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The post Daily Darshan:November25,2016 appeared first on Mayapur.com.

Ground Breaking Ceremony for A New Multi speciality Hospital at Sri Dham Mayapur happened recently during Ras Purnima festival.The city of Sri Mayapur is expanding,with its number of visitors and its residents increasing every passing year. Kirtan priya das , Nanda Suta das and Prana Gauranga Das  inspired and motivated by HH. Jayapataka Swami have […]

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Prabhupada Affirms: “No More Coming Down”

If we are at all aware of how dependent we are on God—for the food we eat, the water we drink, the air we breathe, and our very ability to eat and drink and breathe, to think and feel and do everything else we do—we will feel grateful and want to reciprocate God’s kindness. We will want to do something for He (or She or They) who has done, and continues to do, so much for us.

We often take things for granted until we lose them. I use my right hand to chant on meditation beads, and one morning I found that I had severe arthritic pain in my hand and could no longer use it for chanting. I had taken the use of my hand for granted, but when I lost its use, I resolved to never take my hand for granted and to always use it in the best way in God’s service.

How can we attempt to return some of God’s favor, some of God’s care—and love—for us? My spiritual master, Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, gave one answer:

“Whatever you have got by pious or impious activities, you cannot change. But you can change your position, by Krishna consciousness. That you can change. Other things you cannot change. If you are white, you cannot become black, or if you are black, you cannot become white. That is not possible. But you can become a first-class Krishna conscious person. Whether you are black or white, it doesn’t matter. This is Krishna consciousness. Therefore our endeavor should be how to become Krishna conscious. Other things we cannot change. This is not possible.

tasyaiva hetoh prayateta kovido
na labhyate yad bhramatam upary adhah
tal labhyate duhkhavad anyatah sukham
kalena sarvatra gabhira-ramhasa
      [Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.5.18]

Kalena, by time, you will get whatever you are destined. Don’t bother about so-called economic development. So far as food is concerned, Krishna is supplying. Eko bahunam yo vidadhati kaman. He is supplying even cats and dogs and ants. Why not you? There is no need of bothering Krishna, ‘God, give us our daily bread.’ He will give you. Don’t bother. Try to become very faithful servant of God. ‘Oh, God has given me so many things. So let me give my energy to serve Krishna.’ This is required. This is Krishna consciousness. ‘I have taken so much, life after life, from Krishna. Now let me dedicate this life to Krishna.’ This is Krishna consciousness. ‘I will not let this life go uselessly like cats and dogs. Let me utilize it for Krishna consciousness.’ ”

I pray that I will dedicate this life and everything I have—everything that God has given me—fully in God’s service, following His pure devotees.

manasa, deho, geho, yo kichu mora
arpilun tuya pade, nanda-kisora

“Mind, body, and home, whatever may be mine, I surrender at Your lotus feet, O youthful son of Nanda [Krishna]!” (Bhaktivinoda Thakura, Saranagati)

—Giriraj Swami

 

 

 

 

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 13 April 2013, Amsterdam, Netherlands, Srimad Bhagavatam 5.1.33)

To our book distributors, I would like to say this. When you are distributing books on the street, it is tough because people are not waiting for you. They did not come out to the streets to buy books. They came for another reason and then suddenly some ‘extra-terrestrial’ comes in his orange dress and tries to put a book in their hands, “Woah. Noooooooooo! Not interested.”

But sometimes, somebody is just a little absent-minded and you just like, “Bang!” put the book in his hands. You know, he has got it in his hands. Then he stands there looking at it and then you tell him, “Yes, yes, we are not selling them. This book is for you.”

“For me? Really? Oh.” And he has it in his hands. That is the nature of the hand; the hand wants to grab. And once the hand has grabbed it, then the hand does not want to let go. So, they have to have the book in the hand. Once they have the book in the hand, the hand wants to keep it even if the mind does not like it, “It’s mine.”

It is hard to let things go from your hand once you have got it. So then, you know, okay, some people will buy the book but there are also many people who say no. But those who had it in the hand but gave it back and said no, they will think about it, you know what I mean, like I said, it stays in the mind. They will be a little curious, “What was it anyway?”

Therefore, the people that say no today are the ones that are going to say yes tomorrow! They are already preparing the ground. So, do not worry about all those people that say no, it is okay. At least they got in contact; they had the chance and they let it go and they will start to think about it. And the next time a book is offered to them, they will think like well maybe…

Then sometimes, somebody walks up to you, out of nowhere and says, “Oh, can I have one of those books?” That is one of those guys that said no before and who has been thinking about it and finally, just on his own, comes and takes it. So in this way, we should penetrate with this knowledge because it is the real thing. We can tell people it is the real thing and it is! That is the nice thing and therefore sooner or later people will turn to it!

