Stages of spiritual development. Lecture 3
Бхакти Вигьяна Госвами · Muscat · 2019
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Recapping stages of spiritual development
Om namo bhagavate vāsudevāya, oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya.
Nārāyaṇaṁ namaskṛtya naraṁ caiva narottamam, devīṁ sarasvīṁ vyāsaṁ tato jayam udīrayet. Naṣṭa-prāyeṣv abhadreṣu nityṁ bhāgavata-sevayā, bhagavaty uttama-śloke bhaktir bhavati naiṣṭikī. Sevaya, Nityambhama Bhagavatam Slowke, Bhakti Bhavati Nashtiki, Bhakti Bhakti Nai.
So on the first day on Thursday we started little discourse on the uh uh beginning stages of spiritual development, starting with Shraddha and then Sadhu Sangha, Bhajanakriya.
And we started talking about the development spiritually, and compare this spiritual development with the development of a child.
Because in reality, we are all from the spiritual point of view small children. the spiritual point of view small children.
And I was trying to elaborate on this metaphor of spiritual development, how the spiritual development is similar to the development of a child. The growth of a child, because in reality,
as much as the child is growing by developing his ego, his understanding of who he is in the material world, the material sense.
In a similar way, when we grow spiritually, the essence of this growth is to understand who we are in a spiritual sense.
What we are supposed to do, how we're supposed to speak, how we're supposed to think, how we're supposed to feel. And we were describing that this is a gradual process. Initially, small baby, he cannot do anything.
The only thing which he can do is to trust, to trust his mother. He cannot even choose the mother. The mother is given to him. So, in the similar way, when we meet with devotees, it's arranged by God.
It is said when we have sincere desire inside our heart, God is arranging our meeting with devotees, and devotees influence our heart. And this Shraddha starts. And Shraddha is nothing but spiritual babyhood.
When we have this initial trust without much knowledge, without much understanding. But especially yesterday we were talking about different kinds of Shraddha,
that it's very essential and important that from the very beginning the seed of śraddhā.
And in reality, what is śraddhā? Śraddhā is a infinitesimal particle of Brahman. It's a seed which is supposed to develop into the full-fledged love of God.
Shastra as foundation of faith
So, in order to develop properly, the seed should be proper. And yesterday I was talking about this Loki Shraddha and Shastri Shraddha.
Krishna Himself says in Bhagavad-gītā, Tasmāt śāstra-pramāṇam te. Shastra should be the main Brahman, the main evidence, the main proof of the truth, the source of right knowledge.
So we are growing and uh uh Shastra or Shastrik face or Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura sometimes call it tatvik shradha should be the driving force behind our growth.
As much as the mother's milk is the nourishment for the growths for the little baby. Without mother's milk, the baby will not grow. In the same way, we will not develop spiritually unless we get the milk of Mother Veda.
Sometimes Prabhupada called Vedas or Vedic scriptures as mother. They are mother. And the spiritual master of Sadhu whom we meet, I mean he is father, but he is giving us the milk of the mother.
He's supplying us the milk of the mother. He speaks from Shastra. And it's very important.
And yesterday I was describing different lakshanas or different signs, how we should determine whether our shradha is in shastra or in something else.
Because there is this Lokika Shradha which is conventional, which is social shradha. And it's very common when people traditionally religious or they take religion as their tradition, you know, like people say, I'm Russian, therefore I'm Orthodox Christian. They don't know anything about Orthodox Christianity, but because they are Russians, they are Orthodox Christian.
And in the similar way, you know, we are Hindus. Why we're Hindus? Because we were born. Nobody knows what Hinduism is, and you know what it is. But yeah, holy or something like this.
So this Lokika Shradha is very much different from Shastra Shraddha. We spoke about this yesterday. Today I will continue this same topic.
And I will go to next stages of spiritual development, beginning stages. What is Sadhu Sangha? What is the difference between Sadhu Sangha and Sradha? And as I said, as much as the child undergoes certain crises by going from stage to stage in his development.
There is a special branch of psychology which is called developmental psychology, which actually describes the crises which every one of us undergoes while growing. So, in the same way, we have our spiritual crises.
When we uh become a little weak in our faith or some some and crisis is actually very good because it's the sign that you reach certain stage and you have to develop further.
So, therefore, I thought it's important for us to understand what does it mean? What is the difference between Shraddha and Sadhu Sangha? And what is the difference?
Uh what should take place when Sadhu Sangha turns into bhajana-kriya? And uh what is the difference between bhajana-kriya and anartha-nivritti?
