The process of bhakti yoga in a nutshell SB 1.2.12

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
Thank you.
Shri Vaishnavi Gaura Bhakta Leela Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna Krishna, Krishna, Hare Hare Hare Rama, Hare Rama Rama, Rama, Hare Hare Right. We must not forget our association. As I said earlier, I took advantage of all the similar things you have given.
You have always let me run a challenge and I am very much interested in advancing this culture. So I am consciously working on it. I am very much grateful for this.
So I thought I will discuss for a few minutes from the Bhagavatam. And then we can discuss some other things if you have any questions. So this is 1 to 18th in Bhagavatam.
The Munis, who have faithfulness, who have faith, who endure with faith, Gyan Vairagya Yuktaya Equipped with knowledge and renunciation, Pashyanti, they see, Atman Chaatmanam They see with the mind the absolute truth. In word, they see the absolute truth. See the word Atman refers to the absolute truth here.
But how do they see? Bhakta Shuddha Griha Taya By performing Bhakti according to how they have Griha Taya, Accepted by Shruti, hearing from scripture. So the whole idea is, This verse, the summary describes how a person becomes, how a seeker becomes Self-realised and God-realised. And this section of the Bhagavatam from approximately 1 to 6 to around 1 to 22 is in the full Bhagavatam, the single most quoted section by Akshara Prabhupada.
In fact, Akshara Prabhupada gave a series of lectures on this section in New Vrindavan that was later published as the book Dharma, the Way to Transcendence. This whole series is actually starting with the answers of Shuddha Goswami to the questions asked by the figure of Manusharini. And the verse before this, this is 1 to 11, is the famous verse which describes three aspects of the absolute truth.
Pradhanti Tattva Pravitas Tattvam Yajnanam Advayam Brahmeti Paramatmeti Bhagvaniti Shabdyate So, the knowers of the absolute truth know the truth by three names Brahman, Paramatma and Bhagavan. And that absolute truth is actually non-dual substance, Advaya Tattva. So, after giving a summary description of the absolute truth, then this verse describes how the absolute truth is to be known.
So, I’ll just look at each of the elements of these, this particular verse. And we’ll see how Shuddha Prabhupada in the process of Krishna consciousness that he has given us, actually is a practical application of this verse and the overall Masjid-e-Bhagwati. And how we can do that in a more effective way in Brahmachari life.
So, Shuddha means faith. Shuddha means one who has faith. Interestingly, Shuddha Prabhupada translates Shuddhadhana not as faithful but he translates it as as seriously inquisitive.
As seriously inquisitive. It’s an interesting translation. Because when we begin our spiritual life we cannot be expected to have faith that there is a spiritual world and then God is a blueish black complexioned youth of sixteen year old with a peacock feather and that he has a consort whose name is Radharani who has a golden complexion.
These things will take time to accept and believe. But what we can do in the initial stages of our spiritual life at least is that we can have a seriousness inquisitiveness. Is there something beyond this world? And not just in a casual armchair speculation sort of way.
But in a serious way. If there is something higher, I want to know it. And the way we express that seriousness is by applying our thought to explore the subject seriously and then try to mould our life so that we can experience the higher reality.
So we know in the processes of the nine stages of bhakti which Bhaktira Samrit Sindhu, by Rupa Goswami talks about Adhau Shraddha, Sadhu Sambha, Bhajane Kriya, Anarthane Vritti, Nishtha, Ruchi, Asakti, Bhav and Prem. These nine stages. The first stage is Shraddha.
And Shraddha is the same word that is used over here by Shukadeva Goswami. And in those five stages, Shraddha is faith. Then there is Sadhu Sambha, position of devotions.
Then there is Bhajane Kriya, the practise of devotional service, Sadhana Bhakti. Then there is Anarthane Vritti, all the undesirable things in our hearts start going away. And after that, there is Nishtha.
There is strong faith. And after that faith, there is Ruchi, there is attraction towards the spiritual reality. Then there is Asakti, strong attachment to the spiritual reality.
Then there is Bhava, the experience of rich spiritual emotions. And then there is Prema, which is the culmination, the fullest development of the highest emotion of the heart. That is pure love for Krishna.
