Worry not whether your path is genuine – worry whether you are genuine

[Bhagavatam class at ISKCON Sydney, Australia]

Video:

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
Sadhani, questions or comments? Worry not whether our path is genuine. Worry whether we are genuine. So when we are caught in this material world with so many different things to do, so many options, how do we know what path we are following is right or not? So I said we need to know sadhan and sadhya.
The where I want to go and what path I want to follow for going there. So how can a person who is lost in the confusion of this world, come to know with any certainty about his spiritual path? Just openness. If a person has a sincere desire to learn, then there will be a higher plan that will guide that person.
And then what does sincerity mean? I talked about 4.10 in the Gita. There are three things which stop us from taking shelter of Krishna. Which stop us from, in general, exploring the spiritual side.
Does anyone know what the three things are? Remember? Raga. Yes, yes. So these are existential attachments.
That means this world is all there is. Why should I explore anything else? And that is unfortunately a prominent thought system in today’s world. Because through science and technology people feel that we can make paradise here.
Why do we need to think about any other paradise? But if I just open, we can’t see some other world but we can infer logically about it. Everything in this world is temporary but we have a desire to live forever. So that desire is as extraordinary as the desire of an African tribal child for a pizza.
So this desire comes from, not our material circumstance, it comes from our spiritual core. So we can at least be open. Maybe there is something higher.
Just as my longing for food, water, air is fulfilled, similarly my longing for eternal life, maybe it is meant to be fulfilled. Then the second obstacle is Bhai. That means if we become reactionary by facing distress during our life in this world, by distress in our relationships, we feel either there is no personality and relationships in the ultimate reality or the ultimate reality is to end existence.
So this is Bhai of fear of existence or fear of personal existence. This can also become a big obstacle. So it’s like a child has cataract and is in pain and is causing distress to the parents also.
Somebody says just pluck off the eye. Somebody says kill the child itself. No, what we need to do is remove the cataract.
And lastly I discussed Krodha, that is skepticism. So Krodha means existential anger or frustration at being unable to find out what is the right path. So yes, it is difficult to know what is the right path, but we have to be open and explore.
If we simply become skeptical and start finding faults with all paths, then let us become skeptical about skepticism. Recognize that skepticism will only tell us what is wrong, never what is right. So we need doubt so that we don’t get carried away by anything and everything.
Doubt is one sign of intelligence, but doubt is not the only sign of intelligence. Eventually we have to go beyond doubting to doing something. So if we just open-mindedly keep exploring, then there is a higher plan.
The Supreme Lord in our heart, he will guide us to the right path, to the right understanding. And even within the devotee community, even after we are practicing bhakti, we are on the right path. But being on the right path alone is not enough.
We have to have the right desires. If here we get diverted by power, prestige, position or even controversies, then Krishna will give us that and we will stay stuck with that. We will not get Krishna.
Yes, there are all these distractions. There are, because the spiritual society is also part of the material world. So unfortunate material things will happen.
And we have to know that for getting Krishna, this is the best facility I have. Let me focus on seeking Krishna, not on imagining or waiting for some utopian perfect community. And if we maintain that desire for Krishna, whether we are outside the moment or inside the moment, we maintain the desire, sincere desire to know what we should be doing, Krishna will guide us forwards.
So Prabhupada has given us Krishna conscious in a way that is infused with a sense of purpose and urgency. Purpose means, being Krishna conscious means, what am I doing for Krishna? We should feel like that. And urgency means, not one of these days.
No, right now, let me start off. And that way, from wherever we are, through whatever confusion we may have, if we just take steps forward, Krishna will guide us towards enlightenment. Thank you very much.
Hare Krishna. Are there any questions or comments? Do we have time?