And how anartha-nivritti ultimately comes to niṣṭhā? And I gave this very important metaphor which I want to repeat quickly, but it's important to understand. I said that in the beginning, little baby can only trust.
Then when he becomes in his Komara age from one to five, then he learns to speak. In a similar way, when we are reaching Sadhu Sangha stage, we are learning how to speak in terms of spiritual language.
You know, we have to. Anyway, I will describe it. So first baby has to trust, then he has to learn how to speak, then he has to learn how to act properly.
What he should do, what he shouldn't do, that's paugaṇḍa age, and that's basically bhajana-kriya. And then and uh when he reaches his teenagers, when he becomes Kaishore, then he learns how to sing.
So in the similar way, when we reach the stage of anartha-nivritti, We should learn how to think spiritually. Initially, we're just speaking, repeating something without really understanding what it means.
Then we try to do something cooperatively. It's very important to act cooperatively on the stage of bhajana-kriya together. Learn cooperation, learn to respect other devotees, learn to be in the society of devotees.
That's very important. Then the next stage we should think, we become conscious. Unfortunately, before that, our practice of Krishna consciousness is little unconscious. It's natural.
As much as the little child he is not really capable of properly thinking or deeply thinking before he reaches teenage age. And then in the next stage, the child learns how to feel.
These elevated emotions and feelings are coming only after that. So therefore before reaching Nishta there is no question about spiritual emotions.
Any emotions which we have before is just a shadow, a little glimpse, something which is given to us, which is coming from the higher realm.
But the real education, emotional education or emotional formation starts when we reach the stage of Nishta, when we become very humble, trādapi su-nīcena taror api sahiṣṇunā, very tolerant. And from that stage onwards, our real spiritual development starts.
Initial appreciation of pure devotees
So that's a little repetition of what we gone so far. And I want to read a verse and purport which describes this early stages of development from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
It's a famous verse, naṣṭa-prāyeṣv abhadreṣu nityaṃ bhāgavata-sevayā bhagavaty uttama-śloke bhaktir bhavati naiṣṭhikī. Pra. What vice born sages vipra.
By serving those devotees who are completely freed from all vice, great service is done by such service one gains gains affinity for hearing the messages of Vasudev. And Prabhupada, I will read part of the purport.
The conditioned life of a living being is caused by his revolting against the Lord.
There are men called Deva or godly living entities, and there are men called Asuras or demons, who are against the authority of the Supreme Lord.
In the Bhagavad-gītā 16th chapter, a vivid description of Asuras is given in which it is said that Asuras are put into lower and lower states of ignorance, life after life, and so sink to the lower animal forms and have no information about the absolute truth, the personality of Godhead.
These Asuras are gradually rectified to God consciousness by the mercy of Lord's liberated servitors in different countries according to the Supreme Will.
Such devotees of God... and when they come to save human society from the dangers of godlessness, they are known as the powerful incarnations of the Lord, as sons of the Lord, as servants of the Lord, or as associates of the Lord, but none of them falsely claim to be God themselves.
This is a blasphemy declared by the Assuras and the demonic followers of such Asuras also accept pretenders as God or His incarnation.
In the revealed scriptures there is a definite information of the incarnation of God, no one should be accepted as God or incarnation of God unless he is confirmed by the revealed scriptures.
The servants of God are to be respected as God by the devotees who actually want to go back to Godhead. Such servants of God are called Mahatmas or Tirtas, and they preach according to particular time and place.
The servants of God urge people to become devotees of the Lord. They never tolerate being called God.
Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was God Himself according to the indication of the revealed scriptures, but he played the part of a devotee.
People who knew him to be God addressed him as God, but he used to block his ears with his hands and chant the name of Lord Vishnu. He strongly protested against being called God, although undoubtedly, He was God Himself.
The Lord behaves so to warn us against unscrupulous men who take pleasure in being addressed as God. Anyway, so I wanted to read this verse because according to our acharyas this verse describes this dynamic.
Please listen very carefully. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura explaining this verse, he says that first is the service.
Our spiritual development or our transformation from the conditioned state of life starts when we serve or appreciate a devotee. Initial service doesn't mean real service, it's just little appreciation.
If we see somebody and we develop little appreciation to his purity, to his to his sincerity, to his endeavors, or to whatever, you know, even little appreciation means beginning of our spiritual life.
Without this appreciation, so many people met with Srila Prabhupada, who became devotees, who were capable of appreciating him. How this appreciation is taking place because of our Bhakti bhakti-unmukha-sukṛti.
If we have some pious credit or at least even no credit, but you know somehow or other we see the devotee and we say he is good, our spiritual life starts.
