcome slowly. And we can that way move towards progression and protection. So thus, if we become alert to the danger that there is a danger around us, then we can protect ourselves and thus we can purge ourselves of, we can not only protect ourselves but we can actually, the protection, because it is through devotion, the protection will enhance our purification and the protection will enable us to move closer and closer to Krishna.
And thus we will progress from bondage towards liberation into life enduring and happiness thereof.