What are dynamic and static understandings of bhakti?

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Transcript

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of bhakti and what is static understanding of bhakti? Static would mean stereotyped. These activities are bhakti. Do this, do this, do this, that is bhakti.
If you are doing anything else, you are in maya. So for example when Prabhupada was in Vrindavan many people of his age would come to Vrindavan to retire and people were very surprised Swamiji if he has come to Vrindavan why is he leaving Vrindavan again and again? Some of them were thinking is he so attached? There are so many jobs, business, job, family. Come to Vrindavan, just stay in Vrindavan.
But his understanding of bhakti was that not just come and stay in Vrindavan his understanding was take Vrindavan all over the world. So Prabhupada never left Vrindavan when he came to America. Prabhupada carried Vrindavan with him wherever he went.
So dynamic understanding of bhakti means that we see the ways in which we can serve Krishna and we find out in the particular situation what is the best way I can serve Krishna? What is the way, this person is here, from where they are, what is the path to Krishna for them? So another is, that person is over here, this is the path to Krishna, come here and start walking along this path. That is one way of practicing bhakti. Give the example, at one time, devotees were staying in a place, it was like a duplex building.
One side the devotees were staying, other side an old woman was staying. And the devotees would do loud kirtans and they were from hippie background. So the old woman was quite annoyed with them and she complained to local authorities.
And then local authorities were troubling the devotees. So they came and told Prabhupada. When Prabhupada came to their place, they told Prabhupada.
And naturally, as devotees sometimes we are very simplistic in layman. Prabhupada, this old woman is a demon. Anybody who is interfering with devotees… Prabhupada had gone for a morning walk.
When he came back from morning walk, instead of going to their side of the apartment, Prabhupada went to that old woman’s side. And she came out and Prabhupada talked with her. Almost 15-20 minutes Prabhupada was talking with her.
Simply, typical old people talk. How is your health? Where are your children? Where are your grandchildren? What are they doing? The devotees are waiting. And Prabhupada will talk about Krishna.
And Prabhupada did not. Prabhupada! So, it is not that you are an old person, you are about to die. We have a static understanding of bhakti means, we have certain which we just repeat everywhere.
As soon as I see anyone, I just repeat this. Like, you know, you have some some there are these customer care phone numbers. When you call them, immediately a program starts.
Welcome! One of our attendants will come very soon. Very politely, but it is the same. So, like that, you may think, as soon as I see someone, press one button and a program starts.
This is what I have to speak about. But no! So, we think, where they are and from there, what is it? And similarly, for all those we could have a static understanding of bhakti. But dynamic understanding of bhakti could be that, okay, whatever I was in America recently.
No, this happened last year actually. Last year I had gone to America. So, I was at an airport.
And while I was at that airport, I was, I had to catch a connecting flight and go elsewhere. And then I had an important program. So, I was just caught in preparing for that program.
And then, when I got into the security clearance, they took my bags and crutches. And I was in a wheelchair. I went across.
And suddenly there was a huge alarm. And before I could understand what was happening, there were six security, American security pointing their guns at me. And one of them came and said that, actually, in your crutches, we found we have got a high explosive alert.
So, we will have to separately frisk you. And initially, I was just annoyed. You know, I had to catch the flight.
I was going to get late. Came, the guns pointed at me. I started to become alarmed.
And they pick up the gun, pick up the crutches. Then we will have to break this crutch. If you break the crutch, how will I walk? That is not our problem.
Then I have this, I like the Bhagavad Gita. So, I often recite the Bhagavad Gita in my mind. So, at that time, I just happened to be reciting the 18 chapters.
So, I try to recite one chapter of the Gita every day. So, then at that time, somehow I happened, that verse 18.61 came in my mind. So many things which could have gone wrong at all.
I don’t even know where I am going. I was feeling alarmed. And at that time, another security officer came over.
What is going on here? And he, I will take care of it. Now, this person who told me, that is not my problem. Now, this is very uncharacteristic.
Americans are very polite people. They are not very personal. They don’t want to have personal close relationship.
They are very polite in general. So, maybe this person is in a bad mood for some reason. Then, another person said, he said, look at my crutches.
And he said, he looked at it and he said, can we open this? I was so caught in the thoughts at that time. Even if you want to see what is inside, you don’t have to break it. You can just open it.
So, then they opened it. And then he started, after opening it, he started poking a pin inside it like a prod here, you know. And he started pulling something out.
And pulling something out, something came out. Some dark looking brown substance. He said, what is this? I said, what does it look like? He said, it looks like mud.
He said, that is why it is mud. What is it doing there? He said, that is a crutch. It got caught in the mud.
Mud got caught in it. They pulled it out, pulled it out. And they took it in a security alert.
Boom! It is an alarm came. So, this is simply dirt. Is there anything in it? No, it is dirt.
What is there in it? He said, go and clean it afterwards. So, what had happened, before I had gone to America, I had gone to Vrindavan. And when I had gone to Vrindavan, I had gone to the banks of Jamuna.
And Jamuna is very highly polluted. So, the sedimentation of the soil on the banks of Jamuna, that is also polluted. So, what had happened for my crutch is, the rubber padding that is at the bottom, it had come off.
And the Jamuna dust, had gone into the crutches. And that had sounded the high explosion alert. So, I was thinking, yes, Vrindavan, the dust of Vrindavan, Raje Raje is the ultimate explosion alert.
So, it can explode all our attachments ultimately. So, I will give you an example. Static understanding of bhakti is, okay, I have to go there, I have to do that program.
And I just want to get over this flight, let’s go through clearly. But then, when I remembered, at that time, we were in Vrindavan. It’s not that there I had to go and glorify Krishna.
Krishna will be acting here also. So, this whole incident, you know, I got many realizations, I got an experience, memorable experience. So, dynamic understanding is, rather than just seeing that experience resentfully, why is this getting delayed, what is Krishna’s plan over here? So, that way, if we have the dynamic understanding, then we will see Krishna acting in various walks of our life.
Not just in those walks of our life, which we externally define as devotional.