Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.7.1-2
Bhakti Vijnana Goswami · Istanbul · 2023
Chapters
Purpose of the lecture
Hare Krishna. I'm very happy to be with all of you this evening. And uh I will speak today from the 10th canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. And the purpose of my talk will be to explain how the process of bhakti yoga works.
We don't constrint not the I'm not sure. It's not so obvious to understand how the process of bhakti yoga changes our heart and consciousness.
Much of colour no. When it comes to quote unquote normal yoga, a yoga which everyone knows, then it's more or less clear.
Well thursday and a yoga city. You stretch yourself, you purify the channels of your body, and then you breathe and then your mind becomes calm and ultimately you go into samadhi.
Of course, nobody goes into samadhi, everyone just stretching himself or herself. But at least from the external point of view it seems to be reasonable to do this practice.
Whereas bhakti yoga sometimes seems to be a little impractical. We just sit and hear and what happens, God knows. So I want to talk a little bit about this. And not only talk about this, but also demonstrate how it works.
And I will speak a little bit about Krishna's pastimes from the 10th canto of Srimad Bhagavatam and explain the results of hearing these pastimes.
So we will read from the beginning of the seventh chapter of the 10th canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, which is entitled The Killing of the Demon Trinavata.
Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya, Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. mo bhava su deva Sudeva, Nārāyaṇaṁ namaskṛtya naraṁ caiva narottamam, devīṁ sarasvatīṁ vyāsaṁ tato jayam udīrayet.
nasthā-prāyeṣv abhadreṣu nityaṁ bhāgavat-sevayā, bhagavaty uttama-śloke bhaktir bhavati naiṣṭhikī. Juhava, Putreti Tan Mayatayotaravobinidus, Tam
Sarva Since we have two lectures together today and tomorrow I will give a very short seminar on the topic of killing Putana, the first pastime of Krishna in this world.
Krishna putana earlier and cave to Mesh Khali, who fought Pigisha to jump.
Five results of hearing sacred topics
But before telling the story and explaining how the story works internally, how by listening to this story we can purify our heart, I would like to chant the first and second verses of the next chapter of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, which is called Killing of the Demon Trinavarta.
Because in these two verses uh Maharaja Parikshit, the hearer, listener of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, explains consequently five results which are coming to our heart in the process of hearing Krishna kathā.
So much I took the week to that. And we can easily relate to these results if we are little introspective, we can see how these changes take place and understand
ultimately where these changes will bring us to the same class can be can use a good regular computation, uh, okay. So let's go for it. I will chant these verses together. Sri Raja Ovacha.
Shriatha, Yena, Yena, Yena, Yena, Avatarena, Bhagavan, Bhagavān Hariśvara is karoti, karma, Mano, dya ni d'āni sa, naha, rabo, siradya, siriadia, yena yenavatarena, yena arena, Bhagavan Hariishwaraha, Bagavam Harishwara, Karoti Karna Ramyani, Roti Karnamyani, Manogyani Chanah
Prabhu, Manogyanichanbok, Sri Radjovacha, Yena Yenavatarena, Yena Vatarena, Bhagavan Hari Shvaraha, Karotikarna Ramyani, Ramyani, Manogyani Chana Prabhu, Manugyani Chanaprabhu. There is second verse. Ya Srin Vato. Yes.
Ya Srin Vato Apaty Aratir with Trishna. It will be a little difficult to chant together, so I will just chant my sake. Sudhaya Tachirena Pumsaha, Bhaktir Harau, Tat-puruṣhākāraṁ, Tadeva Haraṁ, Vada Manya- set.
Okay, translation. Uh shall I read the translation in English or you just read it in Turkish? English speaking people are also. Okay. It was also just English speaking. Okay, it's a long translation.
Śrīla Prabhupāda adds some explanation to the translation of this verse.
So Śrīla Prabhupāda says eko and puruṣhāya. King Parikshat said My Lord Sukadeva Gaswami, all the various activities exhibited by the incarnations of the Supreme Personality of Godhead are certainly pleasing to the ear and to the mind.