There is a very interesting story which one disciple of Srila Prabhupada tells how he became a devotee. He was a hippie and he was a teenager. He was 16 years old. His name is Mahabudi.
And he developed this very nihilistic attitude towards everyone, you know, as olders usually develop. I know better. So and then he saw in California where he lived a big poster,
the guru of the International Society of Krishna Consciousness, His Divine Grace, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda. And he became very, I mean, he became really angry.
He said, you know, I prove that he's not the guru. I know better. You know, who he thinks he is, you know, and all these fanatical followers, this and that, his divine grace, you know, all this nonsense.
Anyway, so he had a mission in life. His mission was to disprove that Prabhupāda was a guru. So without thinking twice, he takes his car,
he's in one little town in California and drives to Los Angeles to meet with this guru. And in a car he's trying to figure out what are the criteria of Guru. And first essentially, Guru should read my thoughts.
That's the first criteria. If he can read, he's a guru. You know, and then uh what was this what else was there?
You know, anyway he had four uh or three or four criteria for guru which he figured out on the way while driving the car. And you know he comes he comes to see Prabhupada and Prabhupada is there.
He's giving darśana, sannyāsīs sitting there, and you know, somebody brings this young devotee there.
And Prabhupāda looks at him and uh and and Prabhupāda immediately sees through him and he immediately sees everything which is going on in his head.
And while speaking, Prabhupāda addresses directly him. And he says: somebody thinks that Guru should know what is going on in our head. That's what he starts with. And so on so forth.
So you know one after another Śrīla Prabhupāda proved to him that he is the guru like this on the spot and he he you know he's he's impressed he was very impressed. So he goes back and he
thinks, you know, what shall I do now? It's really something special. And then he got some savings. And he says, I will, you know, I will donate this $1,000 to this guru, to this A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda.
So he drives back and he's shy because Prabhupāda really smashed him in the first meeting and he doesn't want to see him anymore. But he developed this appreciation, little appreciation to Prabhupada.
So he he comes to him and he not to him, he comes to the temple and he gives to one devotee this check for 1,000 dollars and says, please give it to Swamiji. And this devotee says, okay, he goes up and he gives this check to Swamiji.
And then he comes back and he says, Swamiji told me to tell you that you understand everything right, you got it right. So anyway,
so what what I mean to say that our spiritual life starts when we develop little appreciation to spiritual people. When we meet with a sadhu. Who is sadhu? Sadhu is the Sanskrit word sadhost is coming from the root sad.
Sadh means to achieve something. Sadhu is somebody who practices some spiritual practice to achieve spiritual goal and who engages others to do it. Sadhnoti Sadhayati Sadhu.
Sadhu is somebody who is who really knows what is the goal of life. And if you develop little appreciation, then shradha of faith comes.
Accepting guru as spiritual shelter
And if you're lucky, this is proper Shraddha phase. And then it is said, Shushushok Shradanana Sea Vasudeva Katharuchik Syan Mahatseva. First is Mahatseva.
First, you start serving the Mahat, the great devotee of the Lord, or somebody who is who is great, who is real sadhu. And then Punyatirtanishevanat. Specifically it is said here, Punyatirtanishevanat.
And the you know the common translation of this phrase would be: Punya Tirtanishevanat, you start serving Tirtha, you start serving the holy places.
But Vishwana Chakravati Thakur and Auracharyas, while translating this line, they take the meaning of Tirta as Guru.
Because Amar Kosh, the dictionary, says that one of the meanings of Tirta, Tirta means the holy water, the Charanamrita. Tirta means the holy place, and Tirta means guru.
Because the word Tirka is coming from Sanskrit root tree, which means to swim and also means to cross, to cross over.
So Tirthe means the place where you can cross from this material sphere to spiritual sphere of existence. And Tirtan means guru because Guru is the one who helps you to do this.
Therefore, Punya Tirtani Shana, that's the next stage of spiritual development. You develop some Shraddha. Shraddha means respect. Shraddha means appreciation.
Shraddha doesn't mean blind faith. Shraddha means appreciation of a spiritual person. But then the next stage after this appreciation
should come, which is very important, when punyā-tīrtha-niṣevaṇā you start more consciously serving this person as a guru. You start hearing him, consistently hearing him. That's the next stage of spiritual development.
That's the difference between Shraddha and Sadhu Sangha. On the stage of Sadhu Sangha, you start hearing with the idea that you're taking some commitment.
Sometimes people, they have difficulty, they develop some shraddha, and that's the crisis in this transition between shraddha or first stage of spiritual development and the next stage of spiritual development because
when we uh start coming to sadhu sangha, sadhu sangha actually means that I'm taking some commitment, commitment to follow what I hear.