So in these nine stages, the first stage is Shraddha, and the fifth stage, Sadhu Sambha, Bhajane Kriya, Anarthane Vritti and Nishtha. So both are in a sense similar. Shraddha is sometimes called as the first stage.
But the difference between the two is that at the stage of Shraddha, the faith is tender, like a banana tree. An elephant can come, put its trunk and just uproot the banana tree. On the other hand, at the stage of Nishtha, the faith is like a banyan tree.
Banyan tree is something which is so deep rooted and so strongly rooted, it’s almost impossible to uproot it. In fact, because it’s so difficult to uproot, that’s one reason why Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita compares the material existence to upside down banyan tree. So that means when we are at the initial stage of bhakti, we cannot have that kind of faith.
It is like a banyan tree. Our faith will be tender. That is like a banana tree.
And that faith is what is being referred to in this verse, Shraddha Dhana. Initial faith is just a favourable curiosity, a serious inquisitiveness. There are some intelligent people and these intelligent people are the great acharyas who have written great books on philosophy and even many of the current practitioners.
They seem to be far very intelligent. In many ways, more intelligent than me. And they have given their life to this pursuit of spiritual life.
So there must be some reality over there. Let me explore it. What it is? So this serious inquisitiveness is the beginning of authentic spiritual life.
Shraddha Dhana, to think about all this, one has to be a muni. Most people can’t think beyond what is the score of the latest sports match or what is the price of the stock exchange, who is currently popular in the movie industry. This sort of mundane gossip.
But munis, they are thinkers. And they want to think about the higher realities of life. The first one, the line described, Shraddha Dhana, Munayo, so those who are deep thinkers and they have a serious inquisitiveness about the higher reality of life.
With these two together, what is this? If one wants to move further, Gyana, Vairagya, Yudhaya, the equipment for moving forward is Gyana and Vairagya, is knowledge and renunciation. What is the meaning of these two? Basically, Gyana and Vairagya, they essentially mean that Gyana is knowledge, philosophical knowledge. Vairagya is attachment.
So, Gyana and Vairagya, when they come together, at that time, they enable us to perceive what is, there are two words in English, perceive and pursue. So, perceive is to see, to sense. And pursue is to look for, to strive for, to go after.
So, what these two do is, they enable us to perceive and pursue the higher reality. So, Gyana enables us to perceive. Oh, there is some higher reality.
There must be something beyond this world. And Vairagya is detachment that enables us to perceive, to pursue. Pursue means chase after, go after it.
So, if I am too attached with things of this world, then I cannot pursue that which is beyond the world. So, Gyana gives us the vision, the understanding that there is something higher. And Vairagya enables us to go after that.
Now, initially, Prabhupada was asked in America, why are you against sex? Prabhupada said, we are not against sex. We are against illicit sex. So, then he was asked, what is the reason you are against it? Prabhupada said that if you want to practise spiritual life, if the mind is caught up with finding, constantly caught up with the ideas and schemes for finding the next sexual partner, then the mind will not be peaceful to think about higher spiritual reality.
So, it may not just be the next sexual partner. It can be the next form of material enjoyment, or whatever it is. So, we need Vairagya to think about higher spiritual reality.
So, that’s why these two, for perceiving and pursuing. We need Gyan, Vairagya, Yuktadha. And then, so we start with deep thinkers, that is Munaiyya, then there is serious inquisitiveness, that is Shabdadhana, and then gradually one becomes equipped with Gyan and Vairagya.
And the third line describes the result, and the fourth line describes the process once again. So, the third line says, that one sees the absolute truth within oneself, and how does one see it? Bhaktya shuddha gruhitaya by performance of bhakti. And how should the bhakti be performed? Shuddha gruhitaya.
Shuddha gruhitaya is according to the scriptures, according to one how shuddha is, how one is heard, and gruhitaya is how one is accepted. So, one practises bhakti according to how one is heard, and how one is accepted in applying one’s life. So, bhakti is the heart’s faculty for love.
So, the heart has a faculty for love in all the regions. But that faculty for love is but that faculty for love is not always directed in the right direction. No, people direct it towards their pet dogs, and maybe the latest movie stars, or they may direct it to some person of the opposite sex, catches their fancy.
