Stages of Bhakti. Conditions of Spiritual Development
Bhakti Vijnana Goswami · Altai · 2008
Chapters
The following class is the third lecture of the seminar called Stages of Bhakti Given by His Holiness Bhaktivigyan Gosvami Maharaj in Altai, Russia two thousand and eight vasude. Vasudeva Bhagavate Vasudevaya sude
Oh namamo Bhagavate Vasudeva Madate Vasude by O magyanati mirandasya, chaksurum militamatas mais Sri gura venama, sriche no vistaam, stapi tam je nabutale, swamrupa damayam, dahtiiswapadantikam, Vandeham,
Sri Guru, Sriutapadakamalam, Sri Gurun Vaisnavams, Sri Rupam Sagrajatam, Sahagana bitam sadivam, Sadvaitam Sadutam Parijana Sahitam, Krishna Chaitanyade, Sri Radha Krishna Pam, Sahaganalita, Srivissaka Vitamsha Krishna
Karuna Sindhu, Dinabandu Jagatpate, Gopeshagopikanta, Radakantamus tute Taptakansagurange, Rade Vrindavanishware, Vishabanusutevi Pranamami Hariprichalpatarubyas, Kripasindubecha, Patitanampane
biyo, Vaishnavy Namonamaha, Jasri Krishna Chaitanya Prabunitananda, Sriadvaitara, Srivasadora Bhakta Vrinda Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Harema rama har Krishna Hare
Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Harema Armo Ramo Ramo Hare Hare Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hareamo, areamo, ramo ramo, are do Shradata tah Sadu Sangotaba Janakya Gothanakya Tatanarthani
Brithsya Tatonishta ruchistata, nishta uchistata, athasakti statbavas, Tatahprima bhyudanchati, sadhakanamayampremna, premna, praradur Bhavet Krama, Hado Shraddatah Sadu, Tata Sadhu, Sangothabhana
Kriya, Tato Narthani Britixya, Tato Nisharuchistataham, Athasakti Satobavas, Tatahprima Byudanchati, Tathprimab Yudanchati, Sadakanam Ayamprem, Pradur Bhavet Krama. Ajanulambita Vujoka, Sankirtanaikaro, Kamalaya tak.
Viswambarod Vijaro Yugadharma palatriakaro Karunavatar Yantah
Internal obstacles on the spiritual path
Pravishamamavachamimam Prasupam Sanjiva Takila Shakti Dharaswadamna, Anyamsahastacharanas Rhanatwagadim, Pranandamo Bhavate, Purushayatub Mm, you should not panic.
I would like to remind again about the meaning of our discussion. The meaning of our discussion is to understand more clearly what we must do and what we must not do Everything else depends on Krishna.
At least I myself must be confident that I do everything properly. Result may come, may not come. Krishna is absolutely self-willed.
He is not obliged to respond to our efforts, but our efforts themselves will already bring us satisfaction. Krishna says that when a person sincerely tries to do something, he will respond by all means.
The problem is that we have a Khan in mind in Christian theology and philosophy that this mind is called devil. The problem is that this devil is always with us.
This devil constantly suggests some false ways of spiritual practice, constantly tries to confuse us.
Like in the Christian tradition or culture, there are many stories about how those who have taken the spiritual path start to be tempted by the devil, how um various forms of temptation start coming to them.
In fact, all this originates in our minds. In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it's also said that when a person takes the spiritual path, the demigods start to be jealous of him. Unhealthy jealousy arises in them towards such a person.
And they try to lead him astray.
We know a lot of stories in our tradition about how Indra sent absaras to those who have taken the spiritual path and who are trying to perform austerities. Sometimes people just even wonder why hasn't Indra sent me and I'm sorry yet.
Just the right time to get concerned and sent me The problem is that apsaras will not suffice for everyone. But Apsaras come because the demigods are in our senses. And Absaras come into our mind as well.
Some Brahmachar Brahmacharya meditates and intro sense him in Absara. A lovely image arises in his mind and he thinks fruit of my austerity has come to me.
In other words, the problems are within us, although sometimes they can take some external forms, the forms of external obstacles which we have to overcome.
The main problems are within us and the main problems are the problems recorded in our mind. That is why we have to act and act correctly. Sometimes our body in Sanskrit is called karma-kshetra, field of activity.
In the Bhagavad-gītā, Krishna also calls it kshetra, or field of activity. The body and mind is where the living being, the soul acts. In another way it is called Kurukshetra, the battlefield where our battle unfolds.