Simply, by one's hearing of these activities, the dirty things of one's mind immediately vanish.
Generally, we are reluctant to hear about the activities of the Lord, but Krishna's childhood activities are so attractive that they are automatically pleasing to the mind and ear.
Thus one's attachment for hearing about material things, which is the root cause of material existence, vanishes, and one gradually develops devotional service to the Supreme Lord, attachment for Him, and friendship with devotees who give us the contribution of Krishna consciousness.
If you think it fit, kindly speak about those activities of the Lord. Krafa Xi Sharagadi Rabbi Shukadam Gosan Vitun and Tanajas Should we fight the canal part of the carriage?
Kishana in the kitchen and killish or the kayagolola. Genualak peace rabbi palatehakanda guru kunsunda jok is the deal is the Ahmad Krishna Churtu Adam the his meeting, Yavashamash, Genish Via Baisha.
Lakti Darah Swadamna, anyam shahasta charana, sravanatwagadi, Ramamu Bhagavathi, guru shayatu.
Experiential goal of yoga practice
Swasya stuhwas ja kalah prasetam, dyantu butani, shiamam mitho di ya mala scha badram pacha ta So the goal of yoga is uh to change our consciousness and to make us connected with the Lord. Not in a theoretical way.
Sometimes people think that you should just believe in God and then at the end somehow or other some miracle will happen and uh something will take place in your life when you die. Yoga is an experiential discipline.
You have to experience yoga in this life, not in the next life. Yoga, the name of Jikuna Vishadir, Vebuno, Bohyata, the name Nabyon is getting Hayata Dean.
The results of yoga should be tangible. We should tangibly feel these results in this very life. And ultimately, as uh all our teachers say, uh the success of yoga is to see the Lord face to face.
Until this moment, when we see the Lord face to face, we may have so many doubts in our mind and so many misgivings in our heart.
But yoga promises that we will have real experience uh if not directly seeing the Lord but at least uh experiencing or feeling his presence in our life.
And of course, you know, when it comes to mystical yoga, aṣṭāṅga-yoga, again as I said, they explain this mystical mechanism, how the energy Kuṇḍalinī Śakti comes from the, you know, bottom of our body to the head, and then, you know, Śakti and Śiva get together, and then, boom, you have some mystical experience.
They must be the Ashtagon Solid Online Convenient Order Chick Mayabash Number Sudan and Shakti wouldn't not see the beyond the beef from the numbers. It's a mystical process from the beginning to the end.
But what is so mystical about hearing about Krishna? What is so mystical about it? How ultimately yoga is a mysticism.
It is supposed to bring us to this realization of mystical presence of the Lord within this world, but how just hearing can bring about this result?
So here in these two verses, uh Maharaja Parikshit is explaining his own experience because he's sitting there. He has only seven days by now, probably not more than three days to live.
And he's feeling some uh very tremendous changes within his heart.
At the very end of the previous chapter, Śukadeva Gosvāmī, who is the speaker of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, he says that if you hear this pastime about killing Putin with faith, then Srinuyachra Daya Martyo any mortal living being Martyha if he hears with face, Govindela Bhatera Tim, he will Maharaja Pariksit who is listening to this, who is sitting and hearing this, he confirms this, he says, yes, yes.
And he not only confirms this, he elaborates on this statement by sharing his own experience.
It's like you know I know it very well when you speak and when you look at somebody in the audience he starts nodding his head. Yes yes.
If he wants to show approval of what speaker says, if he is just little you know little uneasy, you know he will just look in a different direction.
So Sukhadeva Goswami says you if you listen it with face, you will develop some attachment to the Supreme Lord. And he explains how it works.
Divine qualities attracting the listener
Please listen very attentively, it's important.
