Understanding Surrender – Meditation on Prabhupada’s prayer Markine Bhagavata Dharma – 4

[Talk at Retreat in Breckenridge, USA] ppt:

Disclaimer: This transcript was generated using AI and may contain occasional errors or inaccuracies.

Hare Krishna. So till now we have discussed in this Markhine Bhagavad Dharma song about Vishwa Prabhupada's meditation on how he is going to reach his audience with Krishna's message. So he begins by, Krishna you must have purpose, some purpose why you brought me here, so whatever you want you do with me.

And then he says, he surrendered to Krishna, but he also has his plan. And for that plan, he sees an obstacle. He sees the plan he has that he is going to speak the Bhagavatam to him.

And so that for that plan, the obstacle he sees is that people are covered by the modes of passion and ignorance. And then he says, how will this obstacle be overcome? It is by your mercy, O Lord. So he says, you can make the impossible possible.

And specifically, it is by your will, everyone is covered by illusion. By your will, they can also come out of illusion. So if you desire the deliverance, O Lord, then surely your message they will hear.

Hear means they will actually understand by hearing. So here Prabhupada is having, as I said, there is a dependence and there is diligence. Both comprise the mode of devotion, of surrender.

So at one level, bhakti involves surrendering to Krishna, being ready to do whatever Krishna wants us to do. At the same time, a devotee also has one's own intelligence. You could say it is Krishna-given intelligence, but still it is the intelligence which is being given to each devotee.

And that devotee uses their intelligence to try to serve Krishna. And with our intelligence, we make some plans. Sometimes we say that, you know, if you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans.

Now this is actually a quote by an American comedian. It is not a philosophical statement. It is Woody Allen who said this.

So I'll talk about, this is not, when we say we make God laugh, it doesn't necessarily mean that God is a sadist who delights in disrupting our plans, nor is it that God doesn't want us to make plans. What it essentially means is, often when we make plans, there is a conception that we have things under control, or that we will control things. It is that conception, that which is actually wrong, and which we could say is laughable.

So as devotees, do we make plans? Yes, we do, obviously. But we do plans in a mood of service to Krishna. So a devotee is not attached to one's plans.

A devotee's attachment is to Krishna. And for the service of Krishna, a devotee can make plans. And if the plans work out, good.

If the plans don't work out, a devotee will find some other way to serve Krishna. So generally when we make plans, everything can be done in three modes. Now planning, normally in ignorance, the only planning one does is, how to avoid any work.

I have to do this work. How can I do the least possible work and get out? That is the only planning that a person does. The planning is to find the path of least resistance, and go along that path.

In passion, when we make plans, at that time we are very attached. I want things to work this way only. And then we get very agitated when things don't work.

In goodness, when we plan, we have a bigger picture in mind. We can see the bigger picture and make a plan accordingly. So that means, to give an example, say from here we want to go to Denver.

Now we have a plan, maybe Google Maps helps us to make a plan. Okay, you can go like this, this is a road plan. But then if we find, there is some obstacle over there.

So a person in passion has tunnel vision. This is what I have to do, and this is the way I have to do it. But a person in goodness sees a bigger picture.

Okay, if I can't go this way, maybe there is some other way I can go. If I can't just go by road, maybe I can go by some other way entirely. So the point is, in goodness, we can see the bigger picture.

And in pure goodness, we see not just the bigger picture, we also see the biggest reality. That is Krishna. And thus, our attachment is to Krishna.

So Prabhupada has his own plan over here. His plan is that he is going to speak the Bhagavatam. And he recognizes this plan also is not going to easily work out.

The obstacle which he sees, he is saying that Krishna, you can overcome this obstacle. So now, when again he said that, how do we move? So now, here the important point is, by your mercy, they will understand things. So I'll talk about this first in general terms, and then I'll talk in specific terms.

In general, researchers have found, or thinkers have observed, that some of the greatest insights, they come not just by our conscious effort. They just suddenly come upon us. This is called as the phenomenon of inspiration.

In the Greek tradition, there is a story of Archimedes, how he discovered the principle of flotation, how he discovered, how to find out whether gold is pure or not. So when inspiration comes, it just comes at the most unexpected time. It just catches a person.

And then the person just forgets everything at that time. So we get the insight. Now when we get the insight, it's important to understand how the insight comes.

So here I use the metaphor of a bulb. Many times if you have read some cartoons or something like that in childhood, suddenly somebody gets an idea. A bulb has gone inside the brain.

It's gone. Oh, now I've got an idea how to solve this. So the bulb goes on.

That means the illumination. Earlier there was darkness. Should I do this? Should I do that? I don't know.

Like in darkness, we don't see any way ahead. As soon as light comes, we know this is the way to go. So the bulb starting on inside means the insight has come.

So the insight has come inside. Now when it has come, how exactly has it come? If we look at our own lives, sometimes we get some ideas. And we look at the lives of great thinkers also.

See that the insight just comes upon them. It's not that they have not prepared for it. They thought a lot about it.

But even after thinking about it, from the point of their knowledge to the insight, it's a huge leap. And it just cannot happen in one leap. So actually it is something other, something else, that is giving that understanding to them.