Development of attraction to Krishna
Here we must constantly see Krishna's help, Krishna's protection, so that Krishna saves us, so that he directs us, so that we constantly hear his voice that guides us into the right direction.
I explained that in the course of practice, our attachment to Krishna or Krishna's attractiveness becomes greater and greater. That the meaning of spiritual practice or spiritual progress and one can judge by
this criteria about how much one is progressing on the spiritual path. In fact, the principle is very simple. The degree to which Krishna becomes attractive to me, the degree to which
I feel his irresistible attraction, the clear criteria for our spiritual advancement is the degree of Krishna's attractiveness to us.
The more attractive Krishna is for us and everything associated with him, his name, his form, his līlā, this is the criteria by which we can judge how much I progress on the spiritual path.
This attraction develops as we hear about Krishna, as we chant his holy name and praise his glory, his teachings, and gradually we develop the ability to think about him. Now we we cannot think of Krishna.
Even if if we at all think of Krishna, we will be thinking about everything else but Krishna.
The proof of that is the japa time, when we chant Krishna's holy name, but quite paradoxically we think about everything else but Krishna.
Although the idea is that this is the very method by which I must... But this ability to remember Krishna will come to me. I shouldn't doubt it even for a moment. But at the beginning there is a struggle.
The struggle between material desires and my desire or the soul's yearning for Krishna is called aniṣṭhā-bhajana-kriyā, or unstable devotional service.
When one reaches the level of Nishta, the level of Nishta is something like a neutral zone. Up to Nishta, the material desires were stronger than Krishna's attractiveness. They constantly pulled us back.
On the level of Nishta, we no longer feel strong material desires. But the desire for Krishna is not so strong yet. And then gradually the desire for Krishna will be getting stronger. Nishta is like the watershed.
When the two vectors or the two forces that are tearing us apart from from within are more or less balanced and our desire to attain Krishna. In a sense, this can be compared, as I've already said, to climbing on a hill today.
Importance of respecting Vaishnavas
I'm going to give another interesting comparison that will help us. I have already explained that several factors at the first stage are highly favorable for my smooth spiritual progress.
First of al, I should be highly respectful towards the Vaishnavas and not try in any case to pull them down to the material level, to see them as materialistic people. Such a temptation will always be there.
The mind which is used to judge about everything from a material point of view will continue to pull them down to the material level. Avic explains that if one is Sukhrit, friendly, Satam.
Satam towards a sadhu or devotee, if one retains this friendly disposition towards them and doesn't become their enemy because of envy, and the risk of this is there, then Krishna himself who is within that person Kridyanta stokhyabhadrani clears up all the dirt we don't know tea.
Krishna himself, by his mercy, gradually starts to put things in order in our heart, in our mind.
This is one thing where our attachment to the devotees, our attempt to serve the devotees, our respect for the devotees, our solemn vow to never under any circumstances offend the devotees.
This is the first requirement which will help us to develop spiritually and overcome the obstacles. Another requirement yesterday I spoke about it is our understanding about where faith draws its strength from.
The proper nutritious soil for faith is Shastra. The scriptures on which I must be focused. The scriptures is Krishna Kadha, I have to listen to them.
I have to think about them, I have to read them in one way or another, I must come in contact with Krishna Kadha because Krishna is none different from the Krishna Kadha.
And when I hear about Krishna, Krishna enters in my heart. Has anyone felt this that Krishna enters my heart? And my heart becomes lighter and better when I listen about him? My heart cheers up. This is exactly what happens.
Krishna enters our hearts and starts cleaning it from the inside.
I spoke yesterday and I'll say a few more words today about the baddhôtpādita śraddhā according to the nomenclature of the definition of Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura, the imposed or artificial faith, faith which is fed on other things.
As Sanātana Gosvāmī says the milk touched by the leaps of a serpent turns into poison. And sometimes, precisely in the same way, kathā, the stories about Krishna which are the foods, the true milk for my true faith,
some stories which we hear some sometimes gathering the association of devotees will actually poison our faith. And previously. First of all, those are the stories coming out of the mouth of an offender of the devotees.
It's a very sad thing. But unfortunately, sometimes people don't realize how powerful Vaishnava-aparādha is. Sometimes entire lectures are dedicated to the analysis of the Vaishnava's lecture shortcomings.
Sometimes the entire sadhana bhakti is based on how to blame the other Vaishnavas, how to pull down the other Vaishnavas, how to point out their shortcomings and things like that.
