Author Archives: Chaitanya Charan

How to reconcile Krishna’s omniscience with our having free will?
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Transcription
Question: How to reconcile Krishna’s omniscience with our having free will?

If Krishna knows past, present and future, how do we reconcile that with the fact that we have free will? Or if we have free will, how do we reconcile that with Krishna’s knowing past present and future?

Answer: Firstly, Jiva Goswami explains in the Sandarbhas that when we approach Krishna, there is the concept of Achintya tattva, inconceivability that needs to be understood. What does inconceivability mean? He says that sometimes scripture talks about two attributes of God or two spiritual principles. Now, they seem contradictory to us, but they are not necessarily contradictory. Why? Because God can have powers that we don’t have. He says if scripture is saying two statements, say for example, scripture says that the Absolute Truth is personal and scripture also talks that the Absolute Truth is impersonal. How that is so? That we don’t know, but we accept both as true.

Similarly, scripture is quite clear that we have free will. The end of the Bhagavad Gita is what? Krishna is asking Arjuna, yathecchasi tathā kuru (18.63). Scripture is also clear that vedāhaṁ samatītāni vartamānāni cārjuna bhaviṣyāṇi ca bhūtāni. In 18.63, Krishna is emphasizing our free will. In 7.25-26, he says that Him no one knows, but He knows everything. How is this to be reconciled? I will talk about three main points in this.

First is that God’s knowledge of the future is like our knowledge of the past. What does that mean? (Laughter). Our knowledge of the past is knowledge without control. I did something in the past, I know it, but I can’t correct it right now. God’s knowledge of the future is also knowledge without intervention. It is not that Krishna cannot intervene, but He chooses not to intervene because He respects our free will. So, it is not necessary that knowledge has to mean that our freedom is taken away. This is a philosophical analysis. From a little more practical point of view, what it means is that if there are three roads on our path, there is a road over here, this road goes to a rocky area, this road is a smooth road, and this road goes into a dead end. Now, if someone takes a particular road, we know eventually what is going to happen. Choices are connected with consequences. So, which choice will lead to which consequence is known to a person who knows the whole area/terrain. But that does not still mean that that person forces the person to make a particular choice.

Similarly, Krishna knows the future in the sense that He knows there are certain choices that will lead to certain consequences, but still He gives us free will by which we can choose.

Secondly, and more importantly, in the spiritual realm, more important than knowledge is love. That means if you see when Krishna performs Krishna leela, He knows what is going to happen. It is He […]

​When the modes control us, how do we have free will?
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Answer Podcast

Transcription

Question: When the modes control us, how do we have free will?

So, when we act, our actions happen under the three modes, and even when we act, we say ultimately everything is happening by Krishna’s will, so sometimes when we act, that is also a reaction to our past actions. So, in all this, where does our free will come in?

Answer: Yes. We can consider the modes as a triplet, which multiplies. There are three primary colors. From those three primary colors, we can have a large number of colors. Like that, there are three primary modes, from which there are wide varieties of combinations of modes that can come out.

The modes present us choices, but those choices are not compulsions. When we say we act under the modes, that does not mean that we have to act under a particular mode all the time. Krishna, in the 14th chapter of the Bhagavad Gita, when he tells about the three modes, it’s like we could consider three modes as, I have come till this point, and now I have three courses of action. Now, I have to go on one of those three courses. If we are practicing bhakti, we can say there is a fourth course of transcendence, but I have to go according to one of those, but which of those, that is up to me. So that means the modes determine the gamut of our choices. The modes don’t determine our specific choice.

For example, sometimes, you know, if there is a multiple-choice exam, and sometimes within the multiple-choice exam, there is a typing mistake so that the right answer is not there only in the multiple choice. (Laughter). So then, I look at it, which is the capital of India, and there is no Delhi only. What do I do there? What has happened over here, the gamut of choices, that is determined by the examiner, but then, which choice the student makes, that is not determined by that five, among the five, there is choice. The student may just say all five are wrong, the student may just add a choice, none of the above.

The point is that the modes don’t determine our specific choice. The modes provide us a gamut of choices, and within that gamut of choices, if we have repeatedly acted according to a particular mode, then a particular kind of action, we may be more inclined to choose that, but we are not compelled to choose that. The capacity to choose always remains with us; the extent of the choice, that may vary. For example, even if somebody is a compulsive alcoholic, he says, I can’t live without alcohol. But you know, even within alcohol, they may decide. Even if somebody says I can’t live without tea. Okay, but even within tea, you can take tea which is, you know, which is heavy tea or which is light tea. Somebody says I cannot live without sugar, I want […]

​Does the precision of astrological predictions imply that we don’t have free will?
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Answer Podcast

Transcription

Question: Does the precision of astrological predictions imply that we don’t have free will?