He says if you listen about jñāna-yoga, if you the whoever is listening about some descents of the Lord, some avataras of the Lord, Bhagavan Hari Rishvaraha, Karoti Karma Ramiani Manogyanicha Maanah Prabhu, uh you know he will experience some joy, his his hear his um his ears will uh will be very joyful and his mind will also be joyful.
And he explains why. He says Bhagawan Hari Ishvaraha. Buddha, Bhagavān, Hari Īśwaraha. If you listen about God, who is Bhagavān, it means he has personal qualities.
You know, in many many spiritual traditions people talk about God, but oftentimes their understanding or their concept of God or their explanation of God is very vague. You know, yes, there is some God and God knows who He is and how he is.
But he says when we listen about somebody who is person who has personal qualities and we describe these qualities, and these qualities are very nice, he is very merciful, he is very kind and he is very beautiful, then naturally some attraction will come to our mind.
It's interesting to hear about some personality.
But not only he is Bhagavān, uh it does it means that not only he has these personal qualities uh which are very attractive, he is also Hari, it means that by listening about him he will take away our sufferings, we will forget about our problems and anxieties.
Hearing about the Lord brings a special feeling within our heart. We feel relieved from all these troubles and anxieties which we usually normally experience in this world.
And then he says Īśvara, Bhagavānhari Īśvara, he qualifies God with these three names or three uh ep epithets or how you call it three adjectives. He is: the person has personal qualities. He's hari.
He is capable of taking away our troubles and relieve us. Give us some nice experience and give us some fearlessness and his Īśvara it means that he can forcibly attract our mind.
I don't want the only exact corpus of zombie genus.
Like even in this world, when we're hearing about somebody who is very powerful, you know, we're very attentive, we like to hear about somebody who is very powerful because you know his power attracts our attention.
So he explains please listen very attentively because it's it's relevant for us.
He explains that when we listen about uh how Krishna, when he appeared, how the Supreme Lord, the personality of God, when he appeared in this verse earth, how he behaved, we naturally become attracted,
Overcoming indifference toward the Divine
and as a result of this attraction five uh effects are coming to our heart. He says the first result. In the next verse, he says, Ya Srinvato Apaiti Aratir. Apaiti uh in Sanskrit means that it goes away.
Aratir means indifference was it yo appeariti and caibo the apaity and the second one goes no no, it's just first.
First quality is that yeah, I will explain the indifference towards the Lord, the first result. We will get some little initial interest about the topics of the Lord. Normally people are quite indifferent about this, about the Lord, about God, you know, they are they are really People are not very attracted, you know, if you like recently I
was in Belisi in Georgia, and one student asked one Indian student,
there was a crowd of Indian students, and he said, you know, it's all it's all very nice what you're talking about but you know if I ask my friends let's go to the cinema so many friends will go with me and if I ask my friends let's go to the temple nobody will come with me.
So he said why is it so? You say that Krishna is all attractive, but actually Hollywood cinemas are more attractive than Krishna.
But it's only because uh in this world usually we are coward by ignorance and uh naturally we are more attracted to some material things and we are not very attracted about God who is, you know, God knows who he is this God.
And people they find so many excuses not to relate to God or not to have anything to do with any spiritual activities. Like Prabhupada he was joking. He says I tell them chant chant chant and they answer can't can't can't.
So this arati arati means indifference. I am you know I I'm indifferent. It's not interesting for me. So many other things are interesting for me, but God, you know, it's not very interesting.
But when we start listening about God as a person who is acting in a very dynamic way and who is interacting with living entities, who is coming, who is merciful, who is beautiful, some little interest, some little spark, initial spark of interest comes to our heart.
Maybe it's true. You know let's investigate a little further. And this initial spark of interest is called Śraddhā or faith. Faith is not a very good translation of Sanskrit word śraddhā.
Because faith means you have to believe in something and you know somehow or other you you y you have to believe otherwise you will go to hell. Um the But the word śraddhā doesn't have these hellish connotations.
I'm a sure the kidmas jahan and justn't get to me like it works means that uh you get some little interest, some sparks, some spark of uh some rooties, some interest in these topics.