Anyway, I'm doing the same now, but I want to warn you against this because when we listen to offenses of devotees, we become implicated in this offense. And our faith starts to be ruined.
When we hear how other devotees are being discussed, analyzed, called by their names, how there is an attempt to degrade the other Vaishnavas to reduce reduce them to the material level, then this has a detrimental effect in our faith and we lose our faith.
The best way to lose our faith is to listen to offenses of... In this sense Srila Prabhupāda was an example, an amazing example of an uncompromising and pure Vaishnava who passes on the teaching as it is.
I ask you to please listen to Śrīla... At the time I heard practically all Srila Prabhupada's lectures and it's an amazing thing. If we have a look at Srila Prabhupada's lectures, how he speaks philosophy.
He goes from one verse to another, to third one, to fourth one, to fifth one. He doesn't try to explain to us that the Shastras tell us about Krishna.
Focusing our attention on Krishna and His own words, not on anything else. Allowing our attention to stray off to other matters.
There is a temptation to start speaking in a way that will be pleasant to people because shastra is not always a pleasant thing. To listen to shastra is sometimes uncomfortable.
Sometimes it seems to us that I would rather listen to something lighter, some lighter genre. But the easy genre there is a false motive behind it all to please the audience.
Sometimes in order to please the audience one starts speaking about something and resorting to some safe oratory techniques or things like that. In itself, this desire is not very good.
Please listen again to the chaste way how Srila Prabhupada speaks about Krishna. It's impossible to find this desire to flirt with the audience in his words. Impossible by default, he doesn't flare with the audience.
Look around, y'all. He doesn't try to entertain the audience, he doesn't try to earn cheap popularity. One day some rock musician with his girlfriend and some friends, a famous rock musician,
was brought to Śrīla Prabhupāda. The first devotees, Śrīla Prabhupāda's followers, attached great importance to this visit.
They thought if he becomes a devotee, he will glorify Swamiji, and wanted to make him a devotee by all means. Śrīla Prabhupāda looked at him and started saying that one mustn't engage in illicit sexual relationships.
Of course, this was what the proposition had. That was the only thing he lacked in his life. Everything else he had. We never saw him again. Good riddance.
Because this desire to attract people at any cost is in itself false. When we try to attract someone at any cost, we implant in his heart problems which will sooner or later crawl out.
And we shouldn't by any means preach in this way or deceive people in this way.
But true Sangha begins with submitting ourselves to the mercy of a sādhu, of a holy man where we trust him and don't expect him to entertain us.
There is another wonderful story told by Girirāja Mahārāja about his meeting with Śrīla Prabhupāda. He came to the first lecture and he was keen on yoga, esoterics, new age at that time.
He was looking for a guru, listening to various people, Buddhists like that. After the lecture, he asked Śrīla Prabhupāda, "Swamiji, how can one find a bona fide guru?"
Śrīla Prabhupāda looked at him and said, "It all depends on what you want. Do you want to become God, or do you want to become a servant of God?"
At that moment, Girirāja Mahārāja remembered that above his bed, the honeymoon post In other words, the listener should also be sincere. We must be sincere.
We shouldn't let our cunning mind cheat us so that we are pretty onto the hook of Every one of us has the desire to go to the spiritual world on the cheap, right?
And if someone tells us it's all very simple, you don't have to do anything, let's keep the minimum, you don't have to follow any principles. People are deceived by such preaching very easily.
Like, not long ago we were riding in a car with a devotee and a car honked at us and took us to the side. A man got out of the car and started crying and saying, I've been robbed, I've been robbed, help me please, I need to get there. I'm from Riga. I need to get there.
And true, his number plate was from Riga and he pulled out a watch and started saying this is Rolex. I bought it for three thousand dollars. I'll give you to I'll give it to you for three thousand rubles, please take it.
But it's clearly a deception. Can't be that a watch for three thousand dollars is sold for three thousand rubles. But inside there is this hope that what if it's true?
What if it's truly for three thousand rubles and at the same time you're justifying yourself and you think, well, anyway, if I spent three thousand rubles, never mind.
Ultimately, but what but what if it's true there is a chance that I'll get three thousand dollars? Of course. It didn't work even, not to mention all the other.
But we have exactly the same problem when we take the spiritual path. Śrīla Prabhupāda said that this is a world of cheaters and cheated.
