Three understandings of surrender in the Bhagavad Gita

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This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
So, let’s begin with some prayers. Prayer Prayer Prayer So, I’ll speak on the concluding verse of the Bhagavad Gita which the great Acharya Ramanuja says is the Charam Shloka, the crest jewel verse of the Bhagavad Gita that is 1866. 1866 1866 1866 1866 So, here Krishna is telling, surrender to me, forget everything else, just surrender to me, I’ll take care of everything, I will protect you.
So recently I was a part of a workshop given by multiple speakers, directed towards people who are not very familiar with Krishna Consciousness, with Bhakti Wisdom in general and primarily from a non-Indian background. So the speaker before me had spoken out, surrender to God and when I started, we had some questions, answer session. So the first question that came up, one person asked, he says, why do I have to surrender to God? I didn’t even know that I was fighting with God.
So the idea was that the word surrender often has a martial connotation, that when do you surrender? You’re fighting with someone and you can’t win, then you raise the white flag of surrender. So, that may be martial surrender in the battlefield context. But what the Bhagavad Gita is talking about is devotional surrender and devotional surrender and martial surrender, they are different in both their cause and their consequence.
In terms of cause, when there is martial surrender, it is because one realises the opposite side is too powerful. I can’t win, that’s the cause and in terms of consequence, it’s not at all a pleasant prospect. Now, we don’t know if we are surrendering to the opponent, how they are going to treat us.
Maybe after surrendering, they may persecute us, they may slaughter us, they may torment us. The fate of the surrendered is not very pleasant. However, neither of these two apply to devotional surrender.
In devotional surrender, the cause is not frustration or helplessness. The cause is affection. The cause is love.
Just like when two people are in love, they may say, your wish is my command. What does that mean? That I want to please you, therefore, I’ll put aside my plans and do what you want me to do. So, that surrender is an expression of affection, of love.
It is not forced, it is voluntary. So, in terms of cause, the devotional surrender that Krishna is talking about is out of love and voluntary. And in terms of consequence, the Gita describes, and that’s the whole message of the Gita, that actually God is our greatest well-wisher.
He wants the best for us, more than what we ourselves may want. And therefore, when we harmonise with the divine will, then that takes us to the best possible future. So, both in terms of cause and consequence, devotional surrender is very different from martial surrender.
So, in the Bhagavad Gita, the theme of surrender comes on many occasions, but primarily three. So, I’ll talk about those three occasions and this 1866 verse which I came to, I’ll come to it at the end. We look at these three senses in which the Gita uses the word surrender and how that can be relevant for us.
So, in the start of the Gita, there is surrender. Arjuna speaks in 2.7, he says, कार्पन्यदोषोपहतास्वभावः पृच्छामित्वाम् धर्मसं उड़चेतः यश्रेयस्यानिष्चितं ब्रोहितन्मे शिष्यस्तेहं शाधि माम्तों प्रपण्नम् So, prapannam is surrender. So, here Krishna is surrendering to Arjuna.
Sorry, Arjuna is surrendering to Krishna. Now, what is the context or what does surrender mean over here? See, Arjuna is confused about the right thing to do. Arjuna is struck, afflicted by an agonising ethical conflict.
So, imagine somebody is a well-established police person. A reputed police officer. Very fair, where they punish the criminals and always let the innocent go unharmed and stay protected.
And now somebody has robbed a house. Committed a big robbery and they’re fleeing. And then the police is chasing that person.
And as the police come closer and closer and closer, and then that person slips and falls. Now, police can shoot. This is such a terrible criminal that the government has given shooter side orders.
So, now they can just shoot and at that time this criminal turns around. And the police person sees that, that criminal is their own son. Now, what do you do at such a time? Now, should he act as a police person and shoot? Or should he act as a father and protect? So, there are two roles and there are two duties.
And they go in opposite directions. Similar was Arjuna’s tension at the start of the Bhagavad Gita. He was a martial guardian society.
He was like a police person and he had to punish aggressors. But those aggressors were his relatives. Among those aggressors were his venerable elders like his teacher and his grandfather.
So, he has the bow and arrow, he has raised it, he is ready to fight. But he confronts the reality that these are the people who are to fight against. What am I to do now? So, at that time, Arjuna turns to Krishna.
And he asks, I want to know what is Dharma? Here, Dharma means the right thing to do. What is the right thing for me to do? And he says, in asking this question, before that, in the first chapter, second half, as well as the second chapter, the half, the section before this, Arjuna has been giving his own ideas. This is the right thing, not fighting is the right thing.
I should not fight, I should not be greedy. Many reasons he is giving. But at the end, he is confused.
And then he says, I surrender to you. Prapannam. So, here in 2.7, surrender is the means to gain knowledge amid confusion.