Let's uh go a little further. Let's see what it brings about. Somebody is trying to attract our attention. To the version of kīrtana.
So So he says the initially when we you know like I I can uh I can share my little experience uh some quite some years back. I heard about Krishna. And at that time I didn't know anything about Krishna.
I didn't know who is Krishna, why he is Krishna, what about, what to speak about Hare Rāma. You know, I I was very much uh away from all these topics. But when I heard that you know the connection with Krishna's name can change your heart, can change your consciousness.
Some little spark, initial spark of interest developed in my heart.
Diminishing thirst for mundane news
So this is the first result. The first result is that indifference goes away. The second result, again, apatī goes away, vītṛṣṇā. Vitrishna means insatiable thirst to hear about something material.
The word Krishna in Sanskrit means thirst. When we are thirsty we very much want to drink something. Kṛṣṇa... So, vītṛṣṇā. Vitrishna means very strong thirst. We want to hear again and again and again some material things.
This attachment to hear the news of this world is extremely strong. You know, I know again I'm sharing my own experience.
Sometimes you get into some news service and you read all this useless news without end again and again and again. And then 15 minutes later you're again checking is there anything new.
Gain shall make it very uh take right take cra Irick or command gay on my media content as ga. You already know what is going on in fifteen minutes you again feel the thirst to hear something else.
And if there is nothing new you get very frustrated, you know what's going on. So it this Vitrishna it's very interesting.
The psychology behind this uh eagerness to hear about the news of this world is very interesting and we have to understand what is the mechanism, why we are so attached to this news.
You know, uh who cares what's going on somewhere, but still we are very much interested in this. The main mechanism is that we are not very satisfied with our own situation.
And therefore we are very much attracted to hear if somebody else's situation is worse than ours. It's very attractive. If somebody has some troubles, it's very attractive.
We feel, you know, I'm better than this. Chokba can teach in the old fact that you can die.
And another kind of the news which is also very attractive is to hear about somebody who is much much more successful than us and we hear and we develop some envy and we kind of dream that maybe in my next life I will become like he is a good thing to check and come down the choke choke the high dumbbell
each and the shot maybe so But the underlying principle is the same, I am not satisfied with my own situation at this moment. And that's why I'm very much interested to know about somebody else.
If I would be very satisfied with myself, who cares about others? In Mahābhārata, Yakṣa asked Mahārāja, what is the news? Please tell me what is the news of this world. And it's a strange question. What is the news?
Every day some new news. How you can tell what is the news in general?
But Mahārāja, you just explained you know the essence of all news and all the news agencies can just print his answer and stop their activities because it encapsulates everything which is going on in this world.
He says this news, the news in general is that this world is like a big, big pot with boiling ghee. With boiling oil. And there is a cook uh who is cooking something, and this cook is time.
And you know, like we are frying something in oil, we put it in the oil and we make sure that it's nicely fried from all sides, we kind of mix it. So this is what time is doing.
And the big, you know, pot frying pot is nicely frying us from all sides.
If we ashekazid in the Yadam Shekzanak said in the Oma, Chevy heart and Zardan and Eminoma Kistar, I shake it as a bizarre body, Chevido, each heart resistance, Eminomio.
And when when when we are nicely fried from all sides he takes us out of there. This is what is going on. This is the news. But anyway, so uh it's very interesting.
Mahārāja Parīkṣit, he says that the first result is you get little spark, you are interested about spiritual subject matters, what is going on, who is God, what is his qualities.
And then gradually this thirst to hear about this world also diminishes. Because this thirst to hear about the news of this world is the manifestation of our attachment to this temporary material existence.
So initially we have little interest about spiritual subject matters, but at the same time the same attachment to hear about the mundane news remains with us.
Attaining mental purity and peace
But then on the next stage it gradually gradually diminishes. And then he says the next result, uh the next gradual result, the next stage which we come is sattvaṁ ca śuddhayati. Our mind, sattva, uh becomes purified.