It's a world of cheaters and those who want to be cheated. On the spiritual path we should
Signs of irrational and fanatical faith
be very careful, we should catch ourselves on the fact that the desire to be deceived is there and we want to hear something that we will like. Whereas once again, just we're not always saying things that we like. And not everything that we like is truth. We should know this very well and we should remember this very well.
signs of laukika-śraddhā or bala-utpādita śraddhā, the imposed artificial śraddhā, śraddhā which is not based on śāstras and not based on the words of a true sadhu. One of the signs of it is that it's blind.
One wants to believe in it. And as a result of this blind faith, attachment arises to various new rituals. There is a wonderful story which circulates in different versions in these spiritual circles.
I'll tell you one of them. Once upon a time there was a guru.
Guru had a cat in his ashram, and we know cats always go around by themselves and sometimes it would come in during the Bhagavad-gītā class and disturb the hearing of the class. Sometimes it rubbed against someone.
At the end, the guru orders that the cat should be put into a basket and placed next to him so that it wouldn't mess around and he continued giving classes.
Over time the guru left, but the disciples remembered that whenever Gurujī gave a Bhagavad-gītā class, there was a basket with a cat. Before, when a new guru began giving Bhagavad-gītā classes, he told his disciples to put a cat in a basket next to his Vyasasana.
The disciples would look at that cat contemplating on the deep esoteric meaning
of the presence of a cat in a basket during the Bhagavad-gītā class. And after about three generations, one of the followers of the Guru of that Ashram wrote a book on the importance of the presence of a cat in Bhagavad-gītā classes.
Faithfulness, which is not based on śāstras, is always blind. One of the signs of an artificial or imposed faith is its irrationality.
If we read śāstra, especially if we read the Bhagavad-gītā, we'll see that Kṛṣṇa is extremely rational. Śrīla Prabhupāda repeatedly emphasized spiritual practice is a science.
Science means universal truths which are always valid under any circumstances. Everything else that occurs on the surface of it is all some kind of superstition, irrational prejudices.
I would like to tell you another story, the story of Hanumān. Do you want me to? We know that there was this great war in Laṅkā and that ultimately Hanumān along with the monkeys came to Ayodhyā.
But Hanuman was very anxious about the monkeys because they cannot behave properly. They live in the forest all the time, jumping from tree to tree and eating bananas. They are absolutely uncivilized.
And here they came to the capital of the great empire, where great representatives of that culture live. How are they going to behave?
He addressed the whole army and said, "So that we're not disgraced, you must watch how I act and do the same thing." Especially during prasāda, because I know you monkeys will eat it in a way that's impossible.
The monkeys were very scared and because He was sitting in rows. More than anything else, monkeys love fried chicken.
Those of you who have been to Vṛndāvana know that in places of particular gathering of monkeys, the enterprising vāsīs sell packets of chickpea to appease the monkeys or redeem from them the things they there is this special roasted chickpea sometimes. It has this husk.
The monkeys sat in rows over ceremoniously served prasāda, all of them watching, God forbid, disturb the etiquette. Hanumān was also given some chickpeas, he looked at it, took a pea. The pea was in a husk.
He thought, "Wow, this pea is flying. I'll show you how to fly," and he jumped to catch the pea. The monkeys looked at him and said, "Oh, we now know how to eat in a decent way." Each monkey began jumping like that.
At that moment Lord Rāmacandra came in and saw the monkeys jumping around, and He asked Hanumān, "What's going on here?"
Hanumān said, "These are just stupid monkeys, they blindly follow me. They follow without using their mind even.
This is one of the signs of faith when one starts following blindly, and it's a very important critically, but blindly without any reason, relying on prejudice only. That is once again.
Imposed faith is always irrational, it's always associated with prejudice and it's always fanatical. As I said yesterday, very often it's centered on the cult of some personality when people artificially create a cult.
As in Bhagavad-gītā said that the faith and passion is faith in whom? No. Yes, this this faith in people, faith in idols.
This is the desire to create an idol for oneself, someone who would lead me and whom I can follow blindly. People wait, people want to surrender to someone so that they close their eyes and don't think themselves.
Very often people think that the meaning of spiritual life consists exactly in finding someone whom I can follow blindly without thinking about anything.
They think that spiritual life is an indulgence for not thinking of oneself, for turning off our mind.
The temptation is precisely that, to approach the guru-mahārāja and say, Guru Mahārāja, that's it, I've surrendered to you. I'm surrendered soul, now I'm gonna blindly follow you. What does Krishna tell Arjuna?
He says, yes. He says, I told you everything I could. What's next? No, not just do as you know. Think well.