Surrender has different meanings at different times. So, in the Bhagavad Gita itself. Here it is, surrender is the means to gain knowledge amid confusion.
And we all will face situations where we just don’t know what to do. Should I do this? Should I do that? There are many definitions of intelligence. And one of the definitions is paradoxical.
Intelligence means to know what to do when you don’t know what to do. How is that possible? If I don’t know what to do, how do I know? No, it is like, if I don’t know what to do, whom to turn to or where to turn to, to know what to do. That is also intelligence.
Some people, when they are driving, driving is a functional activity. But for some people, it is like an activity of ego. So, if they are on the wrong path, they will not admit they are on the wrong path.
They don’t know the directions, they will not admit it. They say, let’s ask someone, we may be lost. No, we are not lost, I am on the right track.
And getting further and further away from the destination. No, no, I will find the way. So, no, at that time, intelligence means, okay, I don’t know what to do, where to go.
So, if I don’t know where to go, then what should I do? You ask someone who knows. Nowadays, of course, we have Google Maps, but otherwise, we ask some people over nearby. If you are in an area where Google Maps or other GPS systems don’t cover, you have to ask someone.
Now, it also requires intelligence to know whom to ask. That’s why it is intelligence. Intelligence is to know what to do when we don’t know what to do.
And that willingness to turn towards someone who is more informed or wiser than us, or at least more expert in that particular area, that willingness is itself an expression of surrender. Generally, when we talk about intelligence in today’s world, much of an intelligence is just reduced to IQ, is information processing ability. How fast and how accurately can one solve math problems or do some analytical questions? That’s fine.
That’s one aspect of intelligence. But the Bhagavad Gita defends intelligence not so much as information processing capacity, as decision-making capacity. In the 18th chapter, when Krishna talks about verses 30 to 32, about buddhi.
He says buddhi is about making judicious decisions. So, when one doesn’t know what to do, Arjuna exemplifies what to do. That is, turn towards the divine in prayer and submission.
So, now we may say that for Arjuna, Krishna was right next to him. So, I don’t have Krishna next to me. It’s interesting that although Krishna was right next to Arjuna, Krishna did not give a pat answer to Arjuna.
Krishna led Arjuna through a process of philosophical and moral deliberation by which Arjuna himself could understand the right course of action. So, Krishna did not simply give an answer. If that’s what Krishna wanted to do, he could have finished the Bhagavad Gita in six words.
I am God, obey me, fight. Gita over. He doesn’t do that.
Because Krishna is not just addressing the circumstantial over there. Krishna is addressing the eternal. So, he in the Bhagavad Gita provides the framework or template for a process of philosophical and moral reasoning by which we can arrive at a proper understanding.
However, that process begins with prayerful submission. So, when we don’t know what to do, we all have many decisions to make. Should I pursue this career or that career? Should I stay in this city or that city? Should I be in this relationship or not in this relationship? So many decisions we have to take in life.
And the nature of the human condition is that frequently we have to take huge decisions based on tiny information. When say we want to pursue a career, well, how much can we know about that career beforehand? Well, we know some things. We should try to know as much as we can.
But we don’t know everything. And we can’t know one particular career may be flourishing at a particular time. But maybe we decide to pursue it six years, ten years down the line.
Things may change in the industry, in the market. So, how much can we know? So, if we decide to pursue a relationship with someone, we can try to know as much as possible about the other person. But how much can we know actually? In fact, what to speak of we knowing the other person, whether the other person knows themselves also is a question.
Isn’t it? We ourselves behave in ways that we say, Oh, I couldn’t have done that. So, we are, Charles Dickens said that every person is a mystery to themselves. And what to speak of to someone else.
So, we can’t know, but we have to take decisions. So, what can we do is, we can turn towards the divine in prayer and submission. That does not mean that we outsource the responsibility for decision making to God and then wait for some mystical signal.
That’s not the mood of the Bhagavad Gita. But what he says is, when we turn in prayer and submission, then we open our heart to divine guidance. We let our intelligence be guided by God.
So, then when we pray and deliberate and then strive to make a decision, we’ll find that we will be better guided. We’ll be able to think more clearly. We’ll be able to understand.
So, practically also surrender could mean, we connect with those who are spiritually wiser than us. They can act as the representatives of the divine and they can guide us. But this is the first mode of surrender.
First, not mode, the first way surrender is depicted in the Bhagavad Gita. That when we don’t know what to do, we know what to do. Turn to the divine in prayer and then use our intelligence to arrive at a wise decision.
So, that is the first case where surrender occurs. The second, as in many places, there are hints of surrender, but I am focussing on three, because these three are distinctive. The second is in another well-known verse of the Bhagavad Gita, 7.14. 7.14 is, दैवियैशा गुणमै, मममाया दुरत्यया, मामेवये प्रपध्यन्ते, मायामेतां तरंतिते.
