What is actually preserved when someone falls down in spirtual life?

1   The Gita says that our spiritual advancement is carried over to the next life. But even in this lifetime, if a devotee falls down, he or she faces so much difficulty in returning to the earlier standards. What is it actually preserved when someone falls down in spiritual life?

Transcript

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question what is it that is actually preserved when somebody falls down in spiritual life the Bhagavata says that our spiritual assets are carried on from this life to the next but we see even in this life if somebody falls from spiritual practices then again coming back to the standards itself a huge struggle and often seems that one is starting from square eight so what is it that is actually preserved? answer what is actually preserved is our attraction towards Krishna but the fact that we have an attraction towards Krishna does not mean that we no longer have our free will we always have our free will and because of this free will no matter how much attraction to Krishna we have if we contemplate on sense objects if we contemplate on any other pleasure other than Krishna that contemplation can lead to an increased attraction to that pleasure and eventually that can cause our fall from the standards so the choice to contemplate on Krishna or contemplate on something else is always there with us now the more spiritual practices we have done and the more spiritual advancement we have made the more attraction towards Krishna we have and the more easier and joyful it is for us to contemplate on Krishna at the same time we still have that choice to contemplate on something else and if we contemplate on and act on those desires generated from the contemplation then we can fall now Krishna says in the 6th chapter that he says in 6.44 that whatever purva abhyas practice one has done in the past, it may be the past of this life or it may be as Krishna is talking specifically in this context the past or previous life riyate means to be attracted almost helplessly one is attracted not knowing what is the reason one feels spontaneously attracted to spiritual principles and to the higher spiritual truths of life so this is the result of past spiritual practice now yes even in this life if somebody falls from spiritual standards it is difficult to come back that difficulty is not so much because of the lack of an attraction towards Krishna but it is more because we often lose the respect that we used to have within the devotee circle and that had become one of our ulterior driving forces for practicing spiritual life so although we still have an attraction to Krishna but if we get carried away by the hurt of the ego that results when we have to re-encounter those people who respected us earlier and who now we discover that they no longer respect us that much because we fail to live up to the standards the hurt of the ego is what primarily makes it difficult for us to return to the original standards but the attraction to Krishna is still there it is not lost and that’s why the way to return back from a fall is to go deeper into our hearts and deeper into the core purpose of practicing spiritual life if we focus on the core purpose of practicing spiritual life which is to develop our relationship with Krishna to develop our love for Krishna then we recognize that that facility is actually still there even in this life and not only that in fact the respect and the other social accouterments that came because of our practice of good standards which could have occupied our mind and distracted our consciousness are no longer there so we can see the loss of face the loss of ego not as a rejection or the discouragement in the practice of spiritual life but as a purification as a means by which we are compelled to focus on the essence of our spiritual practices the essence of our spiritual practice is to serve Krishna and to increase our love for Krishna by fixing our mind on him so when we no longer get any respect or at least not as much respect as we used to get earlier then we are forced to ask ourselves why am I practicing spiritual life and then we understand that actually earlier I might have been practicing it because of the respect that I was getting but I actually should have practiced it for developing my love for Krishna and that is what I have the opportunity to do now so in this way if we can focus on the core purpose then it will become easier for us to practice spiritual life even if we have had a slip or a fall in our standards and then we will find that the attraction to Krishna is still there and we will carry on building up on that attraction towards Krishna now of course even within the devotee community it is also our responsibility that we don’t make life more difficult than what it is inevitably for those who have somehow had some difficulties in their spiritual life and are trying to return back to spiritual practices now we should try our best to encourage, facilitate and appreciate them according to their present position and not talk about their past lapses, not talk behind their back about it not whisper about it in their presence and not make them feel uncomfortable or unwanted in the devotee community yes, if they are having some serious lapses then there may have to be some some disciplinary actions but the disciplinary action should be done with love and encouragement not in a spirit of hatred and vindictiveness vindictiveness means a mood of taking revenge so if we can create a culture like this then even whatever difficulties a devotee who had fallen away now faces while coming back that difficulty can be minimized and then they can also practice spiritual life and work on further increasing their attraction to Krishna which is never lost so if we repeatedly indulge in sense objects yes, temporarily our attraction to those sense objects may also increase but we will not get satisfaction and attraction to those sense objects because we have already experienced something far higher we have experienced the joy of remembering Krishna and because we have experienced the joy of remembering Krishna that joy makes all worldly pleasures pale and stay by comparison of course because we have a free will and because we can misuse our free will we may still go on making the wrong choices and chasing after worldly pleasures but we will find that they will never give us any satisfaction and in fact materialistic people who are doing the same things may get some satisfaction but we as devotees will not get satisfaction and that will impel us to turn back to Krishna’s lotus feet again to re-experience the taste that we had turned away from so that attraction to Krishna is not just something abstract, it is actually present also in the form of the joy that we experience in remembrance of Krishna and that joy is so deep and fulfilling that even if our mind turns away and wants other things at a deeper subconscious level we will not be satisfied by all worldly pleasures and this satisfaction of worldly pleasures will also act as an impetus to bring us back to Krishna’s lotus feet so it is our attraction to Krishna and it is the joy that we experience in the remembrance of Krishna because of that attraction which are our permanent assets which are never lost at any time in the practice of bhakti