But all these objects are love of love and temperance. So, the great religions of the world tell us that the heart’s faculty for love is meant to be directed towards God. And the Vedic scriptures give us the most attractive, most detailed, and enchanting conception of God.
So that we can become attractive. So, bhaktya shuddha gruhitaya. So, bhakti has to be performed to direct our heart’s love towards Krishna.
And we direct our heart’s love towards Krishna. And what happens? Then, vasyati chaatmani chaatmanam. We see that absolute truth.
So basically, bhaktya shuddha gruhitaya means that we hear, we understand, and then we redirect our heart’s love towards Krishna. So, now let’s see what this means in our life. This is the process.
That essentially, we redirect our heart’s love towards Krishna from things of this world. And what is the result of that? No. In one of my articles, I write about how we misdirect our love.
So, we forget the person who never forgets us. And we remember the people who never remember us. How is that? People remember sports stars, movie stars.
Those people don’t even know about our existence. They think they are thousands of fans. And they don’t really care for their fans much.
And even if they can, how much can they care for somebody? Thousands of fans. So, when there are movies, or there are sports matches, there are thousands of people ogling those stars, adoring those stars, and imagining that they are great people. But those people can’t even care for the existence of others.
So, we remember the people who never remember us. And, we forget the person who never forgets us. Krishna is always there in our heart.
So, He is present always in our heart. And He always directs our heart’s love. He always attracts our heart’s love towards Him.
But unfortunately, He wants to direct our heart’s love towards Him. He is there in our heart always waiting for us. But we forget Him.
This is the tragedy of our life. We forget the person who never forgets us. And we remember the people who never remember us.
This is the essential tragedy of misdirection. That bhakti is meant to rectify. And when we rectify this, when we redirect our love towards Krishna, we gain the highest fulfilment in life.
And it is that fulfilment that awaits us as we make spiritual advancement. So, how does it all work out practically in our life? We are all sadhakas. We are trying our first baby steps in our spiritual life.
And as we grow up, the baby first crawls, then starts walking, falling, then starts slowly walking comfortably, then starts running, then may go on a sprint, even a marathon. So like that, we can all move forward gradually in our spiritual life. And it happens as we move, as we practise more and more, things become easier and easier for us.
And we make more advancement. So, Shri Prabhupada has given us, within the Krishna consciousness movement, the essential elements of bhakti. Rupa Goswami explains in the Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu, the 64 items of devotional service.
And he explains how among the 64 items, 5 are most important. Those 5 are, hearing the Srimad-Bhagavatam, worshipping the deity, chanting the holy names, associating with devotees, and going to the holy places. Going to the holy places.
So, of course, it’s not practical for everyone to go to the holy places. So, the Lord’s mercy is such that the holy places manifest also wherever there are sincere devotees. In the Bhagavatam, Krishna says that yathri-rayanti mad-bhakta tat-tat-ishtha-minarada This is wherever my glory is sung.
That is where I am present. So, the temples that Shri Prabhupada has built, they are also the holy places. So, we try to stay there.
Or we try to visit there. The great advantage of Brahmacharya ashram is that you can stay within these holy places. You can stay within the temples itself and that’s why we have a far more spiritual environment than what we would have otherwise.
Similarly, essentially, it’s not that one ashram is necessarily good and the other ashram is necessarily bad. Both our ashrams, and both Brahmacharya Yatmikastha ashram, are meant to enable us to make spiritual advancement. They are both, the word ashram is related with the word ashraya in many ways.
Ashraya is shelter. So, any ashram is a place where we are ultimately meant to get the ashraya of Krishna, the shelter of Krishna. So, Brahmacharya ashram offers us the shelter of Krishna in one way.
Yatmikastha ashram offers us the shelter of Krishna in another way. The other way has more distractions. It will take more time and more effort to go through that process and come to Krishna.
But we will come eventually. So, therefore, the important point is that we seek Krishna’s shelter. And the way we seek Krishna’s shelter is by choosing the ashram that is most suitable for us.
So, as I said, for practising this five important or potent process of devotional service, Brahmacharya ashram is in many ways more suitable. But it can be practised in other ashrams also. So, we live in the holy state.
The deities are very close to us. They are right in the temple. We can take darshan of the deities regularly.
We can pray to them. We can share our heart’s concerns with them. We can directly actually help in the expansion of the glories of the deities.