There are so many people who hear spiritual philosophy here for years and years and years. And sometimes we in ISKCON call them friends of Krishna. They're friends of Krishna. What does it mean? It doesn't mean anything.
It means that they're little favorable. It means that there is a little appreciation there.
But it doesn't go further, it doesn't develop into commitment, because in reality, if you have Shraddha and if you listen carefully, then the desire to follow should develop in your heart.
And that's exactly what is said here, because punyā-tīrtha-niṣevaṇāt, you start serving the Guru, serving means following.
And as I said, in this stage, first stage of spiritual development, when you develop little desire to follow Guru, then your duty is to learn the language. As much as the little child is learning the language how to speak.
In the same way, the first duty, when in the stage of sadhu sangha, even before you take initiation, you have to get the basic definitions of everything.
According to Vedic culture, when the brahmacārīs were grown up, the first thing which they learned, they know what they learn first? Amarakośa. Because Amarakośa gives the definition of the basic words.
And in a similar way, when we start our spiritual journey, the first thing which we do after developing some little appreciation, after developing some initial phase, faith or trust into Vedic culture, into Vedic scripture, into Bhagavad-gītā, into the society of people who follow Vedic culture.
The next very important stage is to learn proper definitions of the terms. Because otherwise we will not be able to speak the common language.
The common language is very important, and common language means common understanding. When we say karma, we should all understand what karma means. When we say bhakti, we should all understand what bhakti means.
Because people have sometimes very weird conception of what bhakti is and what it is. And therefore, Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, he wrote this Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu.
And Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu is a paribhāṣā grantha. Grantha where he gives definitions. Very clear, concise definition according to the rules of Nyaya.
The definition, it's the whole science, how to give definitions, how to define terms.
So I also mentioned in our first discourse, when we were talking about this that Bhaktivinoda says that in the beginning it's very important to hear, not just to hear a little bit from here, a little bit from there.
But he says that for proper spiritual development, it's very important to have Krama Shuddha Shravanadasa.
When you hear systematically, and systematically basically means in the initial stage of our spiritual journey, it's very important to understand what we mean when we say devotional service. What bhakti means.
Anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyam jñāna-karma-ādy-anāvṛtam, ānukūlyena kṛṣṇānu-śīlanaṁ bhaktir uttamā.
What is bhakti? The definition is given and we really have to understand the depths of this definition. The definition of the basic terms.
I can see how this, you know, we were talking with Prabhakarji about how there is so much diversity is there.
And in one sense, diversity is natural, but diversity when it becomes too much diversity and no unity, it becomes a big problem because people start fighting. It's amazing.
There are so many religions, and basically religions agree that there is God. There is one God, and uh, you know, at least some religions agree that there is one God. But then, you know, even this is uh not possible.
I remember I was a part of Hindu delegation in the Millennium Convention, uh Interface Convention in United Nations.
It was a big delegation, so many different faiths came, you know, representative of faith, Christians, so different denominations of Christians, Muslims, Jewish people, Hindus, and you know, some tribal people from Africa.
And on the first day, one Japanese journalist somehow or other got hold of me and said, What do you expect from this conference, from this symposium, from this convention?
And I said, you know, I thought I didn't expect anything, so I I knew all these interface gatherings, they're quite I mean they're not very productive usually. And indeed it was very unproductive.
And then but he said, what do you expect?
I uh I said I expect that at least people will uh I I thought a little bit and I said uh that at least people understand that there is one God and everyone worships the same God and there is no use of quarreling over it.
And then this Japanese person he made his eyes little round, as much as Japanese people can make their eyes round. He was very surprised.
And he said, uh you know, we don't believe in God at all, we are Buddhists. So there's no God according to Buddhist. And uh so my idealistic hope was shattered even before the conference started
What I mean to say is that people they they have very diverse idea. Why? Because uh uh they don't have common language.
They have very different definitions of this and they start quarreling over trivial things, you know. God is this or God is that. So therefore, to have to know common understanding and
for us, for us as a society, we're trying to build a society. Society means to know the proper language. Proper language means to know the proper terms, how we use the terms. What is Shraddha?
You know sometimes people say it's faith. No, it's not faith. It's Shastriya Shraddha. It's faith into Shastra. It's not even facing to Shastra.
I gave yesterday the definition of shāstrīya-śraddhā. What is śāstrīya-śraddhā? Who remembers? According to śāstras viśvās. No. Shastrartha Vishwas. The trust into the meaning of the Shastra.
Not just even belief in Shastra, but the trust into the meaning of the Shastra.
That's what we mean when we say śraddhā faith. So it's it's very important and uh the initial period Krama Suddha Shravanadasha means that we should systematically hear and understand the language.