Exercise of free will in devotion
Think well about what I've told you, and then do as you find appropriate. Free will must remain with us.
Because when we move by the desire to cheat or cheaply get to the spiritual world, try to deprive ourselves, try to amputate this freedom of will, nothing good comes up. We do not procrastinate spiritual life.
And it turns into a deception, a show, game and all turns into a show of surrender.
One has kind of surrendered, but at the same time he thinks that surrendering means not thinking, means uh doing something mechanically like a robot. This is another sign.
I'll name a few more signs because it's an important thing for us. Sometimes we try to establish our faith on the foundation of some rumors which float around.
Among the devotees there is our own folklore, there is fables and rumors. You can use hear anything. People do not read shastras but make up so many new rules, so many new things.
There are several versions of it, but there is one which is one of my favorite. It's like true the person that was involved and it said that it wasn't like that when he heard my lecture. But still I'll I'll tell it.
It might have been not like that. I fully admit that. I could have misunderstood something, but in order to illustrate this point,
because sometimes people say things and we don't ask them where they have to, or often there is this expression, especially in Śrīla Prabhupāda's time: "Prabhupāda said." Sometimes Prabhupāda was told what he had said, and he was very much surprised at how he could have said such a thing.
"Prabhupāda said, Prabhupāda said this, Prabhupāda said that." When someone begins his speech or supports his arguments by these words, "but Prabhupāda said," a big question mark is put to
it, and you ask where he said that. When he said that, to whom he said that, and whether he actually said it all or not? Because when we try to justify everything by rumors, who knows what this can lead to.
Anyway, the story that happened to me — I had a disciple and, uh, told her that I was ready to give her uh, second initiation, but to that end she should pass Bhakti-shastri. “No, I, I cannot pass the Bhakti-shastri.”
Well, I said, okay, well then wait until you pass the Bhakti-shastri, because this is second initiation and second initiation is the brāhmaṇa initiation, and this means that one should know the śāstras.
Some time after that I see her going around as black as a thundercloud. The person is as black as a thundercloud and something is wrong. And that lasted for quite a long time. Finally, I asked what had happened actually.
She almost burst into tears and said, “She says, one mātājī in the kitchen told me that if a guru wants to reject his disciple, he tells him to study śāstras.” Try to disprove the authority of the mātājī in the kitchen!
The authority of mātājīs in the kitchen was absolutely indisputable. So when some mātājī in the kitchen starts telling you something, some, some esoterical spiritual truth, please don't take it at face value blindly.
Anything might be; there are different mātājīs. I don't want to say anything. Sometimes mātājīs also say true things, and in the kitchen too.
I heard a lot of such rumors, such things about some miracles and not spoken about, but all that is laukika-śraddhā and all this somehow or other is of a social nature, the nature of our small community.
There is another very interesting example. Yesterday I spoke about this quality of basing one's faith on miracles, especially miracles associated with guru. A man told me — he was talking about some guru.
He is also very esoterical. He said, “As soon as I heard the name, the name of my guru, all desire to enjoy my senses vanished into the air. I said, haven't you previously heard Śrīla Prabhupāda's name?
Didn't that desire vanished into the air then? No wopsim Yirunda. In other words, nonsense is such kind of rubbish. Another sign is when people try to receive honor for what they do here.
Why why do all those strange forms, strange prejudices appear in the society of the devotees? That's exactly because people want to get respect and recognition for what they do.
That's exactly why they start doing something like the core purple sometimes, on uh innocent Preach to his mind. Oh mind. You retreat in solitude so that you chant sixty-four rounds. But why? What for?
Yes, so that you get cheap honor from fools saying This honesty must be there. Our honesty is the guarantee of our success. But sometimes Bhaktisitans that's also the degree of his honesty.
Sometimes he deliberately sang out of tune so that people were not attracted by the cheap outer shell, so that people were not missil byed external signs, so that people try in their practice in their attitude towards their practice to go deeper, to go to the essence and not be satisfied by something cheap, by something on the surface.
We are all the product of Kali Yuga, the product of consumer society, and now in our consumer society, what are people bought by, first of all?
By the rope, we come to spiritual life and what are we trying to find in spiritual life? The rope. The same robe. But having found the rope, we cannot find what should be there inside.
Purification process through divine mercy
Well I have very little time left. Probably I can uh end my lecture here now. Uh yeah. Yeah, I'll simply make a little summary of this part so that tomorrow I can start a new topic.
I would like to dedicate at least one lecture to Anatanyvrich about what it means to get rid of an artist, about what kind of an artist there can be, about how to recognize them, how to see them.