Every time we give classes, every time we distribute a book, every time we invite people to temple, every time we distribute prasadam, actually the glories of the prasadam deities are expanding. So, we have much, much more facility to do deity worship. Not just take darshan regularly, not just be a part of the morning programme, but all our life becomes centred on expanding the glories of the deities.
And similarly, the other limbs of devotional service also. Chanting of the holy names, the hearing of the Srimad Bhagavatam, the association of devotees, all this is much, much more in the Brahmacharya ashram. We are surrounded by devotees all the time.
We have to get to hear the Bhagavatam class every day. And, we have much more undistracted facility for chanting the holy names. Even in Brahmacharya ashram there are anxieties.
But, the distraction created by these anxieties is much lesser than the distraction created by, present in other ashrams. So, especially in Granth Ashram, there is the, there are three main distractions, which we have to be careful about. First is, there is endless financial anxiety.
And one has to always bother about keeping, how to make ends meet. So, that endless financial anxiety is there. Then there are ever increasing social obligations.
You know, this person’s marriage is there, that nephew’s birthday is there, that person’s this is there, this person that is there. So, it takes a lot of our time. And these, if they are all devotees, then there is a little spirituality in it.
But often it is, these occasions are primarily centred on the quality conception of life. So, they are not necessarily spiritual advancement. And then there is the ever present opportunity, because there is gratification.
A person can fall prey to temptation, because the opportunity is always there in Granth Ashram. So, essentially our focus is not on which ashram to live in. Our focus is primarily on how best to practise bhakti.
And in many objective ways, the Brahmacharya ashram enables us to practise bhakti, gives more facility and gives more opportunity to practise bhakti. So, overall Srila Prabhupada’s emphasis in this section, in the Bhagavatam, is on how this practising of devotional service, according to what is described in scriptures, is practically possible. When we get to hear the Bhagavatam, we can ask questions and gain clarifications from senior devotees.
And in this way, we can all move closer and closer to Krishna. We can move closer and closer to Krishna in the sense that we can actually live among people who are close to Krishna and we can, by their association, inspiration and guidance, find ourselves moving closer and closer to Krishna with each passing day. So, in this way, what this Bhagavatam tells us to do, that Srila Prabhupada through the Krishna consciousness movement is enabling us to do in a pretty practical way.
And this section in the Bhagavatam concludes with Atavai Kavaiyoh Utyam Bhaktya Parevam Udayam, it describes, therefore, wise people from time immemorial practise Bhakti with Paramam Udayam, with great joy. With great joy they practise Bhakti. So, what does it mean they practise with great joy? Is the wording a synonym? It is not saying that by the practise of Bhakti they get great joy.
That will surely happen as we make spiritual advancement by the practise of Bhakti. Our joy will increase more and more as we sing in the Shikshashtakam. That the ocean of Ananda will expand and every step we will experience nectar.
So, that will happen surely as we practise Bhakti. But, what this verse is talking about is not the joy that we will eventually experience by the practise of Bhakti, but Bhaktya Paramam Udayam Practise Bhakti right now with joy. So, what is this joy with which we practise Bhakti? That joy comes by understanding how fortunate we are.
And, by counting our blessings, not our lackings. Now, what does this mean? Actually, among the millions of people in the world today, so few have knowledge about Krishna. So few have the opportunity to practise Bhakti.
We have got that not because of any qualification powers, but because of the grace of Guru and Krishna. And, in general, our mind doesn’t focus on blessings and lackings. So, blessings is what all we have got.
Instead of focussing on what all we have got, our mind tends to focus on what all we don’t have. So, that can happen in two ways. The more easy way Maya operates is, or the more easily spotable way in which Maya operates is, it makes us see all the material things that we don’t have.
You know, all the people they are enjoying, they associate with the opposite sex, they have this, they can eat all kinds of food, they watch movies, they go here, they go there. Now, what happens is, although the happiness of Bhakti is much higher than the happiness of all these material things, but if our consciousness is focused on these material things, we cannot experience the joy of Bhakti. It’s like, the mother wants to feed the child a delicious Rasgulla, but the child is attracted to some puffed rice.
