When the Gita insists that we work according to our nature why do ISKCON authorities tell us to do the needful without considering our nature?

Anwser Podcast

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
So if we say that Sabhav and Sadharma refer to our material nature the way the mind is and we have to engage accordingly and Krishna says not engaging that way is violence but then when we join we are told to just simply do whatever is needed for the temple or the movement. So how do we harmonize actually? The second part of this is Varanashram and its practical application. So the second part I am going to talk elaborately about this topic but I will just mention it briefly right now.
See, generally in Kanyuga externally and internally there is confusion. Externally we don’t have a proper Varanashram structure. So and internally also we really don’t know what my nature is, what my interest is.
So in the initial stages of our spiritual life if we depend on our own mind to decide what is my nature? What is my nature? The mind will say whatever you are doing that is not your nature. That means the grass is always greener on the other side. So the mind will simply keep us dissatisfied with whatever we are doing.
See the mind the conditioned mind doesn’t need a reason to be dissatisfied. It needs to be dissatisfied. Greed is an insatiable inalterable characteristic of the mind in the mode of passion.
So that’s why in the initial stages when we join if we start thinking this is not my nature, this is not my nature I will not do this service. What is going to happen is that we will basically remain completely controlled by our mind. So over a period of time as we keep practicing bhakti we come to the mode of goodness.
Slowly and as we come to the mode of goodness we start understanding ourselves how best I can sadhana. So Sri Prabhupada also writes in the introduction to the nectar of instruction in one of the last sentences over there is once you come to the mode of goodness how to advance further will be revealed from within. That means when we come to the mode of goodness we start understanding ourselves.
We start also understanding the voice of the lord when it comes from within for us. That’s why initially doing whatever we are told to do it is a very healthy for us. Because we just don’t know what our nature is initially.
But over a period of time as we keep practicing bhakti while doing various services we observe. I am very comfortable doing this. So basically guna karma bhagavasyam krishna says.
Quality and activity. My understanding of this is that guna means if I have the quality for doing something that means I am comfortable doing it. And karma means competence.
If I am comfortable doing something I am competent doing something. That means that is what is according to my nature. So while we are doing whatever services we are told to do we keep observing this service, I can do this well and I like doing this.
This service I do it but I am just logging when it will get over. And sometimes there are some services you know to do that service we have to get strength from other services. Because that service is so difficult for us.
It is just the way we are. So we do whatever we are told to do but at the same time we also observe ourselves. And over a period of time we start learning.
This is what I can do. And this is what I should be doing. And I was in Australia last year so I was talking with Gurujan Prabhu about this.
So he said actually when you are young so he said when you are young because the mode of passion is there to some extent in youth we can even fight against our nature. My nature is to do this but I want to achieve something over here so I will do it. But as you grow older you just don’t have that passion to fight against your nature.
So as you grow older you want to act more according to your nature. So we become spiritually advanced that doesn’t mean that necessarily our nature goes away. It means that we connect with Krishna more in whatever we are doing.
So we may have to we do, we should do whatever we are told to do initially. But at the same time we also observe what I am comfortable doing, what I am competent doing. And then gradually we gravitate towards that service.
And ultimately if we are to practice bhakti lifelong then we need to have some service which we can do lifelong. Which we feel inspired to do lifelong. Initially devotees are doing follow up, you know, have you done this, have you done this, have you done this.
But you know we can’t expect devotees to keep doing follow up lifelong for us. Ultimately we need to have the motivation to do something for Shri Raghupat which we feel inspired to and which we can keep doing even if nobody asks us whether we are doing it or not. I am not talking of this as defiance of authority.
I am talking of this as that we, our movement is so big and we ourselves because of our profession, because of our situation, family situation, we may go to different places. We may not always have authority always guiding us in a very personal way. We may not have somebody giving us instructions, following us up.
So to some extent we need to be self-motivated. Not selfishly motivated but self-motivated. That means we should be inspired to practice bhakti analysis.
And so for different devotees it may take a different amount of time. Some devotees may in 2-3 years of practice this is what I want to do. Some devotees may 10-15 years also they feel okay now I understand what I am supposed to do.
And some devotees may also be versatile actually. But they can do many things. And so the important thing is that we are able to find a service which we can do in a competent and comfortable way sustainably.
And ultimately that was the essence of Varanasi. So in the context of the Gita when Krishna says that Arjuna you should fight, actually there what is happening is Arjuna is having a dharma sammoha. He is having an illusion about dharma.
He is saying that actually you should we should forgive. Why should we fight and kill our own relatives? Let us forgive them. So Krishna tells Arjuna that forgiveness is the duty of a Brahmana.
Forgiveness is not the duty of a Kshatriya. So if we see in 18.41-42-43 Krishna gives the characteristics of the different Varanasi. And Tolerance, forgiveness, peacefulness.
Tolerate. Be peaceful. But then the next verse itself when talking about Kshatriya Krishna says that Not fleeing from fighting.
That means fighting. So if you are forgiving why will you fight? So forgiveness is a individually it is a virtue in a one to one relationship. But at an official level, at an institutional level, at a governmental level those who are in authority they may have to punish.
So Kshatriyas when they are in a position of power they may have to punish. And that is required for Arjuna. So Arjuna he is at the start of the Kurukshetra war instead of acting as a Kshatriya he is thinking Oh acting as a Brahmana is better.
But Krishna tells Arjuna you cannot act like this. So Vishwanath Chakradhakur in that commentary says in 1869 he says Now you are saying you will not fight but later when you are in the jungle and you are acting like a mendicant and you ask for arms and somebody doesn’t give arms to you then your hand will go to your sword. How dare you refuse? So a Brahmana would not do that.
But you are a Kshatriya. So therefore he says that act as a Kshatriya. So there is a contextual application also over there that when Krishna is saying So if you are acting like a Brahmana and then you kill someone because they don’t give arms.
That is vayavo. That is very dangerous. We are being severely culpable for that.
But in our situations we say that it’s vital for us to be surrendered to our authority and do whatever is required for the institution in the initial stages of our spiritual life. And later also if some service is vitally required we do it. But to sustain our spiritual life we have to find out the service which we are comfortably compatible with and then we move forward accordingly.
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