So as a writer, when you start writing, it is actually many times, you start writing and you have no idea what to write. And there was one author, he was asked, do you write regularly? Or do you write whenever inspiration comes? This is a novella done by Somerset Maugham. He said, no, I write only when inspiration comes.

And I make sure that inspiration comes every morning at 9 a.m. Now, what does that mean? Obviously, we can't command inspiration to come at 9 a.m. So there is the other aspect to balance inspiration is dedication. We just prepare ourselves. We think about a subject, we plan for it.

And sometimes, when I write in one hour, sometimes I write a thousand words. Sometimes I write 100 words and delete 99 words after that. So nothing remains.

So it varies. So from our side, effort is required. But our effort alone does not determine the result.

There is something more. So in the bulb, we have to trigger the bulb. We have to press the button to turn it on.

But our pressing the button is not what actually powers the bulb. There has to be electricity coming. And our electricity, our triggering it, turning on the switch, simply makes sure that the electricity flows through.

So our effort is like triggering the bulb. But the power comes from somewhere else. The thinking that we do, the planning that we do, the analyzing that we do, all that is important.

But at a particular moment, the insight just comes. So this, in all fields, in science, in art, in music, people just get the answers. So when they get the answers, it's at one level miraculous.

In India, there was Shakuntala Devi, who is known as a mathematical genius. And she can multiply 13-digit numbers, and she gives the answer before the calculator gives the answer. Because the questioner has to type the 13 digits.

That takes time. So when she asks, how do you get the answer? It's not that she is multiplying this number by this number and carrying over and doing all that. It's not a linear process over there.

It's just tak. She says that I just get the answer with it. So just get it.

So different people have different abilities that they just get. So some people, some children, they pick up a kartal and they start playing it. They don't have to practice it, just get it.

Some people may just be very good at language. Just get the rules of grammar. They just write beautifully, sing beautifully.

So there was a South Indian poet. He sort of became a devotee at the age of nine. And he lived for the age of 90.

And every day, his Mangal Aarti was a new aarti. So for 81 years, every day he would compose a new song and offer it to the Lord. And it was not that previous night he was thinking, what I am going to sing tomorrow.

Just go there and the song would come. It's just amazing how inspiration can come. It is.

Actually, when we see this extraordinary ability that some people have in some fields, we should understand, Krishna is giving this intelligence. So sometimes if we just have mundane vision, we may be astounded. How is this person able to do it? We may become envious.

We feel, I don't have that ability. But if you see the Krishna connection, you understand it is Krishna who is giving this insight. Now why are we discussing about this? There can be insights in different fields which can lead to many breakthroughs.

But similarly, we need an insight for our spiritual growth. And what is that insight we need? Yeah, we need to get that illumination, that conviction. In our inner world, there is the mind and there is the intelligence.

So when we understand something, that means the intelligence gets it. But realization means that the mind gets it. So although at one level, we say the mind is lower than the intelligence, but the mind can often be much stronger.

The mind can overpower the intelligence. So when the mind gets it, at that time, the mind itself stops proposing. Krishna talks about the sequence in 2.61. So he is talking about three stages in this verse.

First line is First, control the senses. Restrain or control. Now when do we say we have to control? When there is some opposition.

Say we tell somebody who is riding a car and they are just going off. Control the car. That means there is opposition and there is an effort which is put to control.

So then the second step, Krishna says, that means whatever sense control we have, we use it and then Fix the consciousness on me. And then by this, what will happen? Vasha means conquest. So first there is control.

Then there is focus on Krishna. And then there is conquest. So when the senses are conquered, then they no longer oppose.

Then they are won over. Similarly for us, we all have our particular weaknesses. For some of us, it may be anger.

Some of us may be greed. Some of us, it may be a particular attachment, whatever it may be. And we may intellectually understand also, we should not be doing this.

And we may analyze, we may understand. All that we have to do. But there is a particular moment when the mind gets it.

When that happens, then it is a stage of Vasha. It is a stage of conquest. Then the opposition is no longer there.

Then the temptation itself is no longer there. So when the temptation is there, there is struggle to give it up. Struggle to control it.

So both are actually, in one sense, moments of illumination. First level, just the intelligence understanding it also is important. So when the intelligence understands it, that is where we can actually start the process.

Without that, we are not able to start it also. But after that, at a particular point, the mind gets it. When this happens, then the person becomes completely focused.

So for example, all of us can look back at some particular conditionings we may have had. Maybe some of us used to eat meat before. Now, we might have been very attached to meat also.

But now if somebody offers meat, if you practice Bhakti for some time, then it's a higher taste. And devotees may fall back to various things. But usually, meat is not a very strong temptation which causes fall down.

Why? Because the mind has got it. So then there is no temptation over there. So this way, when we are growing spiritually, actually it is not just our effort.

Our effort is definitely required. We need to analyze, we need to study, we need to become convinced. But at one particular point, the mind will get it.

Now when that will happen, that is Krishna's mercy. So in the Chaitanya Charita Amrit, when Sanatana Goswami tries to renounce the world and surrender to Lord Chaitanya. Rupa Goswami is able to slip away.