Divine indeed is this illusory energy. It is almost impossible to overcome. But those who surrender to me, they can cross beyond this illusion.
Currently, I am on a speaking tour of America. About four years ago, before the pandemic, when I had come, I was in a city and I had a talk in one university. So, I did not know about that university beforehand.
So, while I was going along, I asked, which university is this? This is the American Institute of Illusion. So, it is a little taken aback. It is the Institute of Illusion.
So, the idea is that actually to make good illusion requires ability. So many movies are made, but most movies don’t do very well. Why? Because the illusion is not very engaging and people get bored.
So, to even make good illusion, good illusion, that means that will engage us, that will absorb us, that requires intelligence, that requires ability. So, Krishna says that the illusions that are there in this world, that sometimes delude us, that sometimes captivate us, they are not ordinary. That this illusory energy, this illusory maya is my energy.
She is manifesting God’s intelligence. And that is why it is very difficult to overcome the illusions that come up in our life. So, what happens with respect to illusion is that we all have some illusions that we share and there are some illusions that we are particularly vulnerable to individually.
Sometimes people ask, I was in Australia when I asked this question that if God wants us to do the good thing, the right thing, then why are there so many bad options? In fact, why are there more bad options than good options? So, I said that’s how it always is in every multiple choice exam. Isn’t it? Normally four wrong options and only one right option. So, the student in today’s world may sue the teacher.
He may say, four wrong answers you gave, so 80% probability that I’ll get it wrong. And you expect that I should get 40% to pass. Therefore, you have rigged the system for me to fail.
Therefore, I will hold you responsible for my failure. Will that work? Because the choosing is not based on probability. The choosing is based on intelligence.
Choosing is based on one’s study. So, yes, there may be four wrong options, but the test of the student is to be able to have studied sufficiently so that they can choose the right option. In terms of number, yes, the wrong options are more, but that doesn’t rig the system against the student.
So, similarly in the world, there are many options. In fact, the world broadly serves two purposes. One is experimentation and the other is redirection.
We all want to be happy. And actually we are made in such a way that we can be happiest when we connect with the divine in love. That love is the purpose of existence.
But not just the love that is talked about in romance novels and romantic movies. This is love that is enduring. That is love that is eternal.
That is love that is uplifting. That is love between humanity and divinity. And then, that foundational love, love for each other.
So, that can give our heart the greatest fulfilment. But unfortunately, we have our own conceptions of what will make us happy. And because of that, we try.
Maybe I’ll try this. Maybe I’ll try that. Maybe I’ll try that.
And we keep trying hundreds and hundreds of things. And so, the world is a place where we can do experimentation. See, God does not want to force us.
Say, if a boy proposes to a girl, please marry me. And she says, no. And he takes out a gun.
If you don’t marry me, I’ll shoot you. Well, that won’t be love. That will be force.
So, God does not want to force us. That’s why he gives us free will. And not only gives us free will, there is a world in which we can exercise that free will.
And do what we think will make us happy. So, the multiple options that are there, they are for us to try out our ideas of what will make us happy. And when we realise, yeah, some things make me happy, but it doesn’t last for very long.
It’s just… See, many of the things that promises happiness, they are such that, that as long as we don’t have them, we feel extremely discontented. So, money is something we all need for living. But for most people, money is not just something which they want for a living.
For people, money becomes their whole, not just the means of living, but the purpose of living. So, money is not just indicative of their net worth. Money becomes indicative of their self-worth.
And then what happens, that the nature of money is that when we don’t have it, we want it. And when we have it, we want it more. And it just leads to insatiable craving.
It’s like… And the same applies to sensual… The same applies to sensual pleasure. When physical enjoyment through the senses, people are seeking, there are some sociologists nowadays, people do surveys of everything. So, most people, when they are engaging in sensual pleasure, most people, they find they are bored.
It’s before that there is craving, but during the moment, it’s like, oh, it’s anticlimax. So, most of the things we think will make us happy, they don’t really make us happy. They give a little pleasure, but it disappears after some time.
That’s the law of diminishing returns. So, suppose there is food after this programme. We don’t suppose food is there.
But suppose there is unlimited desserts. Say, maybe there is some dessert like gulab jamun. So, now what happens is, if we have this gulab jamun, I want it.
It’s delicious. We take one. Can I have one more? Two.
Yes. Three. Four.
Now, suppose we have ten. He’ll say, enough. Now, please take more.
No, no, I don’t want more. Now, you take more. And then after the same thing, the first gulab jamun was irresistible.
But if you take, if the 20th gulab jamun is offered to us, the same thing which is irresistible will become unbearable. No. I feel like I’m going to throw up now.