Otherwise, and I know, you know, I'm, people heard a little bit from here, heard a little bit from there, and then they start quarreling.
Sometimes there are debates in our society, people are, you know, this is right or this is wrong.
And I, I, I listen to this and I, you know, I can't understand why people are so agitated, you know, they're speaking about the same thing but because they don't really have common language. That's the problem.
No common language.
Taking personal responsibility while hearing
Therefore, initial stage, sadhu sangha means we learn from sadhu a common language, how to speak, what we mean, what is what is the what is this philosophy all about? So that's what it is.
And as I said, this is very important in this stage to understand that when we hear something, it means some responsibility.
I remember very clearly when I first time read the Bhagavad-gītā, it was long ago, it was actually almost 40 years Gita, it was long ago, it was actually almost 40 years back. I was a young person in Russia.
I didn't know anything. I read the Bhagavad-gītā. But my first thought after this, I was So impressed by the Bhagavad-gītā. It was very short.
It was not Prabhupāda's Bhagavad-gītā, it was a very short Bhagavad-gītā, only verses.
But my first initial thought was that this book, after reading this book, I should change something in my life. I cannot live the same life as I lived before.
Because after reading this book, I felt that there was this sense of responsibility. I am responsible to change my life. I would feel myself as a hypocrite if I wouldn't change my life.
And luckily somebody told me that you should become vegetarian to start with. I said, okay, if this is implied, I will do it. And uh, you know, here I am sitting in front of you.
But again, as I said, this is the stage where we have to understand that there is some responsibility. Hearing is not recreation.
Sometimes people come, you know, and you know, being always speaking, I know that there is a pressure from the audience, tell a joke. Too much philosophy. Too long, too much philosophy. Now it's time for joke.
Because people they they have this idea that it's a recreation, it's entertainment. Monoranginum. You know, it's just, you know.
We came here and I'm, you know, here is the entertainer in uh in orange clothes, in saffron clothes, sitting and trying to entertain. No. That's not that's not correct.
The real purpose is that we hear and again as I said, hearing means taking responsibility. You know, the proper hearing is that you know I heard something and I should think, what should I change in my life?
Maybe something is not really correct. Maybe something should be changed. That's the proper hearing. Otherwise, it's just it's useless. It goes into one ear, comes from another ear.
uh very you know mm very wisely made two ears so that it can go right through you know no problem you
know so sādhu-saṅga means responsibility because again who is sādhu? We we have to understand sādhu is somebody who who goes to a goal who is not uselessly living his life. Sadnoti, he wants to achieve the goal.
Therefore, he performs sadhana. And the purpose of sadhu is also to engage others in the same process. And therefore, as I said, this developmental crisis in
this stage of sādhu-saṅga, sometimes people they have face and they feel this compelling force, but they're hesitant to take responsibility. They're really hesitant.
Therefore, sometimes people they hear, here come and they practice, they even chant, but they don't take initiation. Because initiation is a very serious step.
And one should not be in a hurry to do it, but one should not be also procrastinating for too long. It means that something is wrong. Something is not taking place inside.
And there are stories of this sort, of course. We can look around, we can look in ourselves. This is an important stage. And therefore, it is said specifically here: mahat-sevā Viprah.
First you appreciate then śraddhā develop, śraddhayānusṛṇuṣva Śraddhayān then first mahā-sevā, then śraddhā, then puṇya-tīrtha-niṣevaṇāt. And after puṇya-tīrtha-niṣevaṇāt, when you really take responsibility,
then the most important thing takes place, śuśrūṣā, the desire to hear appears. The passion to hear. Śuśrūṣā is a very special Sanskrit word, which means the one who is very eager to hear.
Like Mumukshu, is somebody who is very eager to get liberation. Śuśrūṣu means somebody who is very eager to hear, but conventionally this Sanskrit word means the one who is eager to serve.
Because hearing and serving is the same. Hearing is service. Hearing again is not entertainment. Hearing means service and it implies that there is some impetus to serve.
So this desire to hear, real passion to hear, with the meaning, with the deep meaning which is there in the heart, only comes when we take responsibility.
Without taking responsibility towards a special path and the person who represents this path, there is no question of developing real taste for hearing. Vāsudeva-kathā-ruci.
Cooperative practice during bhajana-kriya
Vāsudeva-kathā-ruci, or interest into the spiritual matters, into the Kṛṣṇa-kathā, hari-kathā, Vāsudeva-kathā, the stories which are there in Vedic literature, in Bhagavad-gītā, and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, this real passion and deep interest only develops after you take responsibility, take initiation, and then the next stage
of spiritual development starts, which is called bhajana-kriyā. And bhajana-kriyā means developing this taste for hearing more and more and more. And again, it should be systematic.
