When not being passionate is seen as weakness in a passionate world how can we function as devotees?

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
thank you so when the world which we live in is very much in the mode of passion if we are not passionate it may be seen as weakness so what do we do the mode of passion itself is not bad it is being controlled by the mode of passion that is there every mode has its need and when we go to sleep we go into the mode of ignorance and that in a sense necessary for the body to be rested and rejuvenated but the problem is when we oversleep when we become lethargic that time the mode of ignorance comes in control if we don’t sleep enough that is going to be a problem so we don’t nature is arranged in such a way that all three modes are a part of nature it is not that any mode in itself is bad it is domination by that mode that is bad so if we live in a passionate world we do have to be passionate we can’t just be detached from that world but we don’t have to let passion control us that means if we in a determined planned way have times when we come to the mode of goodness say for example we have sadhana we have satsang, we have swadhyay study scripture, associate with devotees do our spiritual practices then that will bring us that is meant to bring us to transcendence but at least it will bring us to goodness so if we are doing this properly then when we are in the material world we will function the way we need to if we have to be passionate we have to be passionate but we won’t let passion take control of our life taking control of our life means our values and our goals are driven by the modes if I am passionate then my value is I just want money at all costs my goal is I want money at all costs and in values I don’t care for anything else if I will give up this, I will give up that I am ready to get it so as long as our values and our goals are determined by our intelligence which is coming from scripture and the practical actions that we may do that may really occur in times like this and and even when we are having adequate balance of goodness then even the passionate activities we can do in a less passionate way even if we have to meet deadlines some people can prepare for deadlines and regularly do some work and then they finish in that night some people fool around throughout the period of the project and then they have a marathon that might be unnecessary passion of course some people can’t function unless there is a deadline so sometimes passion becomes passion is not a conditioning but passion becomes a necessary condition only when there is passion we will work so we have to find out we have a particular body and a particular mind and how does how can I best work with the body and mind that I have if I understand that then we will be able to regulate ourselves in the churning of the milk ocean when the mountain is being churned at that time the devatas are on one side and the asuras are on the other side and the asuras are animated by the mode of passion and the devatas are energized by the mode of goodness it’s interesting that both of them are pulling from two opposite sides and for the churning to happen the force from both sides has to be equal so that means that the force from goodness coming from the devatas was equivalent to the force coming from passion from the asuras that means that even work that requires to be done in a tangible way through goodness also we can do it it is not that for being effective or being productive we necessarily need passion so we can in goodness also plan and work effectively so the way we need to work is something which we have to find according to a time, place and circumstance I will not have a stereotype that this is a mode of passion, I will not do it this is a mode of goodness, this is what I will do rather we have to see what works for our psychophysical nature and what works for our situation