So, is the pleasure in that object? If it were in that object, why does the 20th iteration of that object not give us the same pleasure as the first? It’s not that the pleasure is not there in that object. It is not only in that object. It is in our imagination that surrounds that object.
And to the extent that imagination gets depleted, to that extent, the pleasure also gets depleted. So, the imagination gets dissipated. The imagination gets dissipated by collision with the hard rock of reality.
Then, the pleasure also disappears. So, we have many things which you can seek for pleasure. But, it is when we turn towards the Lord in devotion and then use all our talents and abilities in His service, we get the highest fulfilment.
So, this illusion, overcoming that, we all have this understanding that, okay, certain things are good, certain things are bad, but we are unable to give it up. So, it’s like, there was one singer, a pop singer, he said, you know, like, you treat me badly, I love you madly. You treat me badly, I love you madly.
You know, that is the case for all of us. Probably, we can say this with respect to addicts. You know, they get into so much trouble because of the object of addiction and yet they crave for it madly.
But to a lesser degree, all our attachments are like that. You know, we get into trouble because of our attachments. Because of them, we suffer, but still, we love them madly.
Because that illusion doesn’t go away. That illusion just stays. And, you may say, somebody may drink a lot and they get a hangover.
And it’s such a splitting headache and such a nauseous feeling. I’m never going to drink again. And within a few days, the next party is there, when are the drinks coming? So, what happens is, the illusion stays on.
So, Krishna says, the way out of the illusions that are bedevilling us is by surrender. So, first was, more you could say, ignorance about the right thing to do. The second is, illusion in terms of the inability to do the right thing.
There’s a difference. Here, I know what is the right thing, but just when the temptation comes, I just completely forget. I just can’t resist.
It seems like a F2 button is pressed in our memory. Delete. And then, whatever resolutions are there, all evaporated.
So, to overcome that is surrender. Now, what does surrender mean in this context? Here, surrender basically means that we hold on to God through the process of bhakti, through the practise of bhakti. First, surrender was openness to guidance.
But here, surrender is like holding on, if we are in a wave, if in an ocean, and waves are coming, the waves are giant, they will buffet us, they will knock us away. We can’t fight against the waves ourselves. But if we have an anchor that we can hold on to, then, by the strength of that anchor, we will avoid getting swept away.
So, we can’t fight against illusion by focussing on how it is an illusion. It won’t work. If somebody says, sit and look at temptation and deconstruct it.
It will deconstruct our determination. It won’t work. We have to direct our focus towards something higher, towards something fulfilling.
So, the practise of bhakti yoga enables us to focus our consciousness on God. So, when we chant the holy names, when we hear spiritual wisdom, when we pray and worship the deities, when we come in sacred holy association, by all this, we are holding on to the anchor that is God. And then, whatever illusions may come, whatever may divert us from our path, those illusions will be able to overcome.
It’s amazing. People all over the world have experienced that some habits, they are struggling to give up some unhealthy habits, and they couldn’t. And they started practising bhakti, and it’s almost like magic.
Those habits just seem to lose their hold, lose their grip. Of course, some habits take more time than others, but the transformation happens. So, surrender is for protecting ourselves or freeing ourselves from illusion.
So, don’t fight with the illusion. Fight to hold on to God, and God will fight with the illusions. If we try to fight with our illusions ourselves, they are too strong.
They will overpower us. So, that is the second mode of surrender. The third mode, this I’ll conclude, and we’ll have few questions.
This is what Krishna talks at the end. He says, Give up all ideas. sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja Now, this literally, this verse can be very confusing.
Why? Because dharma can mean many things. I was in India at a Gita recitation programme. They had asked me to give prizes over there.
And they were, this was a general Hindu festival. So, they were reciting, and when the kids were reciting this verse, they said, sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja So, then I asked the organisers, this verse is sarva-dharman parityajya. Why sarva-dharman parityajya? He said, actually it doesn’t make any sense.
God has come to establish dharma. God has come to establish virtue. Why will he tell us to give up virtue? Have you thought, that actually when the Gita was written down, there was originally an A, but that A was forgotten by some transcriber.
So, we are putting back that A. So, this is foolishness. Actually, for Arjuna, there was no question of adharma. He was a very virtuous person.
So, he doesn’t have to be told to give up all adharma. It’s like a person who is extremely honest. You tell them, you should not murder people.
What? What are you talking about? So, that doesn’t make any sense. But sarva-dharman parityajya, what it means over here is, that you have your conceptions of what is the right thing to do. Just put aside your conceptions.
mam ekam saranam vraja Just do my will. So, here surrender means doing God’s will. And that is what, this is 1866, seven verses later, Arjuna speaks.