First, you study Bhagavad-gītā with all the basic knowledge which is there. Prabhupāda used to say that Bhagavad-gītā is the ABC of spiritual knowledge, but who knows what is ABC?
I heard another uh another explanation of what is ABC, A B C D. A B C D means uh this is what I heard from American Indi Indians who live in America. ABCD means American-born confused desi.
You're born in America and you're completely confused because you're Indian and you know so much so much confusion is taking place. But anyway, ABC means Bhagavad-gītā. Not to be confused, as Prabhupāda said, Bhagavad-gītā is a special book to help us free from confusion.
Because Arjuna in the beginning is confused. He says himself, I am completely confused about my duty. I don't know who I am. And in the end, naṣṭa-mohaḥ smṛtir labdhvā, my confusion is gone. My confusion is completely.
So that's when we start. Initially, we we learn the definitions and the basic terms, but bhajana- kriyā starts when we systematically learn scriptures, it means Bhagavad-gītā and then Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
And Prabhupāda again stresses it. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam doesn't mean rasa-līlā. Sometimes people, when they have this Bhāgavatam pāṭha, it's only rasa-līlā, nothing else.
And everyone is, oh rasa-līlā, yeah, very nice, very, very nice. And nothing changes in the heart. Prabhupāda says there is a very specific design behind Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
And it means that you have to go from one Canto to another Canto to another Canto. And then you reach the tenth Canto, and rasa-līlā is there. Of course, it's the culmination of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
But you start with the first Canto. What is the first Canto? First Canto is the pramāṇa. It's adhikāra. The first Canto is explaining the adhikāra, the qualification which you need to go to the spiritual journey.
So that's what bhajana-kriyā means. And as I said uh in the beginning we learn to trust then we learn to speak bhajana-kriyā means we learn to serve we learn to serve together.
Because Vedic culture is about doing everything together. Vedic culture is very much about cooperation. Without cooperation, you will never reach God. Because in the kingdom of God everyone is cooperating with each other.
And we we only know how to quarrel with each other. That we are expert. You know how to. So, Vedic culture is about this, and bhajana-kriyā is about this. To hear together and to sing together.
Kīrtana means bahubhir militvā kīrtanam, it is saṅkīrtanam. Sankirtanam means when we sing together. And thinking together means our hearts should be together.
Sometimes we know, sometimes we have kirtan and it's, oh my goodness it's uh it's such a suffering it's such a misery because everyone is you know you you you physically can feel that everyone is thinking about something else.
Physically they are together, but the hearts are not together.
So bhajana-kriya means how to do things together to śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ smaraṇaṁ together, that we should speak about Krishna, we should think about Krishna, we should hear about Krishna together, how to do it in cooperation with each other.
Therefore, I said as much as in the initial stages of spiritual development, the association with seniors, with guru is important. On the stage of Bhajana Kriya, the very important addition is there.
The association with equals, with peers, with friends. It's extremely important. Without this, there is no spiritual development. When the child grows, at one point he has to have friends.
Without making friendship with other people, he will not develop in a proper person. He will not know how to respect equals.
He may respect those who are senior, but he will never understand what it means to respect those who are on the same platform as him. And that's what that's the essence of Bhajana Kriya.
Purifying internal motives in anartha-nivritti
Very important stage of development. And then anartha-nivṛtti comes, and anartha-nivṛtti, it's a very, I will have to finish soon. I will not go much further, but I wanted at least to come to this anartha-nivṛtti stage.
As I said, first the child learns how to speak, then he learns how to act, and then he starts learning how to think.
And it basically means it's a very critical stage of spiritual development when some people, when people understand that before that there was no Krishna consciousness.
Even though for 20 years I was practicing Krishna consciousness, but I've seen this crisis, I went through this crisis in my life. You understand that you wasted 20 years of your life.
You think you wasted 20 years of your life. It was not the waste, it was the preparation. But you understand that all your practice was mechanical, was not really deep.
You were doing this because everyone is doing, that's fine.
But actually, anartha-nivṛtti means that you start doubting about everything. It's a very painful stage of development, as much as teenagers start doubting everything. And it's good. In what sense it's good.
You have to really consciously decide whether whatever I was doing, I was doing right or not. Because so many things, you know, before you reach this stage, you're very happy.
Usually the you know the little children they are very happy and the Kumara they are very happy, Poganda are very happy. When they become teenagers there is a serious look in their face. And you know, very distrustful too.