But Sanatana Goswami is arrested and imprisoned by Nawab Hussain Shah. And he has to put in a great effort, somehow persuade the guard to let him go. And then he escapes.

And he flees all the way from Bengal. As a fugitive he flees and finally comes to Varanasi. And there he meets Lord Chaitanya.

And Lord Chaitanya embraces him. So Lord Chaitanya is inside the house. And he is a super soul, he knows.

He says, there is a great Vaishnava outside. And he is staying at the house of Tapal Mishra. No, not Tapal Mishra's house, he would take prasadam.

Chandrasekhar Acharya. He is staying at the house of Chandrasekhar Acharya. So he says, Actually there is a great Vaishnava outside.

And he goes out and he says, there is no Vaishnava. Is there somebody there? He says, yes, there is a fakir over there. You know, he has long beard because he has been converted to Islam.

He says, get him inside. And as soon as he comes in, Lord Chaitanya embraces him. He is amazed.

Who is this? This doesn't look like a Vaishnava. Then he introduces him. This is Sanatana Goswami.

He says, great devotee he is. And then, after that Lord Chaitanya speaks. He is very significant.

He says, the movements of the super soul are very great. Although you had such opulence, you, by the mercy of the super soul, got detached from it all and have devoted yourself to Lord Krishna. So he sees Sanatana Goswami's renunciation, but he sees that as the mercy of the super soul.

The point is that actually, when we get that insight, there is nothing in this. I don't need to do this. That insight is actually Krishna's mercy.

So Prabhupada is saying over here, that if you desire the deliverance, then surely they will understand. Now is it that Krishna doesn't desire the deliverance? Krishna desires the deliverance of everyone. Krishna also reciprocates with our desires.

So to the extent we have a desire, to that extent Krishna sees and he reciprocates. So for us, all that we can do at our stages is try to strengthen our desire. And at a particular point, when the desire becomes strong enough, we don't know what point it will be.

We just keep trying, trying, and trying doesn't mean simply we keep fighting temptation. Our focus is on serving Krishna. Because it is serving Krishna that purifies us.

And just like if a rocket is to take off, it has to gain a particular take-off velocity so that it can overcome gravity, go out of the Earth's gravity pool. Now, at that particular point, when the rocket is firing, we just keep firing, keep firing. What velocity is enough to pull off? We don't know.

But once it reaches that velocity, it will just pull off. Similarly for us, when we are practicing bhakti, we will get over temptation. But it is Krishna's mercy when it happens.

Now, if we have been able to resist certain temptations, we have transcended certain forms of illusion, we will be grateful to Krishna. It is not just our renunciation. It is our renunciation but it is also Krishna's benediction.

So a devotee doesn't see renunciation separately. This is my renunciation. Renunciation is actually Krishna's benediction.

And so Prabhupada wants his audience to be renounced from gross worldly pleasures. But for that purpose, he is saying it will happen by your mercy, O Lord. Where is it going? Okay, left arrow.

Not for that. Keyword is too far. Okay, okay, okay.

Yes, yesterday I had seen it. We will go back to the next page. We will recite and then we will come back.

You said the previous one and this one both. Right. The Bhagavatam is your incarnation.

Hearing it repeatedly removes illusion. Bhagavate katha se tabhavatar. So Prabhupada is continuing to talk about his plan.

Actually, how can people become sober? He wants Krishna's mercy. Now we want Krishna's mercy but that doesn't mean devotees necessarily expect that Krishna should, in some miraculous way, intervene for my sake. He says, what am I going to do? I am going to speak the Bhagavatam.

And if somebody just hears the Bhagavatam, again and again, dheerahariya. Dheera means sober. So Prabhupada writes in the Ishopanishad, a sober person is one who is not disturbed by illusion.

And just by hearing it repeatedly, one becomes free from illusion. Let us see how this happens. It's interesting what Prabhupada is talking about here.

Prabhupada is talking about the Bhagavatam, speaking it as a means for deliverance. And this is also the same as the vision that Vyasadeva has. Jiva Goswami has written a book called Satsang Darbha.

So these are six books which talk about the fundamental principles of bhakti, of Gaudiya Vaishnavism. And in that, he first establishes the Bhagavatam is the sarva-pramana-chakravarthi-bhuta, is the emperor among all pramanas. And after that, he starts going into how do we understand the essence of the Bhagavatam.

What is it talking about? And he talks about, we can understand from what are the seed verses of the Bhagavatam, or what are the seed conversations of the Bhagavatam. So there he talks about these four verses are from where the Bhagavatam has emerged. The first canto of the Srimad Bhagavatam, chapters 4, 5 and 6 are the Vyasa-Narada Samvat.

Where Vyasadeva, when he feels dissatisfied, Narada Muni comes and instructs him and tells him that, Yasho bhagavato amala, you are not glorified, you have not spoken the spotless glories of the Supreme Lord and that's why you are dissatisfied. So speak those glories. And he tells his own story about how by hearing the Bhagavatam he became purified.

Now after that, at that time itself he says, that go into samadhi, meditate deeply and remember the pastimes of the Lord and then speak those pastimes. So after that, in the 7th chapter, Vyasadeva sits in meditation. And then he sees the condition of the living entity.