And Arjuna speaks his conclusion, his understanding of the Gita. And what does he say over there? nashto mohasm tirlabdha tvat prasadhan mayacchuta sthito smigata sandeha karishe vacinam tava karishe vacinam tava I will do your will. So, here surrender means doing God’s will.
So, there are three incremental senses. First was, turning to God for guidance. What should I do? Then, turning to God for strength.
When I know what is the right thing to do, but I am unable to do it. And now, it is not just we do the right thing, but we do God’s will. So, now why should we do God’s will? Or what does doing God’s will mean actually? So, in one sense, here, surrender is the way to fulfilling the highest human potential.
See, God is not like some arbitrary person, like a taskmaster, who will just tell us to do whatever they need us to do. No, God is our greatest well-wisher. So, imagine, if a parent gives their child an expensive computer.
And then, the parents also know, this child has some interest, this kid has some interest in computer programming. And then, the child neglects the computer. And asks the parents, what can I do to please you? What can I do to please you? What I have given you, use it.
Use it. Use it for doing good work. So, similarly, God’s pleasure, doing God’s will, what does it mean? It means, using the gift that God has given us for serving humanity, for serving God, for doing good in the world.
Each one of us has gifts. But unfortunately, we devalue the gifts that we have. Why? Because, we look at all the gifts we don’t have.
Oh, this person is smarter than me, this person is fairer than me, this person is taller than me, this person is thinner than me, slimmer than me. We look at all the things, and we feel dissatisfied. It’s like, suppose after this programme, we are going to have food.
Suppose there is a special menu, where everybody has a different dessert. Somebody has gulab jamun, somebody has sandesh, somebody has malpua, somebody has chocolate cookies, somebody has various things like that. Now, we have a delicacy in our plate.
But we are looking, what does this person have? What does that person have? What does that person have? And, even if we eat what we have, it won’t taste good. It is good, it is tasty, but you won’t taste it. Why? Because we are distracted, looking at everyone, what everyone else has.
And that will keep us discontented. So, here surrender, sometimes, like I started by saying, surrender means, oh, I just surrender. It’s just, I quit.
Well, that’s not the exact meaning of surrender in the Gita. Surrender means, I will do your will. So, surrender in this context means, that, to do what we can, with what we have now.
So, to do what we can, with what we have now, in a mood of service, in a mood of devotion. So, we don’t have to compare. Others may have far better abilities than they have, than what we have.
Somebody may have more wealth than we have, somebody may have better looks than what we have, somebody may have sharper brains than what we have. But none of those things, in themselves, will make them happy, will give them fulfilment. Somebody may have a lot of wealth, but, their happiness will depend not on how much wealth they have, but on how well they are using that wealth.
Otherwise, by misusing their wealth, they will create suffering for themselves. They will get into unhealthy habits, unhealthy behaviours. So, they won’t be happy.
So, similarly, for each one of us, what we have, is, not necessarily what we need forever, but what we have is what we need right now. So, accept it and use it. And God will give us more.
Surrender in that context means, Krishna tells Arjuna, don’t resent the situation you are in. Now, don’t think, why do you have to fight against your grandsire, or against your teacher. You have been given archery ability, you have been given opportunity to serve humanity with your archery ability.
Do that right now. So, later in the Mahabharata, Krishna tells Arjuna, in one of another difficult moments of Arjuna’s life, that, these difficulties and distresses, come upon everyone in the world. It’s upon the good people and the bad people, among the wise people, and the otherwise people.
So, distresses come upon everyone. But what differentiates the wise and the otherwise is, the otherwise people, in the midst of distress, they act in ways that makes things worse. Whereas the wise people, act in ways that makes things better.
So, we may have some distress, oh, this person has more friends than what I have. This person has more Facebook followers than what I have. That can be a big crisis of, not just, it can be an identity crisis for people nowadays.
I posted this and I got only 5 likes. He or she posted and they got 25 likes. What is the use of my life? It can become like that.
But, the point is, that, rather than worrying about this, who has how much influence, how much followers, how much possessions, we focus on, that can be a source of distress for me. But, what can I do to make things better? If I just crave for what they have, or lament about what I don’t have, I am only making things worse. But what I have, I try to use it constructively.
Use it in the mood of service. And we will find, that therein, we will gain contentment. If we just take the responsibility, to use what we have, in a mood of service, we will find our life, becoming filled with meaning, and eventually, filled with fulfilment.
Now, happiness, does not depend on what we have. It depends on, how we use what we have. It depends on, how we take responsibility, for using what we have.
And that, so ultimately, doing God’s will, it’s not that God has to come, in some mystical revelation, and tell us, this is what my will is. Yes, there are certain things, God wants us to connect with Him, in devotion. So praying to Him, chanting His names, understanding the wisdom, that He has given us, that is His will, definitely.