Because again, they start thinking. And it's again it's it's very important.
It's very important because it's an inevitable stage of our spiritual growth where we have to reconsider many, many things. Something which we used to take for granted.
So much so, you know, I've seen people, they started doubting about everything about Hare Krishna mantra, whether Lord Chaitanya was God or not. Before was no problem, but then they start or not. Let's consider.
And it's good. We have to consider. Because initially we just, you know, Krishna consciousness is so nice, you know, prasadam is so good, and you know, kirtans and everything is so so good.
But then what we understand, uh what is very important at this stage, we realize that our goals were wrong.
That in reality, before we reach the stage of anatany vriti, we are in complete illusion that we are totally spiritual and that we are pure devotees, or maybe almost pure devotees.
It's called P D S I'm I'm completely pure syndrome hopefully it will be gone. So but uh at one point we we start understanding that uh It's a very it's a very uh it's very sobering.
One uh not so beautiful day we woke up and we realized that I I'm not a pure devotee, I'm not a devotee at all. I haven't started it yet. I was just doing something. I didn't understand how important it is.
So that's an important stage in our spiritual growth. The teenager period which is difficult.
The teenager period in our spiritual life is as difficult as the teenager's period in our material li There are so many different problems which were never before.
And sometimes, you know, sometimes you see all these devotees who were there for 20 years, 30 years, and they become. Initially everyone, is so enthusiastic, you know, every so nice. And then they become really serious.
Attaining emotional purity in nishtha
It's good because something is important taking place in their heart. And as I said, you have to pass through this stage to come to another stage which is called niṣṭhā, when the this emotions will come.
Our pass is pass of bhakti, and bhakti means spiritual emotions. And as it is said in Padma Purāṇa, that you will never be able to develop spiritual emotions unless and until you get rid of material emotions.
Shoka Marsha Di Bih Bavar.
It is said in this verse of, uh, Padma Purāṇa which is quoted by Rūpa Gosvāmī in Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu that, uh, all this emotion starting with śoka and amarṣa. Rasamrita Sindhu that uh all this emotion starting with shoka and amarsha. Shoka means grief and amarsha means anger.
You know, on the stage of niṣṭhā, people don't have anger. They don't have grief. Grief means. Grief means your śūdra. There is this very beautiful story from Upanishads when one Raikya Muni is speaking with one king.
And king is very morose. And the śrāikya Muni says, you're śūdra. Why? Because you're grieving. And this is actually the beginning of Bhagavad Gita. Asochan Vasochastvam. Nanusha Chanti Pandita.
Pandit is not grieving about what is not worthy of grief. Krishna is chastising Arjuna. You have grief. It means you are ignorant.
So, so basically, this stage of niṣṭhā means when you got rid of all these material emotions. And if you still have these material emotions of anger, lust, greed, grief. It means that you're not there.
It means that maybe you're not completely pure devotee. Yet. So that's the stage of niṣṭhā.
And to come to this stage, the anartha-nivṛtti is very much possible is very much needed. Without anartha-nivṛtti, you will never come to the stage of firm phase. When you develop real spiritual emotions. When your heart is free from these stressful emotions, emotions of material stress.
Somebody has grief sometimes, somebody is morose sometimes. No? Most of the time. So there is some room for improvement. There is something to do. Life is life is very exciting. Life of a devotee is very exciting.
We have so much to do internally and externally, of course, but internal should go first. Our internal development should be our first priority. Only then whatever we do externally will be proper.
Otherwise, if—and that's what is taking place in the stage of anartha-nivritti, we realize that we were too much externally engaged.
And ultimately we were after, you know, pūjā, lābha and pratiṣṭhā. All this subtle substitute of material lust, which are there.
We wanted appreciation, we wanted honor, uh, this is what is taking place in, uh, anartha-nivritti stage. We realize that there was some falsity in our spiritual life. And we try to purge this falsity in spiritual life.
And for that, at this moment, as I said, it's very important to help others. And this way, all the association is there.
We're helping others and by seeing their problem, we realize more clearly what is going on in our heart. And that helps to purify our heart more.
And then we reach the stage of niṣṭhā where our real spiritual development starts. The preliminary stages, the material component of our consciousness is very strong still.
The identification with the body, all the upādhis which are there are very, very strong and very prominent in our consciousness.
But from the stage of niṣṭhā, firm faith onwards when we purified our consciousness sufficiently then the real spiritual journey will begin. So that's a little introduction to spiritual life. Welcome to this journey.