Eight years after celebrated ISKCON scientist Richard L. Thompson’s (Sadaputa Dasa’s) passing, his former colleagues and some rising young Vaishnava scientists are relaunching the Bhaktivedanta Institute of Gainesville. Their inaugural seminar, held at the Alachua Learning Center in North Central Florida on November 13^th, was dubbed “Bhakti Yoga & Science in the 21^st Century.”

The recent US elections created a divide in the country. Many people were happy with the election outcome while many others felt angry, letdown, frustrated, and even hopeless. How do we make sure that this mood and all the emotions we’re carrying around don’t end up on the dinner table when we sit down for Thanksgiving dinner? A video by Gadadhara Pandit Das.

By Sri Nandanandana das

I feel there needs to be some clarification about the use of the words “Hindu” and “Hinduism.” The fact is that true “Hinduism” is based on Vedic knowledge, which is related to our spiritual identity. Many people do accept it to mean the same thing as Sanatana-dharma, which is a more accurate Sanskrit term for the Vedic path. Such an identity is beyond any temporary names as Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, or even Hindu. After all, God never describes Himself as belonging to any such category, saying that He is only a Christian God, or a Muslim God, or a Hindu God. That is why some of the greatest spiritual masters from India have avoided identifying themselves only as Hindus. The Vedic path is eternal, and therefore beyond all such temporary designations. So am I calling the name “Hindu” a temporary designation? Continue reading "About the Name “Hindu”
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5 Ways to Thank.
No matter who we are or where we live we have someone (or something) to thank. Perhaps we thank the sun for brightening our day, or our car for starting without trouble. We may thank Krishna for our connection to Him, or our co-worker for helping us out. We thank because we are dependent on others in all aspects of our life. We thank because it is good for us, especially for our spiritual practice.

Devamrta, Niranjana, Sivarama Swamis.

A Little Girl Who Emptied Her Piggybank for a Krsna Book.
Pravin Wakle Prabhu and his team of young Youth Forum devotees at ISKCON Chowpatty very enthusiastically distribute books after work. Pravin works at a software firm in Lower Parel. After work he and his devotee friends put up stalls at either D-mart or at some spiritual event happening around the Thane / New Mumbai area.

Mayapur Institute in Gauranga Desh.
“The more one reads Bhagavad-gītā the more he gets the appetite to read and understand it, and each time he gets new enlightenment. That is the nature of the transcendental message. Similarly, we find that transcendental happiness in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. The more we hear and chant the glories of the Lord, the more we become happy.” – S.B. 3.25.2 Purport
Srila Prabhupada wanted every one of us to study his books systematically for our own benefit. It is evident in many of his writings, letters and lectures. To fulfill this vision of Srila Prabhupada, Mayapur Institute manifested.
In order to reach out to students who are not able to travel to India to study the Sastric Courses, Mayapur Institute holds courses in various locations around the world upon request. 35 Students successfully completed their Nectar of Instruction unit of Bhakti Sastri Graduation Program at Gauranga Desh.

Conversation.

Diverse Newcomers Delve into Prabhupada’s Books at Baltimore Bhakti Lounge. Originally the gatherings were held in a tiny space – barely more than a shed. Since being restarted in October, however, the Bhakti Lounge’s home has been a handsome, two-storey residential house with a wrap-around porch and comfortable furnishings, located near the ISKCON Baltimore temple in Catonsville, Maryland.

Yavat - Ter Kadamba Karttika 2016 (Album with photos)
Deena Bandhu Das: This is my very favorite parikrama to go to Yavat and ...