But along with that, His will is, that whatever situation, we find ourselves in, we act to make things better. We act in a way, using whatever abilities we have, to make things better. Srila Prabhupada, is an example of this.
Srila Prabhupada, in one sense, he was always a great enlightened soul. So he was not, having ignorance or illusion. But the third mode of surrender, when he was in India, nobody seemed to be interested in, spiritual knowledge, of the Bhagavad Gita.
So what did he do? I am going to do God’s will. So he decided to come to America. And he composed a song, while he was coming to America.
And what, in that song he says, My dear Lord, I don’t know what, why you brought me here. Why have you brought me here, I do not know. But, you must have some purpose.
Nacchao, Nacchao Prabhu, Nacchao Se Mate. Kashtera Putali Jata, Nacchao Se Mate. My dear Lord, make me dance.
Make me dance. As a puppet, master makes a puppet dance, make me dance. Now this is not giving up, of one’s independence or intelligence.
Prabhupada was using his intelligence. Okay, here, here we can share bhakti more effectively. Here people are not interested.
This is an opportunity. Prabhupada was using all the intelligence he had. And he was not thinking, oh, so many people are materialistic, this is a materialistic age, people are not interested.
No, who is interested? What can I do to make things better? And if we try to act in that mood, if we try to make a positive difference, no one knows how much of a positive difference we can make. God can empower each one of us to do far more than what we think we are capable of. In fact, discovering how much of a positive difference we can make, that can be our life’s greatest adventure.
And surrender in the sense of that willingness to act in harmony with the divine will, to use the gifts that the divine has given us, that surrender is the opening of the door to life’s greatest adventure. And that is what is signified in the end of the Bhagavad Gita, where the Gita says, wherever there is Krishna and Arjuna, that is, wherever there is divinity and humanity united together, there, there will be prosperity, there will be success, there will be morality, there will be fulfilment. So this is how the Gita is a guidebook for life, helping us to overcome ignorance, to overcome illusion and to maximise our human potential and our contribution in the world thereof.
I’ll quickly summarise. I spoke broadly on the topic of surrender today. So we talked about martial surrender and devotional surrender are different in terms of their cause.
It’s not helplessness or frustration, but it’s a love and the expression of love and the consequence is not unpleasant fate, but an intimate bond of love with the divine. The first occurrence of surrender is in when Arjuna doesn’t know what is the right thing to do in the face of ethical crisis and he turns to Krishna for guidance. So this surrender opens us up to the definition of intelligence as to know what to do when we don’t know what to do.
Krishna doesn’t give pat answers to Arjuna, but guides him through a process of moral reasoning. So like that, when we are faced with indecision, we can pray to the divine and then with that divine light illuminating our guidance, our intelligence, we can move toward judicious decisions. The second definition is after 2.7 is 7.14 that surrender enables us to overcome illusion that even when we know what is the right thing to do, sometimes we get captivated by illusions.
The world is meant for experimentation and redirection. So if we have our own ideas of what will make us happy, the world gives us forum for that. However, if we want to turn toward the divine, we have that opportunity also.
So rather than fighting against the illusions that bedevil us, we focus on connecting with the lord and he will fight against the illusions. He will help us overcome our unhealthy hang-ups or whatever it is that deludes us. And the last was surrender means to do the will of the divine.
And God’s will is what? It’s like a parent has given something valuable to the children want children to use it fully. So God has given each one of us gifts. So instead of looking at what gifts we don’t have, we focus on what we have and use them in a mood of service.
Instead of feeling distressed because of our situations or comparison with others, we think what can I do to make things better? And if we act in this mood of service, who knows how much of a positive difference we can make. Discovering that how much positive difference we can make can be our life’s greatest adventure. The Gita is a call to each one of us to join in this ultimate adventure.
Thank you very much. Hare Krishna. Are there any questions? Hare Krishna.
Thank you very much for the lecture. I appreciate the lecture. Also, all the teachings that you have online.
You touched a topic of changing habit or habit control in your talk today that with practising bhakti, habits of people are changing as if it’s like a magic. Do we have any documentation or measurement that could support that claim? And that would be the first part of the question. And the second part is if there is no such thing, is there a determination of having such measurement? Thank you.
If you say that bhakti practise can change habits, is there any scientific study done to validate this? Well, yes and no. Yes, in the sense that there are several devotees in sociology. For example, from Florida University, Dr. David Bramble did a study of regular mantra chanting and its effect on one’s mental states.
So depression and negativity, they had a parameter for measuring that. That significantly went down. And as our movement is expanding, it’s attracting more attention.
So I think more studies will be done. But beyond sociological studies like that, devotees follow certain principles. So as spiritual practitioners, we avoid certain indulgences.