Answer: They are very factual and very accurately determine certain things about our lives.

Our past karma does determine certain major landmarks in our lives.

Suppose I am going from here to Melbourne, and I board a flight to Melbourne. Once I board a flight to Melbourne, the trajectory is more or less fixed. I can see that I am here now; I came to Calcutta; now I am coming to Bangkok; now I am coming to Singapore. So, the trajectory is more or less fixed, and once I have boarded that flight, I can’t change the trajectory. 

At the same time, when the flight is going along its trajectory, I have some choices. It also may be determined, once I take a particular seat, who is going to sit beside me; that also may be fixed. Who is going to sit to my left, and who is going to sit to my right? That may also be fixed. 

But within what I do, I still have free will, and I can be in a very argumentative mood. I fight and quarrel next to me. Then, I may become abusive and attack somebody. As soon as I come out of the plane, I am under arrest. Or I find that the person sitting next to me is a very influential businessman. I come up with a business deal. I had a lot of prospects in front of me after I came out of the flight.

Once I am in the flight, a large pattern of my life is fixed, once I boarded the flight. Still, within that, I have substantial freedom.

When we start our life journey, we consider our body to be a plane; we have ascended the plane. The body is a plane journey from birth through youth, middle age, old age, and ultimately death. That trajectory is fixed.

That trajectory can be told, to some extent, through astrology. Things like, when you go on a plane, they can tell where you are going to go, where the plane is at this time, who is going to sit next to you here, who is ahead of you, and who is going to be behind. Those things are fixed, but what we are going to do is not fixed.

Sometimes we may say, I want to change my seat; I want to go from here. I sit somewhere else. Some amount of freedom is there. Astrology determines certain things in our lives.Those who are accredited astrologers may be able to tell us about these things. Still, it doesn’t mean everything is determined.

For example, if I am born in India, a large percentage of the people with whom I am going to associate are Indians. That is fixed by my birth in India. I may migrate to some other country, and then the people around me change. Even there, I may want to associate with Indians because that’s what I am familiar with. Then […]

How to overcome spiritual boredom?
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From: Naresh

How to overcome spiritual boredom?

Transcription
Question by Naresh: How to overcome spiritual boredom?

Answer: There is no such thing as spiritual boredom. I think what you mean is that boredom while we practice spiritual life. Boredom is essentially a material emotion. When at the material level we do not find life to be titillating or enjoyable, then we call it boring. Now, sometimes, spiritual life may appear like that. It may not appear titillating, stimulating, enjoyable because we are going through the motions of practicing spiritual life without trying to take our consciousness deep within to the remembrance of Krishna. In material life, people try to do newer and newer activities externally so that they can get newer and newer pleasures. Now, people may try to eat new food, they may try to develop relationship with new partners; so, in all these things, people are trying to do external activities in a new way, but the essential pleasure remains the same because the pleasure is actually not in the particular objects but it is in the speculation/imagination of the ___ (1:39), ye hi saṁsparśa-jā bhogā, so the contact of the sense and sense objects is what?…. manasi-jam…it creates an imagination, stimulation in our mind of pleasure. So, whichever sensory impulse, whichever sensation stimulates our imagination the most, we think that that is the most pleasurable. But it is all temporary and never gives us any lasting happiness.

Now, in spiritual life, we do not do new things externally, we chant the same Hare Krishna maha-mantra, we worship the same deities, we study the same scriptures, Bhagavad Gita and Srimad Bhagavatam, then how can we experience happiness? If we keep searching for newness within spirituality in the external forms of the activities, then we will soon become bored. In material life, the activities are new, but the experiences remain the same. It is punaḥ punaś carvita-carvaṇānām, chewing the chewed again and again. In spiritual life, the activities remain the same, but the experiences are different. We chant the same Hare Krishna maha-mantra, but as our absorption in Krishna, as our intense devotional remembrance of Krishna increases, we experience greater and greater happiness and fulfillment.

So, to overcome boredom while doing our spiritual activities, we need to not just follow the forms of doing spiritual activity like chanting, taking darshan, studying scripture, but we need to do it with remembrance of Krishna. So, we can meditate that whatever I am doing, I am trying to do it to please Krishna, to serve Krishna, to love Krishna, and when we do it with that meditation, that focus, then we will find that gradually as we start connecting with Krishna more and more, the boredom will go away. And of course, if there are some activities within the devotional circle that we like to do, that give us a taste, then we can try to do them […]

Is personal association of devotees essential?
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From: SNS.Ravindranath:

is association of devotees relates to mind or personal association is required?