It basically means that our mind, which is cheatta sattva or Chitta is the same world. It has a certain initial qualities which are being
contaminated by the contact with this material world. By nature we are very peaceful. It's difficult to believe because when not peaceful But this is not our original nature. The original nature of the mind.
The mind is very happy. The mind the original This other qualities which we acquire they're just external, they are more or less disturbances of the mind.
But this original peacefulness of the mind is being restored uh when we're hearing about Krishna. But Dina Vishara Zayta Rasana Shandha Dhini Asalita Dhim is And
the main the main problem, the main uh anxiety within this with our mind is this yes, anxiety or this existential fear.
People are always disturbed because you know they don't know what is going to happen tomorrow in the future, you know, now this war is going on, maybe you know the next the world will come to us or this earthquake was there, you know what will be the next earthquake.
And uh we are we're fearful, we're always fearing the future.
Covid pandemic was there and already people are thinking there will be next pandemic and so many conspiracy theories are there or and we're always disturbed because of this.
But when we hear again and again and again about the eternal reality, about the existence of the Lord within our heart, about how He is controlling everything, that the mind uh will naturally at one point become very peaceful.
Once Śrīla Prabhupāda was asked, how do you feel when you chant Hare Krishna? And Prabhupāda paused for some time and everyone was kind of eager to hear what he's going to say.
And then he said, when I chant, I feel no fear.
You know, like today I was flying and when I sat in a plane I already when the plane went up I looked down and I kind of imagined what will happen if this plane will crash the case. And when it ultimately landed, you know, I kind of I was relieved, thank you. This time it didn't happen.
But when we chant constantly, or when we are in contact with Krishna-kathā, when we are in contact with Krishna, we feel peaceful because we know that even if something happens without with our body and it will happen, something will happen with our body. You know, nothing will happen with us.
I remember when I was just beginning uh my spiritual journey and I started chanting. I got in trouble and some secret police came to my work and they were threatening me.
They told me we will put you in prison, we will, you know mm uh you know it's it will be very bad for you.
And they told me you should work for us, you should report to us what these dangerous Hare Kṛṣṇa are doing. And then uh we will not put you in prison.
And uh and then they told me, don't give answer now, just think a little bit more for three, four days, and then you come and tell us.
Because they know the human psychology when we start imagining how it will be and it will become such a big problem.
And sure enough I already started you know uh collecting my things to go to prison, you know, all the necessary items I almost prepare my suitcase to go there.
And you know the time of appointed meeting I I had to meet with them next time came and uh but before going to them I met with one uh devotee girl and I told her they came to me and they threatened me and they will just they will put me in prison.
She said, no, they will put your body in prison. They cannot do anything with your soul. What can they do with your soul? She said. And I thought, really, she's right.
And just this few words gave me śānta and so uh just this few words made me peaceful. And this peacefulness is a very important original quality of our mind.
And therefore, when we feel again peaceful, we feel that it's a normal, happy condition of our mind. Whereas when we are distorted something unnatural.
Or some other commentators, when they say so we are talking about the third stage. In the first stage, we develop some little interest about spiritual reality.
In the second stage, our attachment to this material reality gradually, gradually diminishes, uh, and we are not so attached. On the fourth stage, we become peaceful and our mind becomes very transparent and calm.
But some commentators also say that this is the stage when we start feeling very special taste about Kṛṣṇa. And then Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura explains,
When the mind becomes very clear, very crystal clear, when the mind becomes very pure, then it acquires certain sensitivity which is not there in uh grossly com contaminated state of mind.
Like sometimes maybe even in the beginning uh people they experience some very elevated emotions when they are chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa. Like yesterday one lady came to me and she said, you know, what's happening with me?
I'm chanting this Hare Kṛṣṇa and I'm always crying. What is wrong with me? And I said to her, everything is right with you, something is wrong with me because I'm not crying all the time.