And he sees how this living entity can be delivered. There are four verses over there. First verse talks about how when he sits in meditation, he sees that actually with a clear vision.

He says, He says that Maya is what? There is a Supreme Lord over here, there is a Jiva over here. But there is a Maya over here. Maya is under the Supreme Lord's control.

And the Jiva is also actually transcendental. But Jiva has, because of anarthas, has come under the control of Maya. And how can this anarthas yoga come? He says, He says, The cessation of distress can happen.

How? By the speaking of the Bhagavatam. By hearing about the glories of the Lord. And therefore, to describe the process of bhakti yoga, which centers on hearing, He, Vyasadeva then decides to compose the Srimad Bhagavatam.

So Prabhupada, he is also seeing over here, people are under illusion. So Vyasadeva's vision was, there are basically three truths in existence. Tattvatra it is called in the Upanishads.

They can be referred to as the alliterative jiva. That is Jagdish, Jiva and Jagat. So Jagdish is the ishwar, is the controller.

So the 13th chapter of the Bhagavad Gita is called as, does anyone know the title of the 13th chapter? That's the Sanskrit title. That's true. Kshetra Kshetra gives how you.

Prabhupada is given the English title. Nature, the enjoyer and consciousness. So nature refers to Jagat.

The enjoyer refers to Jagdish. And consciousness refers to Jiva. So basically there are these three tattvas in existence.

And if we see from the point of view of consciousness, the Jagdish is transcendental. He is para. And Jiva is also para.

Jiva is also transcendental energy. But the Jiva is marginal energy. And Jiva sometimes comes under Jagdish, under maya.

That's because of the desire to enjoy. So what is Prabhupada seeing over here? It's a very similar vision. He's seeing, okay, this is maya.

These are all the living beings. They are controlled by the modes of passion in existence. So he's seeing the Jiva is under Jagat, under maya.

But then above that is Jagdish. He's seeing Krishna, Everything is possible for you, Lord. So Prabhupada is actually with his internal contemplation.

He's following the previous acharyas. The same vision. So the Jiva has come under maya.

He's not just seeing these are American people, these are western people, they don't understand Sanskrit, you see. How they are under illusion because of Prajna Tamohana. So the Jiva has come below Jagdish.

Below Jagat, but above them both is Jagdish. And he's praying to Jagdish, please deliver the Jiva. Please deliver the Jiva.

So the devotee's mood is not that we ourselves can overcome our illusion or anyone else's illusion. Sometimes we may get involved in arguments with someone. Somebody has a misunderstanding or a wrong or a misleading philosophy.

Then we may have to counter it. But it is not just the logic. Logic is important.

But especially when devotees we are trying to discuss, we just don't want to win the argument. We want to win the person. Sometimes we may win the argument, but we may lose the person.

What will happen is the person just goes away. It's said that a man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still. So we may argue, argue and person just accepts.

A person is defeated but doesn't accept defeat. So what is required is that the people whom we are trying to share Krishna Bhakti with, they need to feel that we are their well-wishers. If they feel that, then that opens their heart.

Or if they feel that simply we are self-interested and we have come to convert them, then their ego goes into the defensive. And in that part, nothing can penetrate through it. So devotee prays to Krishna, Krishna you are the well-wisher of everyone.

You are present in this person's heart. Please help them to understand. So the devotee's mood is I am going to use my best ability, best arguments, best logic, best memory, everything, the best I will offer to you.

So in preaching also there is this diligence and dependence. The diligence is we try to speak the best that we can. But the dependence is, it is Krishna who is going to present in the heart, who is going to help them understand.

So when we speak the Bhagavatam, what happens? Prabhupada will quote these verses a little later. At that time we will discuss them. But the point is, anartha pa shamam sakshat.

Anartha becomes, it becomes overcome, it becomes pacified by the hearing of Krishna's message. So when this happens, the person becomes purified. So now hearing, basically it has two results.

In the third canto it is said that for the living entity in this world, there are two sources of auspiciousness. One is detachment from matter and second is attachment to the Lord. Both of them bring auspiciousness.

The jnanis try to focus on the first itself. They try to detach themselves from matter. Now that is difficult.

But devotees focus on becoming attached to Krishna. And hearing essentially brings both of these results. We strive to hear regularly about Krishna.

The result is, firstly, just hearing about Krishna attracts us to Him. Slowly but surely our consciousness starts getting attracted to Him. In fact, this happens at multiple levels.

But first level is that just hearing about a particular person from someone who is attracted to that person. That triggers the human heart. That means, even if we meet some person who is a big fan of a sports star.

Now we may not be interested in that sports and we may not be interested in that sports star. But this person just talks effusively about that sports star. We just Google and see who is this sports star? What is so special? Why is this person so attracted? So what happens? In association desire develops.

So when we hear, it is the hearing from those who are devoted to Krishna that kindles our attraction towards Krishna. And then as we become attracted to Krishna, the result also becomes detached. The purpose of hearing is not just to get knowledge.

Knowledge is important. But it should lead to these two results. The Lord is always near to us.