Ravindra Svarūpa Prabhu, one disciple of Śrīla Prabhupāda, he said that in ISKCON, uh, you know, there was many things was in ISKCON. You know, sometimes ISKCON is a very interesting organization. He said, I met many, many unexpected things in ISKCON. Sometimes you don't expect these things in a spiritual organization. He said, but there's one thing about ISKCON: I was never bored in this con. Whatever else was there, I was never bored.
So if we have this a genuine spiritual hankering, eagerness to achieve some higher goal.
And to get rid of all this, you know, janma mrtyu jarāvyādhi, all this not very nice elements of material existence and develop real love, spiritual love within the heart.
We have to know the past very clearly. And we have to know where I am. And what is the task, what I'm supposed to do, what I am supposed to learn. And how I'm supposed to deal with all these problems and uh other things which are there.
So that was my little little talk to within these three days about these stages of spiritual development. There is much more uh which could be said, but I think it's enough.
Questions on spiritual destinations
Uh and I wish you very exciting spiritual journey. Maybe there are some questions. Otherwise there is a lot of nuts. Thank you for this uh wonderful class explaining the uh development of uh spiritual consciousness.
Um hearing from the qualifications that you spoke about uh uh Natani Virati and Mishta. Now at what stage does a diva become eligible to get transported to the spiritual world?
And if the answer is bhava or prema, when is this journey going to complete and what's the hope? Um that's a very interesting question. It really depends on your aspiration.
If your aspiration is to get to Goloka Vṛndāvana, which is the highest realm in spiritual world. Then only premā, nothing else. If you want liberation, niṣṭhā is okay. No problem.
If your goal is liberation, uh like Prabhupāda said, that you develop your, you know, dormant love of God in in stages. It's there, but it may not be fully developed.
And then you get you you get to Vaikuṇṭha, which is also nice. I mean, as I usually say, weather is good there. It's it's it's it's nice. It's a nice place. Vaikuṇṭha, no problem.
So uh if this is your aspiration, then Nishti is enough.
But if you want something higher, like we see in the story of Gop Kumar and Brihat Bhagavatam Ritam, you know, he was he was going from stage to stage, he was born in different planets of the universe, he was associating with sages, but his aspiration was the highest goal, and then ultimately, his guru came to him and said, Oh, if you want to uh go back to the earth, be born in Vraj, develop your praying and go to Galok Vrindavan.
So it may take a couple of lifetimes. It may take some time. But it very much depends on association actually. The uh the real um the real fuel of our spiritual development is association.
So depending on your association it may take longer or it may take the depending on your the quality and therefore we have to be always hankering for association with those who are higher than us, more pure than us.
That's very important. Always. Because Lord Chaitanya says, of course, we know this verse, we always repeat this verse. Sadhu Sangha, Sadhu Sangha, Sarva Shastra Hoy, Lava Matra, Sadhu Sangha, Sarva Siddihoy, Lava Matra.
And then everyone says, oh, Lava Matra, Sadhu Sangha, I had Lava Matra, Sadhu Sangha. No problem. Lava means uh one eleventh part of the second, you know. We have more.
But then he he says no, but uh in every stage, even in in the stage of prema you need sadhasangha. Even when you achieve the stage of prema.
The next verse, the very next verse in Chaitanya Cheritamrita says that even when you achieve the stage of prama, uh Sadhu Sangha is still mukya anga, is still the main limb of your practice.
So sadhu sangha is extremely important. And of course, there are two types of sadhu sangha. Associated with the scriptures is also sadhu sangha. Therefore, Prabhupada says there is this Nitya Bhagavata Seva.
You can associate with devotee Bhagavata and with the book Bhagavatam. So if you don't have Sadhu Sangha in the person, then always there is there is this chance for sadhusangha is there. It's much easier. More accessible.
I wouldn't say it's easier. I wouldn't say it's easier because devotees are more merciful than Srimad Bhagavatam. Srimad Bhagavatam keeps its secrets in. Doesn't reveal.
I mean when we want to associate with uh the devotees, many times are modes and poetry who comes in the middle. Yeah. That's also true. That's also true. That's also true.
But still, you know modes are always coming, no problem. Any more questions? No? Otherwise not say here. Yes.
Uh what I understand is that in this process you are going to have a period where you will stop doubting everything. Um so what is your uh advice Maharaj to sustain sadhana during that period?
When you reach this period we will talk. In the beginning you know it's don't don't think about it in the beginning. Just take as much prasāda as possible, no problem. But be prepared, it will come.
It's as if you know you are a small child and you start thinking what I will do when I become teenager. You will never figure it out. Okay. Thank you very, very much. I was very happy to be with you.
Thank you for your kindness and for your for your you were listening me, tolerating me for so long. Thank you very much. Don't let battery and the fai maharaj