But even at the very first stage I've already given some instruction concerning the kind of nature of our mind.
To sum up, I would like to say once again how we should measure the spiritual progress. Every stage indicated in this verse is as Krishna's gift.
At each stage, Krishna by his will, seeing our sincerity in proportion to our sincerity, gives us this gift.
At the beginning he for no reason whatsoever, if we if we meet some sādhu, if the sādhu somehow or other wants by his mercy that we get mercy and we feel some preliminary respect for the sādhu we obtain faith.
I didn't quite correctly answer Vishnu Tatva's question which he asked after the first lecture Here of course very important is the desire or mercy of a sadhu. But by our actions we must reveal the mercy in the sadhu.
Like in a story with Giriraj Maharaj after the first meeting with Śrīla Prabhupāda, he was very impressed by those words of Śrīla Prabhupāda. He felt that Śrīla Prabhupāda sees him right through, sees his heart, sees what is happening there, sees all his problems.
He became a devotee, he started chanting sixteen rounds, eventually moved to the temple, despite coming from a very wealthy family, the family of hereditary millionaires, and his parents were ready to give him anything just so that he gets back to them.
A year later, Śrīla Prabhupāda arrived in that temple. By that time he had already received initiation by correspondence and he was waiting for Śrīla Prabhupāda. After the lecture, he raised his hand again and asked something.
And to his surprise, Śrīla Prabhupāda said, I remember you. A year had passed.
At some public lecture, someone raised a hand and asked a question, and for him it was a great surprise when he heard those words of Śrīla Prabhupāda.
Śrīla Prabhupāda said, I remember you. When a year ago you asked that question, I thought, a good boy. And I started praying to Krishna. Let him become a devotee. Everything that happened to him after that is the result of that prayer.
That somehow or other, as I said, our sādhana or our small initial humility is just an attempt to attract Krishna's attention. Everything else is done by Krishna's mercy.
At the first stage we receive mercy in the form of faith. Further, our desire to attract Krishna or the desire to prove that we are
sincere must consist in our study in śāstra. In our strengthening our faith by listening to bona fide sādhus and properly studying śāstra precisely in this as resultati. As a result of this, a new thing will come to us, the desire to do something will come to us. And to do systematically, and we will have the strength to do it systematically,
and that is to practice sādhana. We will be able to suddenly, unexpectedly for ourselves And that's a gift. The desire to do it is also Krishna's gift. It doesn't accidentally come to us, it doesn't just happen.
It's something that Krishna gives us. That we should receive the priceless gift is the, uh, understanding of how we can get rid of our shortcomings.
At the next stage, all these seeds of material desires which have been sleeping in our heart will suddenly out of nowhere start germinating.
Sometimes people even think that I was bad before I started practicing devotional service. I was bad and pure.
Sometimes strange desires come to mind which were never been there before, and an internal struggle begins. We need to understand very well what is happening.
It's like when we come into a dirty room which has long been dirty and thus has taken their its constitutional position has clogged.
Then generally you might not specifically notice it; dust is there covering everything anyway, but if you don't touch the dust, it's not visible.
But as soon as we start cleaning up, the dust rises and you start thinking, my God, my God, it wasn't there before. Was it not there before? It was.
Sometimes a person who chants the mantra also thinks, I used to be pure before; I used to be better. This wasn't there before. Wasn't there before? It was. Everything was there.
We simply start cleaning up and that's a painful process. And most problematic stage, the most difficult and most painful stage of an anartha-nivritti, and yet it's a gift. Because we can pass it only by Krishna's mercy.
And by mercy of the spiritual master.
We'll be able to understand what we should do, how we can purify our heart, how we'll be able to get rid of these anartis, how to let them go, and how to deal with them, and that's what I'll be speaking about a little bit in the next lecture.
Although it's also a gift, we must know what we must do, how we can prove our sincerity to Krishna at this stage.
Rules and mercy in spiritual communities
Maybe we have a few minutes to ask some questions.
Uh, we have no idea, and we're not supposed to review the leaders because they're the fairness we need to get. Natha sampradaya sloka, so it's not as complicated as it might seem. Every society has to be based on rules.
If there are no clear rules and laws, the society won't be able to exist properly.
In society there is a must be a law, and the law doesn't contradict mercy because the law should protect the society against blurring, against some contamination, against the Ruled by laws, there is no doubt about this.