And so we avoid meat, we avoid intoxication, we avoid gambling, we avoid unrestrained sexual activity. Nobody is forcing us to do that. The whole world is filled with temptations.
And still, we see people living in this world and voluntarily being able to avoid them to a substantial degree. So what is making it possible? Many of the people who started practising this, they were… Now I’m not getting into the moral value of what is right and what is wrong. I’m simply talking about behaviour over here.
That many people were eating meat and they stopped eating meat. And it is not that it was a big struggle. It changed effortlessly.
The people who were… The very fact that these four principles are being followed and not it’s like a constant torment, it is being followed. So that itself would be a demonstration. For some people may say, Oh, these rules are so strict and all of these people are inhibited.
But no, no, it’s not inhibition because every individual is free. Anybody can just leave Krishna Bhakti if they want and start indulging in whatever pleasures they want to. Nobody is keeping anyone by force over here.
The fact that somebody is voluntarily doing it indicates that their experiences are higher in life because of which these… these particular… the pull of these particular pleasures is no longer that strong. So definitely further studies can and should be done. I think as our movement expands.
In terms of the history of religion, Krishna Consciousness and Bhakti Yoga have been practised for millennia in India. But in terms of their interface with modern or post-modern western western culture and western interface, Krishna Consciousness movement started about about 50-55 years ago. So we are growing and definitely such studies will be done in future.
Yes, please. So Prabhuji, we already have proof, we already have statistics because when Prabhupada, Srila Prabhupada came to US, his first disciples were hippies who were taking LSD. And they were womanisers, they were intoxicated most of the time.
And those people because of chanting and because of bhakti, they changed. So that proof is already there, I think. Bhakti is what really helped them get out of all their intoxications and addictions.
So I just wanted to add. Thank you. That’s a good point.
Definitely true. I just didn’t mention that because that’s not been… Sociology itself was not developed at that time so much. That’s why it’s not empirically documented in sociological studies.
But it’s a well-known fact. We talk with the first-person testimony of people and definitely we see that. Yes, please.
Actually, I can give a first-person testimony for that. So at one point in my life, I was on psychiatric medication for like mood stabilisation. But then I started hearing about Krishna and I started hearing, you know, how they say you should hear about him.
I started hearing about him, listening to his bhajans, reading about him. And I completely went off medication, never needed it again. So it really works.
Yes. Yes. Hare Krishna.
Thank you for sharing that. Hare Krishna, Prabhu. Thank you so much for your class.
Sorry, one minute. I’ll just add one thing. So we are not saying that you chant Hare Krishna and stop taking medication.
That’s not the point over here. In some cases, sometimes clinical depression may require medication. But what happens is some people think you can’t solve mental health problems just by popping pills.
There is a multifaceted approach. And sometimes when one finds higher meaning, higher fulfilment, then the pharmacological dependence may dissipate completely. Thank you.
Hare Krishna, Prabhu. Thank you so much for your class. So you made a very useful point, actually, where you said, especially when you’re tempted with illusion, you can ask this question, what can I do to make things better? So I’ve heard you many times, and I try to implement this, but I’ve noticed myself it’s very difficult during the time I’m super caught up with other things.
And maybe a few hours after, I start thinking, oh, I remember hearing this. So I’m curious, how do I potentially, I would say, remember it at that moment? Or, I mean, what’s the strategy to actually remember at that point? Okay. So if we want to act in ways that make things better, but in the heat of the moment, we tend to forget and we act impulsively.
So how can we remember that more promptly? Well, the pathway to greater self-awareness is through self-awareness. What I mean by that is that at least it is good that later we realise, oh, I could have remembered at that time. Some people, they commit some terrible mistake.
They may, somebody may hurt us grievously, and then we go through a lot of hard work and finally resolve, I’m going to forgive that other person. And we go and say, I forgive you. What did I do to deserve forgiveness? So they don’t even know they did something wrong.
So that is a terrible level of self-unawareness. So even if we, after doing something that we will not be proud of, later at least we realise that is also a level of self-awareness. So you could put it, another way to put it is even lack of awareness or lack of self-awareness is a level of self-awareness.
Because some people lack self-awareness and they don’t even know that they lack self-awareness. So they just do foolish things, do terrible, hurtful things and go on with it. So don’t feel discouraged.
At least later I’m realising it. Now, what we could do is, sometimes we need external aids. So for example, if there’s some thought which you like, some words which you like, some point which you like, maybe keep it in a notepad on your phone, keep it in a sticky note, or maybe read it every day sometime.
Read that thought. Especially the kind of obstacles that we face regularly, the kind of challenges which we face regularly. If we know those and we know what could help me to navigate this, then keep that accessible.