So I shouldn't uh eat the non-high ventures, a you said both the videos, and didn't need the bottom old Krishna Mansas and Sweden, all the I shouldn't uh So this emotional uh development is taking place when the mind is very peaceful, he starts feeling very subtle and nuanced emotions, very blissful and very pleasant emotions.
And experiences the results, you know, sometimes he's crying, sometimes the hairs on his body stand on end, or some other transformations are taking place. This is all the science of very pure mind.
Developing genuine love for God
So this is the third result of hearing Krishna Katha and the third stage and the fourth stage is Bhaktir Harau. One develops some love towards God.
Krishna Katana Uchanja Sonja Krishna Katana Krishna Kathul Uchindra Sonja Chunjasha Buddha Rinja Ashamada Isha Pakti Hara Kashabi So first we develop some phase of some respect towards this spiritual discipline.
Then some purification takes place and our attachment slackens. Then the mind becomes very peaceful and emotionally more developed and more subtle. And then the real love, real attachment towards the Lord comes.
Gave Shallabashio on us on the mission in the Saki High Away with the high inject, gave it to me about shoes.
Like we all know when we love somebody and when this you know constant feeling of gratitude and uh overwhelms us, when we feel this very nice feeling that we love somebody and we think about him.
So we develop this sort of feeling towards the Lord who created this world and we tangibly feel his presence because the love attracts him.
Sometimes people complain, you know, I you know I'm I'm doing some spiritual practice, but I don't feel that God is there in my life.
But the reason is simple, the reason is because we don't really have attachment, we want to exploit the Lord, and we know on our own experience if somebody wants to exploit us, we don't want to come Whereas
when somebody genuinely appreciates us, we want to come to this person and we want to talk with this person and to interact with this person.
So people don't feel the presence of the Lord because their heart is in this condition and the Lord doesn't show up. He's afraid to be close to them.
Cultivating universal friendliness
But A because again the kisters I both didn't do And then the fifth result, there are only f the there are five gradual results of our development, spiritual development, is Tatpurushecha Sakyam.
It means that we become very friendly initially to our circle of people and ultimately to every living entity this friendliness this very nice friendly feelings towards everyone naturally comes to our heart.
Yashov, I shall see the four top pushes, sakyan yani um mini tariffy booky Chair and the second I could do that, under Kandi Chair and the Secretary of Hash and Dumi Abashana, within Janavarak, but it be I kadash jam the I could song the mash.
Like we all want some closeness with other people. We want to have close relationships, some friendship with other people. But at the same time, we always feel very lonely in this world.
We always feel that other people don't understand us and we feel this loneliness and uh uh kind of seclusion or whatever. But this is the result of some envy which is there within our heart.
This envy, gross or subtle envy, destroys the relationship with other people. But when the heart becomes completely pure, then you don't feel any distance from other people.
You feel very close to them and you feel that they're close to you and you feel capable of expressing your love and receiving their love.
And we know the descriptions of great saintly persons of this world, they ultimately they develop very strong love towards every living entity. Like this there is this story about Rabia, Rabia, the Muslim lady said.
She was she was so pure and hard that all the animals would come to her and stay with her and they were not afraid of her at all.
And when one other Sufi or Saint came to visit her and when he came all the animals ran away. And he became very offended by these animals, you know.
And he has this rabbi uh you know why are these animals they all together with you and they are so friendly with you and why they're running away when I'm coming. And then she asked him, what did you have for lunch?
And he said yes, I ate some meat. She said that's why that's why they ran away.
Anyway the point is there when the heart becomes pure then uh all these walls which are there between us and other living entities, they become completely destroyed and when and we become completely friendly and uh this loneliness is not a problem anymore.
So this is a gradual gradual process of purification of consciousness uh which is taking place when we are engaged in hearing about Krishna.