So, neither the child is trying to put their puffed rice in the mouth, and the mother cannot give the Rasgulla. And all the… Rasgulla is more delicious, as long as the child is determined to fill the mouth with puffed rice, the mother cannot do anything. So, like that, if we are craving for material things, because we think, oh, I have given up so much, I am not able to enjoy this, there are so many rules and restrictions that are there, so I can’t enjoy these things, then we are filling our mind with thoughts, hopes and dreams of these material things.
And although, the happiness of Krishna Consciousness is much greater, we don’t allow that Krishna Consciousness, Krishna thoughts, Krishna hopes, Krishna dreams, to enter our heart. And because they don’t enter our heart, we can’t experience the higher happiness. So, by remembering how, actually, enjoyment is available to everyone.
There is nothing special about it. So, it’s something that in terms of frequency, familiarity and availability. There is nothing special about it.
Frequency means what? Actually, as far as sense enjoyment is concerned, even at this moment, there are millions of people all over the world, who are engaging in sense gratification. So, frequency, it’s a common thing in this world, actually. As far as availability is concerned, it’s not so rare.
If a person wants it, person can go and get the sense enjoyment. And familiarity, we may feel that, oh, I have not experienced the pleasures of this world, of the flesh. But actually, the very fact that we are in material existence means that we have experienced these pleasures in our previous life.
And that’s why we are here again with the body of flesh. So, in terms of frequency, availability and familiarity. These pleasures are nothing great.
So, that is one way the mind can try to focus us on our lackings. Oh, you don’t have this. You don’t have that.
You don’t have this. In terms of all the material things that we are given, but a more subtle, a more sinister, a more deceptive way in which the mind can make us focus on our lackings is by making us think what all we lack spiritually. That is, we feel, oh, you know, I went to that other temple and there were so many senior devotees there.
There were so many nice programmes over there. The classes are so good. In my temple, oh, the devotees are not so advanced.
The classes are not so good. The atmosphere is not so good. So, what happens is, even this comparison, which makes us focus on our lackings, that can also sap away our enthusiasm.
Why it can sap away? Because, again, what is happening is that we are focussing not on what we have, but what we lack. So, yes, it is true that there may be some places where the spiritual aspects of life So, basically, this sort of feeling is not good because if there is a place where there is a spiritual lacking in there, there is no problem with that. Because, actually speaking, if there is something spiritually lacking, Krishna can empower us to compensate for the spirituality.
You know, when Prabhupada went to Vrindavan, went to America, there is one of his letters, he says that, you know, I am missing Vrindavan. There is Vrindavan, nobody knew about these festivals. Prabhupada felt that he could have been in Vrindavan and Mayapur and he could have been celebrating with so many of his godbrothers and other devotees.
And then what did he do? He is focused on trying to create that culture and Krishna empowered him. Now, we know that we are nowhere near purity or potency of Prabhupada. But by Krishna’s and Prabhupada’s mercy, we can create or we can be a part of the grace of Krishna by which similar facilities were created.
So, rather than looking at what we don’t have, we can focus on what we have. So, as compared to the people wherever we are, we have much more spiritual facility than what other people have. So, if we are sincere, we try our best, Krishna will give us more and more capacity and we will be able to do more and more in His service.
That’s why the focus should always be on trying to do more and more for Krishna. And when we use what Krishna has given us in His service, He will give us more and more. So, to summarise quickly, I started by talking about how real spiritual life begins with thoughtfulness.
Is there something beyond this world? And not just casual thoughtfulness. Unaiyashuddhadhana. Serious inquisitiveness.
If there is something beyond the world, I want to know about it. And to seek it, jnana-vairagya-yoga. So, jnana enables us to perceive the higher reality and vairagya enables us to pursue that higher reality.
And bhakti essentially means redirecting the love of our heart from instead of remembering the people who never remember us, instead of, we stop that and we remember the person who always remembers us. We don’t forget the person who never forgets us. And shuddhadhana.
All this is written in the Konstantin scriptures. Then I discussed about how the Vishnu constant movement enables us to practise this five limbs of bhakti. And lastly we discussed while practising bhakti we should practise paramamodaya, the great joy.
And that great joy comes when we understand that I have got so many blessings. Instead of focussing on what I don’t have, instead of focussing on the lackings. Thank you very much.