Keep that accessible. So, it’s like, wisdom is valuable, but if you consider wisdom is like a weapon for fighting against illusion. If a soldier is on the battlefield and suddenly the enemy attacks, soldier can’t say, let me go to my tent, get my weapon and then I’ll fight with you.
No. A weapon in the tent is of no use to a soldier in the fight. So, the soldier has to have the weapon with them.
So, similarly, we have to find out what is the way we can keep the wisdom with us, accessible to us. So, one way is also speaking about it. And if you speak about something to others, say, if the typical people with whom we tend to sometimes act in ways like this, we speak this, not in a didactic, holier-than-thou way, but in the mood of sharing.
Then, when we are acting impulsively, this is not what I spoke. So, create support systems, supports for ourselves. That will help quite a bit.
Thank you. Hello. Hi.
I’m Pranav. Hi. So, thank you for your lecture.
I really enjoyed it. Myself, I’m a PhD and I’m working at UCLA right now and today is my first day. I really enjoyed it.
I have a question regarding the fulfilment and contentment you were talking about. The pleasure or the contentment that a lot of us are seeking on a constant basis through our careers is through career growth. My question is regarding career growth.
How not to get yourself trapped in the pleasures that come through career growth? For example, in your work, you always try to work harder and harder so that you get to a position which is better than you. With that, to reward yourself, you always try to get yourself a better house, a better car, or if you don’t have a house, you try to get a house and then you try to upgrade it. If you don’t have a car, you try to get a car and then you try to get a coupe or a Tesla.
I don’t know. How not to fall in that trap of needing more while being in Karma Yoga and try to work more and not falling in that trap? Thank you. Thank you for asking it.
How can we pursue growth but we can get trapped in pursuing growth? How do we avoid that? See, growth is a part of the natural human condition. Each one of us was just one tiny cell in our mother’s womb at one time. Now there are millions and billions of cells in our body.
How did this happen? Through growth. So growth is natural. Growth is wonderful.
However, cancer is also growth. The difference is that cancer involves disproportionate and destructive growth. It’s disproportionate and that’s why it’s destructive.
One tissue in the body starts growing so much that it starts damaging all other parts of the body. So similarly for us, we have different facets to our life. When Narada Muni comes to meet Yudhishthir, Yudhishthir has just been enthroned as the king of Indraprastha, he says that there is Dharma, Artha and Kama.
This is virtue, profit and pleasure. He says, O king, are you pursuing all these three in balance? Don’t pursue virtue at the expense of profit and pleasure. Don’t pursue profit at the expense of virtue and pleasure.
Don’t pursue pleasure at the expense of virtue and profit. So we could say these three things broadly refer to three aspects of our life. Virtue is primarily cultivated through our practise of spirituality or bhakti.
So that is temple and spiritual places like that. So profit is cultivated through our job, our profession, our career. And we could say in this context, pleasure is cultivated through our family and our relationships.
So that’s our temple, the workplace and the home. All these three are important for us. And if we want to grow in a way that is sustainable, all three should be good.
If we focus only on one thing, then what to speak of neglecting our spiritual side, sometimes people become workaholics and neglect even their relationships. They become very successful, but they’re just lonely because they’ve ruined their relationships. So to avoid this, being caught in this phenomenon of growth, not in the phenomenon, in obsession with growth, we can understand that growth has to be multifaceted.
yes, it’s natural if we have a house to want a bigger house. We have a car, we want to have a bigger house. That’s natural.
So, when does ambition become greed? Ambition becomes greed when it is at the cost of virtue. Artha becomes lobha when it is at the cost of dharma. Seeking artha is natural.
But it becomes greed when we compromise virtue for that purpose. So yes, it’s not that we are meant to be spiritual, we are meant to be lazy. In all areas of life, we are diligent, we are resourceful, we are active.
Ambition is never the problem. It is unidimensional ambition. Ambition reduced only to one area of life at the expense of everything else.
So that’s why if we have well-wishers around us, guides around us, whom we can turn to, whom we trust, then they can help us find the balance. Because we may become, based on our particular conditions, external conditions and even our internal conditionings, we may tend to get imbalanced in any one direction. So, both by our own introspection and by the guidance of well-wishers around us, we can find the balance between these three.
Okay? Thank you very much. Hare Krishna. Hare Krishna.
Hare Krishna. One quick one. The what law of oh, now I lost my count.
Diminishing returns. I read about that in the ninth grade. And I found that it applied to most things.
But I found that it didn’t apply to chanting Hare Krishna or reading transcendental literatures because I’ve been doing that for 52 and a half years. And they both get better. They didn’t diminish.
Yeah. Thank you very much for sharing that. So, Shrimad Bhagavad Gita Ki Jai.
Shrimad Prabhupada Ki Jai.