How can a person who is not in access with devotees can cope with this situation

 

Transcription
Question: Is personal association of devotees essential?

Answer: Personal association of devotees is extremely beneficial and largely essential for our spiritual advancement. This is because we are largely influenced by our surroundings and the desires of those people who are in our surroundings. Therefore, if we do not have devotee association, that means we have the association of non-devotees. Such association will often create non-devotional desires within us. Some of these desires will be non-devotional while some of them may even be anti-devotional. These are desires for indulgences that directly contradict the principles of devotional service.

Essentially, the purpose and the principle of association is the reception of devotional desires. Association is not just physical proximity, but is the receptivity to devotional desires. For example, when we visit a centre or a temple and associate with devotees and see how they are happy in their practise of devotional service and chanting the holy names, serving the Lord and doing various other services, all of this inspires us to also act similarly.

The power of inspiration and the association of devotees to instill within us similar devotional desires is almost irreplaceable. As far as possible, we need to orient our life in a way that we can at least have some association of devotees every week. If we can stay in a centre or near a centre or if we can stay with friends who are also practising devotional service, then we can have daily association. However, if that is not possible, then at least once a week we can go to some nearby centre or temple. Even if it is a little far away, the time and the energy spent is well worth it, because that association will surcharge us. The more we are inspired, the lesser the internal struggle and battle in bhakti.

When we are not inspired to chant Hare Krishna, then even if we have to chant a few rounds, they become a big burden. Therefore, we cannot evade difficulty when we are practising bhakti. If we take the trouble to associate with devotees and become inspired in that association, that will save us the trouble or at least decrease the trouble of battling with the mind, because we will be inspired and enthused.

If we are in a situation where associating with devotees even once a week is difficult, then we have to see what we need to change in our schedule so that we can have regular association. Krishna has given us 168 hours per week. We can at least arrange our life in such a way that we can give 2-3 hours to Him, to associate with His devotees. Even then, if it is not possible physically, then we can make a program to associate with devotees by calling them, by having email exchanges with them, maybe attending some classes on […]

Does becoming tolerant mean letting oneself be manipulated?
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From: P shah

Does becoming tolerant mean succumbing in situations where people try to be manipulative with you?

Transcription

Question by P. Shaha: Does becoming tolerant mean succumbing to situations where people try to be manipulative with you? 
Answer : Not at all. Tolerance does not mean that we allow others to trample on us. Tolerance essentially means that we don’t allow others to have undesirable effects on us.
You can read the article in the site – The Power of Humility and Tolerance (https://www.thespiritualscientist.com/2012/01/the-power-of-humility-and-tolerance/). Srila Prabhupada explains that one’s greatness has to be estimated by the ability to tolerate provoking situations. That means, when somebody comes and agitates us, at that time, if we blow up, then we may blow up the relationship, we may blow up our cool, and we may blow up the opportunity to get the particular work or service done.
Now, it doesn’t mean that blowing up is wrong. But tolerance enables us to choose the right response under specific situations. Like, if we are driving a vehicle and somebody cuts us in front of the road, then some people just start seething with rage and swearing, and they get high blood pressure although the person who has cut their way has gone long away. So, at such times, tolerance can help us to not get affected by the inevitable inconveniences that we experience in life. If we are working on a computer and the power just shuts down, or the computer temporarily breaks down, tolerance means that we will not let ourselves be affected by this.
Now, that doesn’t mean that we just sit passively. We also have to be active to see how the power can be restored, how the computer can be brought back to functionality. So, the essence of tolerance is not passivity. If we are merely passive, then we will be exploited, manipulated by others. But the essence of tolerance is to choose the appropriate response. That can range anywhere from activity to passivity and in between. So, in some cases, tolerance may require that we respond assertively. If in our workplace, our work is getting delayed because somebody else is being irresponsible and not completing their part of the work in time then we being tolerant doesn’t mean that we just passively let the complacency to continue and then bear the brunt of the criticism for the delayed output. We have to be assertive. We may have to tell the necessary authorities and make sure that it gets done.
So, tolerance may involve activity sometimes. But as I said, tolerance may also involve passivity sometime. If somebody just cut ahead of us and goes away, then it is better to be cool and not get agitated.
So essentially, tolerance is not about the external response, but it is about the motivation for that response. The tolerant person knows what is important, what is less important and what is unimportant in life. And in order to focus on that which is important, the person knows how to put aside that which is unimportant or less important.
Thus, tolerance enables us to prioritize what should get our attention. Just like, even in normal sense, if we are sitting in a place which is […]