THE SCIENCE OF CONSCIOUSNESS CONFERENCE 2016
Recently I attended the yearly conference, “The Science of Consciousness”, at the Loews Ventana Canyon Resort in Tucson, Arizona. Sponsored for the past 23 years by the University of Arizona and the University of Michigan, and dedicated to “broad and rigorous approaches to conscious awareness, the nature of existence and our place in the universe”, this unique forum attracted over 1000 participants from 60 countries. Of the 500 submitted abstracts, mine was one of the 200 included in the poster session.
Here is the Abstract from my presentation:

Modes of Material Nature: A Mathematical Model of Consciousness Based on Eastern Philosophical Traditions Mauricio Garrido (Columbia University, Professional Studies; Bhaktivedanta Institute, Gainesville, New York, NY )

Consciousness is postulated by some to be a fundamental entity (Chalmers, 1996). As such, how is it affected by and how does it affect the world around us? Eastern philosophies such as Vedanta and Sankhya hold that consciousness is fundamental and explain its interactions with matter in terms of the modes of material nature, or gunas, which act as both consciousness filters and the make-up of
matter itself. Dasgupta (1961) describes the gunas as ?the universal characteristics of all kinds of mental tendencies? (p. 468). According to the Bhagavat Purana, on one hand all material elements are infused with the gunas. And on the other hand, our psycho-physical disposition consists of mixtures of the gunas (Prabhupada, 1976). Thus, more than just a personality indicator to describe an individual’s behavior - such as the Myers-Briggs Indicator (Langton & Robbins, 2007) - or perceptual sets that are created by motivation (Coon & Mitterer, 2008), the gunas have an important ontological status in the metaphysics of Vedanta and Sankhya. Although there have been studies on inter-guna correlations (Das, 1991 and Pathak et al., 1992), only until recently has a fully statistically-validated, quantitative tool been developed to assess them individually (Wolf, 1999 and Stempel et al., 2006). This tool has been used in meditation studies (Schmidt & Walach, 2014) and speech rehabilitation (Caturvedi, 2000). We now present a mathematical model of the gunas that aims at understanding the results of some of these studies, which use the tool developed by Wolf to quantify the gunas. A delineation of the different characteristics that make up the different mental faculties according to the Bhagavad Gita and Bhagavat Purana is presented to create interacting modules. The states of this machinery are then linked to the gunas and dynamics are included in this state-space. Finally, the results from some of the studies that involve guna theory are explained using this model

By Krishna-kripa das

I share an excerpt of a letter from Srila Prabhupada, and a quote from his guru, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura. I share inspiring selections from Vaishnava Compassion and Begging for the Nectar of the Holy Name by Satsvarupa dasa Goswami. I share notes on lectures Prahladananda Swami gave at 26 Second Avenue and The Bhakti Center. I share notes on a lecture by Adi Purusha Prabhu, who does Food for Life in New York City, and part of a conversation with Bhaktivinode Prabhu, a Prabhupada disciple who plays drum on harinama in Washington, D.C. I share notes on an excellent lecture by Ramesvara Prabhu at The Bhakti Center in glorification of Srila Prabhupada on the occasion of his disappearance day. I share notes on the classes of younger devotees at The Bhakti Center, including Murali Gopal Prabhu, Ananda Bihari Prabhu, Mahotsaha Prabhu, and Bhakta Cesar, and notes on a Sunday feast lecture by Gopal Hari Prabhu and from a performance of Yama Niyama Das Brahmacari, both in Alachua. I also share a nice realization on hearing about Krishna from Lavanga Devi Dasi of Krishna House. Continue reading "As Krishna enters the listening ear, He clears up the vision of the listener…
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By Krishna-kripa das

Since Vivekananda’s 1893 address to the Parliament of World Religion in Chicago, Aurobindo’s extensive writings on evolutionary theory in the early to mid-20th century, and Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda’s discussions with scientists and philosophers popularized by his young Hare Kṛṣṇa followers in the late 20th century, the natural sciences of the West have been on the mind of great thinkers from India. Focusing on how Bhaktivedanta Swami’s teachings have been developed and articulated in the early 21st century, this conference highlights developments from some of those on the forefront of the encounter between Kṛṣṇa consciousness and the sciences. Friends and followers of Sadaputa Prabhu, many in Alachua County, Florida, started a branch of the Bhaktivedanta Institute in Gainesville. They decided to do a practice conference on November 13, inviting devotee scholars to speak and present papers. What follows is some notes I took on the presentations of things that were striking to me. Continue reading "Bhaktivedanta Institute of Gainesville Conference
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Answer Podcast

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How can we know whether we are depending on our own endeavors or on Krishna?

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The post Does the mind tempt us because of the modes or do the modes tempt us because of the mind? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

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The post Bhikshu Gita 6 – See the mind’s aversion to concentration as a trick of illusion (Srimad Bhagavatam 11.23.47) appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Business leaders, spiritual teachers advocate charity in business.
“Our greatest treasure here is our own culture. India has a historic opportunity in today’s times to do great things for the benefit of the country and the World”, said Radhanath Swami Maharaj, ISKCON Spiritual leader and one of the keynote speakers at Artha Forum.
To read the entire article click here: https://goo.gl/3Zya1Z

The post Daily Darshan:November24, 2016 appeared first on Mayapur.com.