He is always near to us. But somehow we have turned away from Him. Krishna Bahir Mukha.

Krishna is close to us but we have turned away from Him. But by hearing, we come to know that He is there with me. He is right close to me in my own heart.

So Krishna in our spiritual life, He is not just our destination. He is also our companion. What this means is, suppose I am going from here to LA to meet some very important person.

But I have never met that person before. So I board a flight and I go there. And I am eagerly waiting, when will I meet this person? When will I meet this VIP? And finally I get off.

Then I take a cab and go to this person's bungalow. And I knock on the door. And then the door opens.

And I see the same person who was sitting next to me in the flight. But because I had never seen this person, so I did not know that he was my companion. I knew that I was expecting him over there.

And that house in LA is staying over there. So like that, we think Krishna is up there in the spiritual world. And when I go there, I will see Krishna.

But the more we get the realization of Krishna, we understand that Krishna is not just up there, Krishna is also in here. He is up there and He is in here, both. And that's how Krishna is up there as our destination.

And He is in here as our companion. So hearing actually makes us more and more aware of Krishna's presence. Just like now, I talked about inspiration.

So when I was speaking about this inspiration, I was thinking, yesterday morning I wrote an article, early morning. So I think at one particular point I was not getting an idea, and suddenly I got the idea. At that time I wrote, but at that time I didn't think this is actually Krishna's idea.

But when I spoke this, at that time a connection happens. So for all of us in future now, when we suddenly get an idea, some insight comes, some solution comes. At that time, what happens for most of us is that it's like somebody is starving, and looking where will I get food, where will I get food.

And suddenly we see food in front of us. Just take the food and go away. Who gave the food? How did the food come? We don't even thank that person.

So like that often we get ideas, and when we get the idea we get so excited, I have to execute this idea, I have to do this, I'll solve this problem. But actually who is it that is giving the idea? So the idea is a gift. And we certainly cherish the gift, but we can also at least become aware of the giver of the gift.

Just like we need food, we're grateful when we get the food, but we also thank the giver of the food. So just by hearing more and more, we become more and more aware of how actually Krishna is in here with us. Krishna is not somewhere far away.

So hearing increases our consciousness of Krishna. And similarly, hearing helps us to perceive that sensual pleasure is actually never there. Never there means it's like a mirage.

When Prabhupada writes in a purport that most of the pleasure in sense gratification is in anticipation. Anticipation, I'm going to get it, I'm going to get it, I'm going to get it. But once we get it, hey, that's all.

There should be something more. What is this? There should be something more. So actually when we say it's a mirage, it doesn't mean that it is not there at all.

There is a verse in the Prayers of Prahlad, which he offers in the 9th chapter of the 7th canto of the Srimad Bhagavatam, I think it's the 35th or something like that, prayer, where he talks about, uses two metaphors to illustrate the nature of the pleasure. kutrāśiśa śruti-sukhaṁ mrgatriṣhmi rūpaḥ kvedam kalevaram aśeṣa rujaṁ virohaḥ nirvidhyate na tujano yada pīti vidvān kāmānalam madhula vaiśyāmayantu rāpayi So Lord Rasimudeva is telling him, O Prahlad, ask for some benediction. And Prahlad says, kutrāśiśa, my dear Lord, what blessing can I ask from you? śruti-sukha.

He says, I keep hearing about this pleasure. But when I try to experience it, mrgatriṣhmi rūpaḥ, it's just like a mirage. It's not there only.

When you try to experience this. Okay, you have not got it now. In future you can get it.

You've got a healthy body, you can get pleasure in future. kvedam kalevaram aśeṣa rujaṁ virohaḥ This body, what is this? It is simply a breeding ground for diseases. It's a breeding ground for diseases.

aśeṣa rujaṁ virohaḥ nirvidyatena tujano yad api ti vidvān If actually there is no pleasure there, if it's just a mirage, then why is it that even wise people, vidvān, nirvidyatena, they are not able to give it up. Why? madhulavai There's a drop of nectar over there. madhulavai śyāmayandurāpai Therefore, extinguishing this desire is extremely difficult.

durāpai So, he's giving two metaphors. One is of mirage, second is of a drop of water. So, what does it mean? If in a mirage actually there is no water, but if there is a drop, then how is it a mirage? See, the mirage or the illusion is not in the presence of pleasure.

It is in the quantity of pleasure. So, the illusion is about the quantity of pleasure. We think there's so much pleasure here, how can I live without it? But actually, the pleasure is there, but it is an anticlimax.

Suppose somebody is in a desert and they're dying for water and they see a helicopter coming from above. And on helicopter they say it's a W-A-T-E-R. And they're trying to wave and they see the helicopter is coming right towards them.

The helicopter lands. And after it lands, the person in uniform on the jacket is written W-A-T-E-R. And then they have a big jug.

W-A-T-E-R. And there is no cup over there, so he just moves his hands to take the water. And they pour the water.

They move it all and one drop comes out. And that person walks back to the helicopter and goes away. What? So, sense there is pleasure in like that.

Mrugat this madhu lavai. There is so much anticipation that is created and most of the pleasure is the anticipation. I'm going to get water, I'm going to get water, I'm going to get water.