Transformation through attentive hearing
And I guess I don't have time to go into the pastime itself. It's just a little introduction to the whole story. Krishna-katha and Krishna, but the big usual uh shtick almost a little common
kind of a but what I want to say is that sometimes people think that by the process of meditation or by the process of thinking about something my heart will change not the show? Especially nowadays this meditation different meditation techniques, especially Buddhist styled meditation techniques are very popular.
You know, people there are some courses you just meditate ten minutes a day and your life will be different.
Well, kīrtana, the only kīrtana makes you can benefit, they change their lives. Yeah you will spend ten minutes just by sitting quietly but nothing tangible will happen.
Or sometimes people, even devotees, they think that you know we have to meditate,
you know, like again a couple of days back somebody asked me, you know, Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that while chanting Hare Krishna you have to meditate how Rādhā and Krishna sitting in the crystal throne in your heart and you're serving them, you know.
How is that? How we should do it. When we are totally dependent on our own experience in meditation, nothing tangible it changes within our heart.
Because our so-called meditation totally depends on our own experience which we already had in the past.
And we know we try to meditate and when we're trying to meditate all the past experience are just surfacing within the mind and we just remember whatever happened with us in the past.
So this is not effective method of meditation. The effective method of meditation is either we are chanting the holy name together loudly and then all other activities of the mind stops
or we hear somebody who has greater experience. ātmārāmāś ca munayo nirgrantha apy urukrame kurvanty ahaitukīṁ bhaktim ittham-bhūta-guṇo hariḥ Soya and gas. Because by it is a duru yet and Because
by hearing others through this process of hearing some transmission of his experiences taking place and we feel at least a shadow of what he feels within his heart.
But to be effective this process, uh it's always uh in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the condition is given. To be effective this process has to be done with faith or with some respect.
Hearing is a very powerful process of transformation of the heart, but this one little condition has to be there, uh there has to be some respect towards the speaker.
And this respect will help us to open the heart and will help us to get the message very deeply within the heart so that uh our heart will would change uh for better.
Casual hearing or uh this pass-by hearing, I don't support hearing, I don't know if you if there is such a word in English. If you're not very respectful, it will not work.
Questions on spiritual progression and intention
Anyway, so I said something about the process of hearing. Thank you very much, Hare Krishna. It's already quite late. Are any questions? Sarasamgha Prabhu? Yes, please. Uh thank you very much for the uh wonderful class.
It's my I have actually a couple of questions. Can I ask? Sure. These five processes happen at the same time. One finish and the next one start more or less. Yeah, it's a gradual development.
It's like this ladder of devotion which is described by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī. First you have śraddhā, then you have anartha-nivṛtti, which is the second process, then you have niṣṭhā, which is the third process, when your mind is pure. Then you develop some real attachment towards the Lord, that's the fifth stage. And then you develop the friendship for everyone. It basically means you develop love for every living entity.
So that's more or less the same ladder which is described in other scriptures.
So one of the things uh one th uh uh yeah y I'll just uh no uh one comes to another stage then another process starts but uh the first one becomes deeper and deeper and deeper. It goes on but it becomes more profound.
So actually I have two questions. First one is why the fifth one is after fourth. And the second question, um how we can uh chant attentively before our mind is open to you. Second one is very easy.
We cannot chant attentively before our mind is very pure. But we may try uh to bring our attention again and again and again.
That's the initial stages of meditation: is that the meditation will be naturally unsteady, the mind is unsteady in these stages. But by sincere endeavors, we again and again and again come to the object media of meditation in our case the sound of the holy name.
But it will not be perfect initially there is no chance.
And as long as anarthas remain, impurities remain, you can have a lot of speculative conclusions and so on and so forth, thinking that you're a liberated soul or whatever.
Regarding the uh first question why the fifth stage comes after the fourth, not vice versa. It's an interesting question.
There are people who are quite attached to the Lord. They develop some sort of attachment to the Supreme Lord, but still they are kind of neglectful towards other people.