But at the same time religion is a religion of mercy and love is above law. There is no doubt about this as well. In other words, there is nothing that Krishna couldn't forgive us. Krishna is ready to forgive everything.
He doesn't pay attention to our shortcomings. No but in order to be forgiven in a society where there are laws, sincere repentance is needed.
To protect others against blurring of values and principles, there must be effective laws. And we must understand that it's us whom the law protects.
Because if there are no laws without having any clear rigid form, our kind will go and look for something lower. The mind is constantly looking for the lowest standards to tell the mind that this
is not to be done, there must be laws. Like, for example, in the Indian society there were no divorces, and not only in India, in Italy until recently there were no divorces either.
And although people also had difficulties in marriage, because there is no marriage without difficulties, somehow or other people live because they knew that in general, you know, that there is no way back.
Instead, that immediately the number of divorces began to increase practically indefinitely, because instead of making some effort one follows the path of the least resistance.
At the slightest problem one thinks I'll get divorced and we'll find someone else. As if one is not going to quarrel or squabble with the other one We
need to understand very well that when we encounter someone, it's not by chance that Krishna sent us that person. We must solve our karmic problem with this person. That is to say, in a society there must be laws.
But nevertheless, we must understand that ultimately, if a person truly repents, we can make any exceptions for that person. There is only one condition: sincere repentance.
That the Vedic society was ruined by the overstrictness of the Brāhmaṇas when people blindly followed the law and forgot that eventually mercy or love is above any law.
We need to understand very well that there is no such sin that Krishna cannot forgive. And he can forgive very quickly. There is an interesting Christian story which I recently read about.
A man came to a holy father to an elder and said to him, I have committed a terrible sin and I decided to repent for three years. He said, No, three years is too much. There is no need for you to repent for three years.
The man said, how's that there is no need to repent for three years? The elders said it's it's fine, no need for such a long term. Okay, the man said, I'll repent for one year. The elder said, No need for one year either.
God can forgive much we could. Man said, okay, forty days then. No, no, no need, three days will be just enough. You simply need to be honest. And actually Krishna is even more merciful.
Sarva-dharmān parityajya. I can forgive everything, but a man should repent, and to repent sincerely. Madai and Jagai, determined not to do anything like that again.
And Lord Caitanya said, All the sins are avenged. And for a moment he turned black himself, and they were purified from all their sins. Devotees were horror-stricken when they saw this scene.
Therefore, if we are able to simultaneously create such a society in which people would be protected by the existence of strict laws based on the right principles, because this is necessary in order to protect us against our own mind and at the same time, if we could make it so that love would still prevail in society, then we would be able to create the perfect society.
How to do this is more difficult. But we should start with the laws in any case. We should start with the principles and rules. There always can be exceptions if a person is sincere.
Guidance from gurus and the Supersoul
This is good, of course, when we have a guru or someone else to talk to us. Because that's precisely why in Vedic philosophy which most of all emphasizes that God is situated in our heart and that God can speak to us.
But it always says that at the beginning one needs a guru who will be the outer personification of the super soul and we must accept
words as the words of the Supersoul. Similarly, the same rule applies to senior devotees who are our spiritual masters, assistants, and help him in bringing us.
If the instructions of our inner spiritual master are at variance with the instructions of the external guru, we must forsake the instructions of our inner guru in favor of carrying out the... But
at a certain stage when our samadhi one reaches the level of samadhi when one's mind is absolutely peaceful, then one can hear the super soul.
Śrīla Gosvāmī explains at which stage one doesn't need an external guru. He says that our mind can be our guru. Isn't that good news? Our mind can be our guru.
But that's the mind at the level of samādhi, mind which is absolutely completely undisturbed, mind that can be fully focused on something, mind through the clear prism of which I can see Krishna himself.
Before that I shouldn't trust, because who knows what guru whispers to me. That might not be guru, that might be the spirit of my grandmother who has possessed me. In the best case, my grandmother's, in the worst case some other
more malevolent. And the most amazing thing is that this ghosts sometimes people, and this too is our desire to be deceived, sometimes people say but what they're saying is all true.
My dear devotees, I cannot resist quoting such an Maharaj in this moment. My dear devotees, my dragon lies ninety nine percent correct. That's exactly why it's a lie.
If all of it was incorrect, it would have been very easy to recognize it. Therefore, all the things that someone whispers to us can be 99% correct. But there will be 1% which will poison all the rest of the 99%.
There will be a fly in the ointment that will poison it all. Therefore, it's better to go safely.