But in the actualization, it's just a drop. So in that sense, our longing for happiness is not going to be fulfilled. So this understanding doesn't come just by hearing, sorry, just by experiencing.

Some people say that if you don't experience pleasure, experience worldly pleasure, how will you recognize that the worldly pleasure is, you have to look for something higher. Yes, experience may be required. But experience alone is not enough.

Why? Because, again going back to the example of a mirage, even if I experience that there is no water in a mirage, that necessarily will not give me the conviction that there is no water in any mirage. Because, okay, I just got burning sand in this mirage. But I look and I see, oh, there are so many mirages there.

Maybe in one of the mirages water is there. So experience of frustration in the pursuit of sensual pleasure does not necessarily lead to detachment from sensual pleasure. Because the world provides so many options.

Okay, you didn't get it here? Try here. So what brings detachment is actually the hearing, the intellectual understanding. These are mirages.

Now, to complement that intellectual understanding, we may need experience. But experience alone doesn't lead to detachment. It is hearing that is primary.

It is hearing that helps us to make sense of what we are experiencing. Otherwise, if by hearing we understand that in a desert there is something called a mirage, and then we understand whatever I am seeing, these are all mirages. But if I don't understand that, if I just experience a mirage, okay, I think that was a mirage, but then something else, there may be some pleasure available.

So that way we will just stay caught in illusion. And when we have to go beyond that, so hearing gives us these two fruits. That it brings us, brings attachment to the Lord and becomes detachment from matter.

Now, I'll just quickly go over these verses. So actually this whole section 1.2.6 to 1.2.22, Shri Prabhupada gave a series of lectures and his various lectures, as well as extracts from his books were put together in a book called Dharma, The Way of Transcendence. And this is very off-quoted verses.

So it starts from 1.2.6 is The Paradharma is the Dharma of Bhakti. It's a very beautiful section where Prabhupada is starting here from 17th text. But before this, first of all, it is established that in the Vedic path there may be many other paths.

In the overall Vedic culture, there is a path of Gyan and Vairagya, there is a path of Varanashram, there is many different paths. But the Bhagavatam first establishes that it is only Bhakti that is superior. What about Gyan and Vairagya? They will come by the practice of Bhakti.

What about Varanashram? Varanashram is of no use if it does not lead to Bhakti. What about Dharma, Artha, Kama, Moksha? Dharma, Artha, Kama, Moksha are also ultimately meant for Bhakti. And so this is from 6 to 10.

Then 11th talks about who is the object of Bhakti. That is the famous verse Vadanti Tattva Pavidas that the absolute truth is Brahmeti, Paramatmeti, Bhagwaneti Shabdyate. And then it talks about how can this Bhagwan be known? That Bhaktya Shuddha Gruhi Daya by practicing Bhakti based on hearing.

And then the next two verses again reiterate the same point that actually the whole purpose of Varanashram is to please the Supreme Lord. And therefore, with one pointed attention one should hear about Him. The verse preceding the verse what it talks about is how hearing about remembrance of Krishna is like a sword which cuts off illusion.

And therefore, who will not be eager to hear? Another specific verse is the Prabhupada's course. All these verses are given the background. And the actual process of purification how it happens that is described in these verses.

You can recite these verses. Are you able to see this? You can repeat after me. So this verse talks about how the external triggers the internal.

When we hear about Krishna externally this is itself pious. See, when we hear different things they have different effects on us. If we hear about some romantic story as a particular effect is it triggers sensual desires in us.

If we hear some violent action movie we may also get some desire like that. When we hear some story about virtue or sacrifice about heroism about character that inspires accordingly. So Krishna Katha is in itself pious.

Just hearing it will trigger pure desires within us relatively speaking. But more than that so this is not just like any ordinary pious story because this is about Krishna. So Krishna is present within us.

So what happens? He is rudhi antastho instituting in the heart abhadrani vidhunoti He removes the impurities from within the heart. Why? surat satam He is the well-wisher of all living beings. suratam sarva bhutana But He is especially the well-wisher of the satam of those who are looking for sattva.

Sattva is the truth. Eternal truth. So Krishna wants the good for all living beings.

But those who don't want their good Krishna doesn't interfere in their lives. But those who are seeking then He is especially their well-wisher. So this verse talks about how this hearing leads to cleansing of the heart.

Then the next verse talks about what happens when this cleansing happens. nasht prayeshv abhadreshu nityam bhagvata sevaya bhagvati ruttama shloke bhaktir bhavati naishtiki So by hearing about Krishna nasht prayeshv abhadreshu most of the abhadras in the heart get destroyed. nityam bhagvata sevaya by regularly hearing about it.

and bhagvati ruttama shloke and to that Lord who is the uttama shloka bhaktir bhavati naishtiki So Prabhupada says devotional service becomes an irrevocable fact. So we know the nine stages of bhakti that is talked about by Rupa Goswami. Does anyone know the nine stages? What is the first? These are the nine limbs of bhakti.

That is Shravanam, Kirtanam, Vishnu. Shraddha is faith. Then there is sadhu sangha.

Then there is something before that. Bhajana kriya. Then there is anartha nivrtti.