Well so Mr. and Madame Duranja, the something so uh be ball game should be a dumb body um Even Krishna in Bhagavad-gītā in the sixth chapter of Bhagavad-gītā he explains that different stages of samadhi, when mind is completely pure and totally attached to the Lord, but then he says that the highest stage of samadhi, when you develop compassion towards other living beings.
It's also in other religions we can see that when people are o saints of the highest order, they develop this friendship on and they may be very saintly and very pure but still not so friendly with others.
simple and uh the same time very important for me and I think for all of us uh the um there is one video in YouTube of you uh when you explain what Hare Kṛṣṇa Mahā-mantra means, and when I forgot about Krishna and what does it mean, I'm always opening this video because this is one of my favorite and explain the favorite explanation.
Can you please uh explain it for us? We can just give the link to this video. Okay, I will share it with the Russian Let me listen it first. I'm just afraid if I explained it in a different way it may destroy your face.
Thank you very much. My question is, can a bhakta move to the next step for the next process if he had dīkṣā och så annan vist eller. Ja, se. Dīkṣā is the process of initiation.
First of all, it's not that at the moment where the ceremony is taking place he he gets dixa.
Dīkṣā is a process which is, you know, stretched out in time. And already you are in a process of dīkṣā even though you don't have formal initiation because this process of purification is going on. So you do an dīkṣā
a gicaby, the anatomy with dance nishaya And the uh special connection which is established during this ceremony of Diksha is necessary for you to keep the proper attitude towards this particular person and properly hear from him.
It helps you to hear the special mood and the special mood makes your hearing much more effective than casual hearing. Therefore, all this m you know processes may take place before
Dīkṣā but, dīkṣā greatly helps to speed up this process. then Krishna doesn't appear and we don't feel the results that you described.
Could you please uh tell a little bit more about this, uh how this intention could manifest and how do we uh catch ourselves on this and and and what is the right mood uh since
auditioning Kṛṣṇa is that, but not only. you know we all know when we we all know when we approach some other person and we want to get something from him and we kind of scheme and try to exploit him.
Or we also know when somebody approaches us with this intention and we naturally feel a little distant or shy from him, from such people.
In this situation, we feel that I as a person is not really needed to this particular individual who is trying to exploit me. He just wants to get something from me.
I'm, you know, I'm he's not interested in me uh as a person, uh as a whole person. He just wants something from me.
Either he wants some relief or some whatever s m there there may be so many different motivations by uh or intentions how different people exploit us. But when you know when we feel genuine interest that somebody just
really wants to understand who I am, what I am, why I am saying what I am saying, you know, then this genuine interest of other person uh and interest is initial stage of love.
If I am interested in somebody and want to know this person genuinely, then it's initial stage of love.
So if we want to know everything about Krishna it means that we have genuine interest about him and then our intentions are pure,
but if we just want something from him and uh ultimately we don't care about him and what he feels then it's exploitation. This is a wrong intention.
And, similarly, Kṛṣṇa, when He sees that we approach Him only, you know, only to get something from Him, also we must see.
If we sense that he is not interested how we feel, but by all means wants to get something which he needs from us and he doesn't care how we feel about it, then that's exploitation.
And it is mutual, that is not one-sided. So if we ask us us first before approaching uh other person before asking him for something if we ask ourselves uh uh how he will feel how will he like it or not?
W itill be pleasing for him or not if we do this or if we say this or if we approach it in this way then our intention is pure because we first want to know whether it will be pleasing for him what will be his what would be his or her reaction.
So, in the same way, in our relationship with God, if we first before asking him, before praying to him, ask ourselves, will he be pleased by our prayer or by our whatever we're doing? Then it's genuine.
Even if our answer will not be correct, at least we think about it and that will be pleasing for the world.
Ona jako na śmieńcze do świecie. On nas jest śniosek, on imedian śniosek, jakby się kierowca się jakoś, jest to dla mnie sam, ale się jak coś nieciej, ale ona jakoś, all the shiny and side. Okay, I guess that's it.
Thank you very much. Hare Krishna. Thank you very much, Hare Krishna.