​What is consciousness – can we attain consciousness without giving up family life?

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Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
So, what is consciousness? Can anyone attain consciousness without leaving one’s attachment with one’s family? Actually, we don’t have to attain consciousness.
We already have consciousness. You know, we are all conscious living beings. Somebody says, I am not conscious.
To say I am not conscious, that person has to have consciousness. Because this standard cannot say I am not conscious. So, we are all having consciousness, but what I presume this question means is how can we attain spiritual consciousness? How can we attain enlightened consciousness? So, actually it’s a gradual process.
When we start practicing bhakti yoga, our consciousness starts expanding. We don’t just see material things, we start connecting with spiritual reality. When the consciousness expands, we start seeing Krishna.
First we see him in the temple. Then I go to the temple and I see Krishna there. And I serve him over there.
But then gradually I start understanding it’s not only the temple where Krishna is present, actually my home can also be a temple. So, we have altar at our home, we envision that Krishna is the lord of my home and I am his servant. So, we all, with our family we serve Krishna.
So, the temple is where Krishna is present. Then as our conception evolves, then my home is also a place where Krishna is present. And as our conception evolves further, then my heart is the place where Krishna is present.
That means as we become more and more Krishna conscious. We may say God is present everywhere, God is present even in my heart. But we can’t perceive him in our heart right now.
We don’t feel his presence so much. Sometimes we may feel, but regularly we do not. It’s like the water vapour is there everywhere.
Sometimes people ask, why do we need to go to a temple? God is there everywhere. Yes, God is there everywhere, but can we perceive his presence everywhere? Like water vapour is present everywhere in the atmosphere. But if I want to drink water, I cannot just take out my tongue and take water vapour.
Now I have to go to a place where the water vapour has been transformed into water and it’s available through a tap. So, like that God is present everywhere, but he is not manifest to us. That’s why we need to go to a temple where we can feel his presence.
But as we start feeling his presence more and more, we start connecting more and more with him, then we can invoke his presence at our home also by creating an altar. And then as we progress further, we start feeling his presence more and more within us. So, this is a gradual evolution of consciousness when we start seeing Krishna and sensing his presence everywhere.
And that happens by the gradual practice of bhakti. Now as far as living one’s attachment to one’s family members is concerned, see bhakti is actually, there is attachment and there is detachment. But bhakti goes beyond this duality.
Bhakti is not so much about material attachment or about material detachment. Bhakti is essentially a process of not attachment or detachment, but commitment. When we commit ourselves to the practice of bhakti, and how we practice bhakti, that will be according to time and place circumstances.
Now, if we think of detachment in terms of renouncing our family members, that is not necessary. Bhakti is an inclusive process. We can have our family members, we can have family relationships, and still we can practice bhakti.
We serve them in a mood of, they are also parts of Krishna, and they are also, through serving them also I can serve Krishna. So we have a vertical relationship with Krishna, and we have a horizontal relationship with others in this world. The ideal situation is when the vertical and the horizontal relationships are symbiotic.
That means that in every relationship in this world there are some ups and downs. Sometimes the other person gets upset with us, sometimes we get upset with the other person. Now, if we are too dependent on someone in our life, in our relationship, then when that person gets upset with us, our whole world seems to be falling down.
And we tend to overreact in that relationship. But if we have a strong vertical relationship with Krishna, and we get our security and our shelter in that relationship, then the ups and downs in our horizontal relationship won’t trouble us so much. Now if we are emotionally dependent on someone, then that is actually a very disempowering state.
We become very vulnerable. So when we get our emotional security from our relationship with Krishna, then we can actually maturely relate with others. And thus, our vertical relationship with Krishna can bring more stability and maturity to our horizontal relationship.
And conversely, if those with whom we have horizontal relationship, if they are also interested in Krishna Bhakti, they are also interested in practicing Krishna Bhakti, then their association, their example, their inspiration, that can also, by seeing how they are practicing, we also feel inspired to practice Bhakti. So the ideal situation is where the vertical enhances the horizontal by bringing depth and maturity to it. And the horizontal also enhances the vertical.
And that way, if we are intelligent in our practice of Bhakti, our relatives or family members may not immediately start practicing Bhakti. But if they are our well-wishers, and they see that our practice of Bhakti is making us better people, and we become better human beings, better children, better sons, better husbands, better brothers, whatever it is, then they will see that and they will also appreciate it. So it is not that we have to reject the horizontal relationship, rather we just need to harmonize our horizontal relationship with the vertical relationship.
Thank you very much.