Then there is nishtha. So here what is happening is adav shraddha. So if you look at the verses I think 1.2.12 is So with shraddha they start practicing.

And Prabhupada there translates shraddha not as faith. He translates that serious inquisitiveness. So that can be casual.

What do you Hare Krishnas do? That's casual inquiry. But serious inquisitiveness. I want to know it.

So spiritual life begins with that level of faith. Not that there is a God and there is a spiritual world. I want to go there.

No, just maybe there is something which I don't know about. I want to know about it. So that is, Prabhupada translates sometimes as favorable curiosity.

But it's not casual. It is a serious curiosity. That's the first stage.

Then shraddha leads to sadhu sangha. We hear. You go to sadhus.

Tell me about this. What is it all about? Sadhu sangha. And in association of devotees what happens is we start hearing.

Start practicing bhakti. Bhajanakriya. So it's like you go to a doctor.

Doctor gives some prescription. And you start taking the treatment. Bhajanakriya.

Now in this context it's primarily hearing. We hear. Then what happens? So if I start taking the medicines I start seeing.

My cough is going down. My fever is going down. My weakness is going down.

So we start experiencing that. And then in the recovery especially in chronic diseases there are two aspects. One is called as the removal of the infection.

The other is called recuperation. When there is no longer infection in the body but the body has not got back its strength. Then sometimes people are told to recuperate.

But they rest. Similarly the body recovers its strength. So till Anartha Nivrutti it's the removal of the negative.

And after that it is the emergence of the positive. So Nishtha is firm faith. So the example is given that Anartha Nivrutti, Shraddha at that level the faith is like a banana tree.

It can be shaken very easily. But at the level of Nishtha it is like a banyan tree. It can't be shaken very easily.

So why I am talking about this? Bhaktir bhavati naishtiki. So naishtiki bhakti is the characteristic of Nishtha. So this Bhagavad Gita is taking the same flow is going on.

It starts from Shraddha and now we come to the level of Nishtha. So in Nishtha one becomes firmly convinced. Because we have actually experienced the transformation happening.

We have seen ourselves getting purified. If somebody tells us, hey this is a bad doctor. Well, I was cured by the doctor.

You may say some particular thing this may be not right, that may not be right. We will not worry so much because it has worked for us. This is what happens with the 18th verse.

Bhaktir bhavati naishtiki. So this does not mean that there is complete conviction about every detail. But in terms of the essential principles and the transformational potency, there is strong conviction.

So bhakti becomes an irrevocable fact. And in So this and the next verses are actually elaboration of what was described in the previous verse. So when bhaktir bhavati naishtiki at that time what is exactly happening? How does one come to that level of nishti bhakti? Rajotamoguna, the results of that are the kama and lova.

So desire and craving. Greed. So when these come up, these start going away.

One becomes cleansed of it. And then When one is situated in the mode of goodness and one becomes joyful. So Sri Prabhupada's lecture says that nobody has to give you a certificate for your spiritual advancement.

Like sometimes you finish the degree, get a certificate. It's not that if you go to a hospital, when you recover from the hospital, the hospital gives you a certificate. Now you are healthy now.

If somebody has a very big infection, then you may need a certificate. If you have no disease, you are not carrying any particular infectious germ with you when you are coming to the country. Sometimes we are asked for that.

But Prabhupada says that actually the certificate is in our own hearts. That no one needs to give us a certificate for our spiritual advancement because that experience is in our own hearts. As long as we are not pure, if we are not purified, we are tormented by our own desires.

The desires are constantly goading us. Come on, do this, do this, get this, eat this, watch this, touch this. And when we become purified, those desires cease.

If somebody is alcoholic, externally that person may appear to be just as free as any sober person, non-alcoholic. But internally there is a torment. Come on, I have to drink, I have to drink, I have to drink.

And if somehow that person becomes sober, such a big relief. The desire is no longer tormenting. So at this stage, that piercing by the desire that is happening, it stops.

And then, That's the time when we start becoming cheerful. We start experiencing the joyfulness of bhakti. So the last verse in the section, I'll just go to that and come back here again.

I'll talk about this prasidhati, this joyfulness. So the last verse is paradoxical. This is not here, the 22nd verse.

Here it is in 21. The last verse in the section is, Therefore the wise people, they perform bhakti with great joy. And to whom? What is the result of this? That which brings joy to the heart.

So it's a little paradoxical. It says, Therefore the wise people joyfully perform the process of bhakti which brings joy. They joyfully perform the process that brings joy.

Now what does this mean? Is it that the joy comes at the end of the process? Or is the joy something which we cultivate? So Prabhupada told us chant Hare Krishna and be happy. So now, is this one instruction or two instructions? Is it that chant Hare Krishna and you'll become happy? Or chant Hare Krishna and be happy? What is it? They're both. It's both.

How it is? It's like if a person has been sick for a very long time. And now they have found a medicine that works. I find that this medicine is curing me.

They're not yet cured. They're not yet healthy. But still they're happy.

At least have found a cure now. At least have found a cure. Something is working.