Prabhupada Teaches How to Stay High Forever

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 06 September 2016, Cape Town, South Africa, Srimad Bhagavatam 1.9.26)

Vedic culture is all about dharma. The kshatriya is not to become non-violent but they should use their violence only to protect the principles of religion thus they are protectors and not aggressors – not just big guys with big muscles; big bullies where you cross the road when you see one coming down the street. No, this is a sudra with muscles and there are plenty of them. It is not that everyone with big muscles is a kshatriya. The proof of that is Ekalavya who was practicing shooting targets with arrows and wanted to be a disciple of Dronacharya. The story goes as…

Once when the Pandavas and Dronacharya were on a forest excursion hunting, they had a dog with them. At one point, the dog targeted Ekalavya who was dressed in animal skin. The dog was barking at Ekalavya and Ekalavya shot an arrow and wove through the lips of the dog and sealed its mouth! This was quite an extraordinary feat so when Arjuna saw this, he said to Dronacharya, “You told me that you were going to make me the greatest archer in the world but look at this!?”

Then Dronacharya asked Ekalavya, “So, how have to learnt this art of archery… who is your teacher?” Then Ekalavya bowed down and said, “It is you who is my teacher!” Long before, Ekalavya had gone to Dronacharya to be accepted as a student and Dronacharya would not accept him, subsequently Ekalavya had made a statue of Dronacharya, worshipped that statue and continued his training in archery and had become very expert at it.

So when Ekalavya said, “You are my teacher, Guru Maharaj!”

Then Dronacharya said, “You didn’t give me any dakshin!”

Ekalavya, “Whatever you desire…”

Dronacharya, “Give me the thumb of your right hand!” and Ekalavya cut his right thumb and gave it!

So this is a bit gruesome, how could Dronacharya act in such a way? Is this Vedic, is this brahminical… Was there no love… Couldn’t he just accept Ekalavya as his disciple after all his effort and happily say, “You did well my boy…” For all his dedication what did Ekalavya get!? Losing the thumb of his right hand! Was Dronacharya a ruthless brahmana?

This is a bewildering pastime in the Mahabharata but if we look a little deeper, then we understand that kshatriya is not about muscle or arrows or archery… being a kshatriya is about dharma and dedication to dharma then the power, muscles, weapons and violence are meaningful! Violence without adhering to dharma is dangerous. Therefore Dronacharya was not cruel, he understood, “If I let this man out in the world without appropriate dharma, today he closed the mouth of a dog, tomorrow God knows what he will do this ability…”

So Ekalavya gave his thumb and was no longer a great archer but he became a true disciple of Dronacharya but at a price. He was not an archer but he got something else – he got the mercy of Dronacharya. By this sacrifice, he became elevated. In this way, he can see that ultimately, Ekalavya got the benediction of what he desired.

Typically, a group of people or an institution promote a particular cause or multiple causes. For example, a State University promotes the cause of higher education. A political party promotes certain causes to its electoral votes. A church or temple promotes set of values or causes related to scripture or gods in the name of religion. A nation of people come together to promote a specific cause in the name of nationalism etc. So like this in our society we have multiple groups promoting different and varying causes.

In order to address a problem invariably we have to be part or associate with a particular group or institution. So one may ask is the institution more important than the cause or is the cause more important than the institution? Which drives which?

There is a fine line between the institution and cause. If we as the adherents to the institution and cause do not realize the difference, then we will charter into the territory of sectarianism. Personally, sectarianism is the singular problem plaguing the minds of modern civilization. We become more passionate of the institution than the cause itself. Because in the real world, nothing is black and white like the mission statement of an institution which means to address one cause we have to cross party lines. So while we are loyal to an institution, party, caste or nation, it is essential we always remember to put the primary cause or problem in front of everything else. This mental due diligence will help us keep away from sectarian differences.

Perhaps in the real world, this may not be practical all the time but as an individual we can commit to always remind ourselves of why we are here and work with others and their differences to address our root cause.

Hare Krishna

When I was a new devotees it seemed like our spiritual advancement was like a rocket going straight and fast to our spiritual destination, and surely in a few years we would board that spiritual flower airplane piloted by the best of devotees, and go “back home, back to Godhead.” However, after some years my shiny, fast, roller blades become covered in thick, heavy mud and what had at first seemed like a full throttle race to the finish line turned into a slippery crawl, where sometimes I seemed to be going nowhere, or even sliding helplessly backwards down the rocky, dusty hill with no footing or holds.