There is a safe path, there are Śrīla Prabhupāda's books, there are Śrīla Prabhupāda's instructions, there are spiritual master's instructions which are non different from what he gives.
And there is in a harmonious and balanced manner everything we know. There is the experience of those who have walked the spiritual path.
Distinguishing liberation from pure devotion
Why not to take them? This is my innovation. My contribution to our... sampradāya.
Not quite the word, because it's said that there is Sārūpya Mukti, Sārṣṭi Mukti, Sāmīpya Mukti, Sālokya Mukti. There are four types of vaiṣṇava mukti which are accepted by vaiṣṇavas in order to readily serve Krishna. They can be on the same planet with Krishna, they can have the same form as Krishna, they can enjoy the same benefits as Krishna
or opulences, or be near Krishna. But this is accepted by Vaishnavas reluctantly. Because that is not a binding guarantee that they will serve. Mukti is mukti.
And mukti means that one lives on the planet of the spiritual world. Well let's assume that one is not a Vaishnava. But for some reason or other, by virtue of practice in miśra-bhakti, not pure bhakti, but miśra bhakti,
One hasn't understood the importance of the relationship with God, and the primacy of the relationship with God.
The fact that this is the most important thing and the importance of love and one eventually desired liberation. One has obtained liberation and has found oneself in the spiritual world.
One lives there and it's nice there. Basically one is very pious. One follows all the rules in the spiritual world. But one has no manifest, no clear love for Krishna. And one doesn't serve Krishna.
One doesn't have the passion to serve Krishna, to do something for Krishna. And generally one's concerned about oneself to a certain extent. One doesn't interfere with others, one is quite a harmless creature.
One has four hands if he has sārūpya-mukti. One lives there somewhere, somehow, but one doesn't have bhakti. Muktim dadati karhiti yoga. Muktir dadati samāna bhakti yoga.
Muktir dadati samāna bhakti yoga. That I easily give mukti. But bhakti yoga that's more difficult. Because Krishna knows that one should be absolutely pure in order to get bhakti. And he's not in a hurry to give bhakti.
But mukti he can give with his leave. Mainly bhakti. Bhakti is the utmost.
Overcoming envy through Vaishnava cooperation
You won't find this in any other philosophy. They've classified the entire philosophy into sambandha, abhidheya and prayojana.
And it all starts with sambandha, with the understanding of relationships, with the understanding of what relationship connects me with Krishna. What kind of relationship connects me to the world?
What relationship connects me with other living beings? I have to properly train myself here and establish my relationship. If I haven't done that, how am I going to become a paramahamsa?
Paramahaṁsa means one who doesn't fall down. What destroys relationship between people? Envy. How can I get rid of envy? If I don't have relationship with other people.
Actually, society has a beneficial effect on people just because they are relationships and in the context of those relationships I can see my envy.
If I've decided to become paramahaṁsa and I go somewhere into a cave to chant mantras. This is sūkarāviṣṭhā. You feed your mind on a false sense of honor that you want to get.
Whereas actually in the context of relationships, I will be able to more easily get rid of all these problems and especially important in this aspect are the relationship with our equals.
Why do we speak of friendship and why do we emphasize that friendship is necessary?
Because in the relationship with equals, one can easily see his problems, jealousy, envy, which impede him, including his relationship with Krishna.
Because in my relationship with those above me, it's easy to pretend. We come and somehow naturally we are all humble.
In the relationship with youngers it's easy to play the role of a righteous Vaishnava because we understand that if we're playing this role properly, we'll get something from them, some dividends.
Therefore, what not if we learn in our relationship with our equals to put aside our false ego which prevents us from establishing relationships and only one thing prevents us from establishing relationships, false ego and pride.
If we learn to put it aside, take our false ego off and live in the devoted society like simple souls, like humble Vaishnavas, like those who want to achieve the highest goal, the highest ideal, those who go in that direction, and for that sake work in conjunction with others.
Śrīla Prabhupāda said a very important thing, these were practically the last words he said addressed to us. Your love for me will be proven by the way you can cooperate with each other. Cooperation means friendship.
We cooperate with each other, being uh being friends, striving to achieve the common goal. But people have misheard Śrīla Prabhupāda who said your love for me will be proven by the way you can cooperate with each other.
People misheard a little bit and instead they heard your love for me will be proven by the way you can compete with each other. And they began to compete. This is envy.
Into a society of people anticipating paramahaṁsa's anticipating paramahaṁsa ismikhakta and meanwhile exhibiting rudeness. See you tomorrow.