So, although the health has not come back, and the health will bring some happiness, but just the fact that I've got a cure that works, that itself brings happiness. Similarly for us, when we're practicing bhakti, at one level, see the joyfulness of bhakti, joyfulness will be a result when we become purified, when we become detached from worldly things. When we become absorbed in Krishna, then joyfulness will be a natural result.

So chanting Hare Krishna will purify us, and we will become happy. But while we're practicing bhakti, we need to cultivate happiness. At least I have the process.

At least I have the process by which I can be healed. No. The difference between materialistic people and devotees is not that the materialistic people's life is filled with distress and devotees' life is filled with happiness.

The distresses of material existence come to everyone. The Adhyatmik, Adhibhautik, Adhyadevik, Klesha, they come to everyone. And if a hurricane is going to come, the hurricane is not going to say, this is the devotee's house, non-devotee's house.

Hurricane is going to come to everyone. So in that sense, the distresses will come to everyone. But the difference is that the devotee knows the path to go beyond distress.

So we are like in a hospital, there are two patients. One is, both of them are in pain right now, because both of them are deceased. But for one of them, the disease has been diagnosed and the medicine has been prescribed.

For the other, the disease has not been diagnosed. And there is this experimental medicine going on. At one time, I was very sick for many years and doctors were not able to diagnose what was wrong.

So finally, I went to a doctor and I looked at the sheet they had got. They had written some disease. I thought, at least it's diagnosed.

Then I asked, what is the diagnosis? No, we have not got any diagnosis. He said, no, but you wrote something over there. Some peculiar disease, I had never heard of it.

I said, what is it? He said, P-U-O. Because P-U-O is Pyroxia of unknown origin. So Pyroxia means fever and we don't know the cause of the fever.

That I also know. So just using a code word does not lead to any greater knowledge. So if we don't know what the disease is and we don't know the cure for it, then it's a very miserable condition.

So once the disease is diagnosed and although the pain is there, at least the relief is there, I am going to be cured. So as devotees, we are in disease condition but we know the treatment. And for having the treatment, we are happy.

So chant Hare Krishna and be happy. It is both causal and parallel. Causal means, chant Hare Krishna will lead to happiness.

But parallel means, while chanting Hare Krishna, we try to be happy. We try to cultivate happiness. There will be sources of distress in life but we focus on the fact that there is this big thing right in my life.

I have a disease and so many things are wrong in my body. But the big thing right is, I found the cure. So that way, if we focus, then we can be happy.

So at our stage, sometimes we may feel happy, sometimes we may not feel happy. But by focusing on the fact that we have got the process of bhakti, we can be happy. Then what happens here is, after Siddham Satve Prasiddhati, then the next stage is, Evam Prasannamanaso Bhagavad Bhakti Yogataha Bhagavad Tattva Vigyanam Mukta Sangasya Jayate So in this way, when we joyfully start practicing bhakti, Evam Prasannamanaso because now there is no craving, there is no dissatisfaction.

Bhagavad Bhakti Yogataha Then this Bhagavad Bhakti Yoga, it starts connecting us with Krishna. And Bhagavad Tattva Vigyanam We start getting realized knowledge of Krishna. Prabhupada says, Gyan is theoretical knowledge, Vigyan is realized knowledge.

So we start getting more and more realization of Krishna. And the result of that is, Mukta Sangasya Jayate We become detached from worldly attachments. So that is described in the next verse.

Vidyate Hridaya Granthe Vidyate Hridaya Granthe Chidhyante Sarvasamsaya Shiyante Chasya Karmani Dhrishta Evatmanishvare So Vidyate Hridaya Granthe There is a lot of attachment in our hearts. So actually, nowadays there is a great value of freedom. We want to be free.

We should not be controlled by anyone. We should not be enslaved by anyone. It's good.

But all of us are internally bound. We are bound by our desires. So Hridaya Granthe, the knot in the heart is, and in the heart we are attached to certain sense objects.

And that's what binds us to the material existence. The soul is separate from the body. But what binds the soul to the body is the desire to enjoy the things connected with the body.

So at that time, that knot gets cut. Chidhyante Sarvasamsaya The doubts, whatever we may have, all of them get removed at that time. And then, Shiyante Chasya Karmani One stops doing karma.

Here karma refers to fruitive action. Action for getting material results. One stops that.

And then what happens? Dhrishta eva atma nishvare One sees within Dhrishta, Atma, the Self, Ishvare, the Supreme Lord. So one sees spiritual reality. Just as we are seeing each other at that time, the spiritual vision awakened, we can see ourselves and we can see Krishna.

This is the whole process of Bhakti, which Prabhupada is summarizing over here. So he is saying that, the previous text was what? Bhagvatera Kathaseta Bhavatar Dhirahaiyashu Nijadikane Barbar And if one just hears, then one will get purified. And by this purification, all the contamination that is there in the heart will go away.

So Prabhupada is quoting Shastra here to explain how the contamination will go away. And this way, this is the process that Srila Prabhupada is going to implement. He is planning to implement, for implementing this, he is begging Krishna's mercy.

So shall we stop here for some time? Or how should we do it? More than one hour? We have a break for 5-10 minutes? Or we continue and we finish? How do we do it?