Reading that Shrila Bhaktivinoda Thakur has sometimes referred to spiritual advancement in bhakti as the “zigzag path,” has normalized my ups and downs in spiritual life, helping me to understand my difficulties, or starts, stops, and reverses not as a personal anomaly but as natural for every seeker. When we are on the ground, we have to rise up with the help of the ground, so this is my attempt to stand and go forward aided with the staff of mercy, prayer, and knowledge.

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By Nikunja Vilasini Devi Dasi

Reading or hearing about Krishna’s astounding pastimes in Vrindavana will satisfy our innate spiritual need to be connected with the supreme spiritual person, Sri Krishna. Mundane tales bind us to the material sphere, whereas spiritual tales uplift us. They are ever fresh and purify our hearts. When we are in contact with Krishna’s name, form, abode, and pastimes, we are in direct contact with Him. Our spiritual nature becomes uncovered, and we begin to see things as they are. Free from illusion, we see beyond the purview of the material mind and senses. When we're steeped in pure devotion, neither supernatural powers nor anything else can distract us from serving and pleasing Krishna. Continue reading "Worlds of Magic, Worlds of Truth
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By Vishakha Devi Dasi

Simply by hearing about Krishna and His devotees, we will lose our longtime desire to control and enjoy this world, and as we gradually reduce our desire to dominate, we will proportionately enjoy spiritual happiness. A Vedic mantra says that as we associate with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, we proportionately relish our eternal blissful life. So, eternal blissful life can be ours if we desire and pray for it. “When will Nityananda bestow His causeless mercy upon me so that my desire for material enjoyment will become very insignificant? When will that time come?” (Srila Narottama Dasa Thakura, Lalasamayi Prarthana 2). By the causeless mercy of our transcendental superiors, our desires will no longer be material, but spiritual. At that time the modes of goodness, passion, and ignorance will release their ironlike grip on us. We’ll be completely free. Continue reading "Are We Bound or Free?
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By Urmila Devi Dasi

The enlightened devotee’s detachment derives from the superior satisfaction of spiritual love. The rising tide of spiritual love gradually increases to a flood. This love, real love, means giving rather than taking. It means giving oneself for the pleasure of God. It means being an agent to unite the Lord and His energy of pleasure – Krishna with Radha, Narayana with Lakshmi, Rama with Sita. Of course, the Lord and His eternal consort do not depend on a tiny soul to aid their union. It is the kindness of the Lord that He engages the expanded living beings in this way so as to share His bliss. The finite soul, thus linked with the infinite through loving service, eternally experiences ever-expanding ecstasy. Such is our natural, constitutional, inherent nature. Let us take daily steps toward regaining our nature and letting go of its pale reflection. Continue reading "Austerity and Pleasure: Managing Our Sexuality While Waiting for Transcendence
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“To identify with the mind” means to accept its desires as our desires and unthinkingly act on them. “To identify the mind” means to recognize that the desires popping up inside us are the mind’s desires – “Aha! That’s the mind speaking” – and to intelligently evaluate whether to act on them or not.

“Don’t identify with the mind; identify the mind” – this can be a contemporary English rendition of the key call of the Bhagavad-gita (06.05): Elevate yourself with the mind; don’t degrade yourself[1]. When we identify with the mind, we act according to its shortsighted, self-defeating desires, thereby degrading ourselves. When we identify the mind, we check its desires and choose to act only on those desires that are worthy, thereby elevating ourselves.

 

Redefining external and internal

Suppose we had a house with a large courtyard that had a fence with the main security gate. Suppose we found someone inside the fence. Just because they were inside our premises, we wouldn’t assume that they belonged, that they were related with us. We would investigate who they were and then decide how to interact with them.

We need to be similarly cautious when we find some unexpected desires popping up inside us. We often think of physical objects as external and desires as internal. This external-internal classification is based on our thinking of ourselves as our body. However, the fundamental teaching of the Bhagavad-gita (02.13)[2] is that we are souls. The mind is made of matter, although of a kind subtler than the physical matter we are accustomed to. Being material, the mind is an external covering on the soul. So, from the perspective of our real identity as souls, the mind is external to us, as are the desires in it.

But we usually think of the desires inside us as our desires. Some of our desires can be like intruders who have slipped through the main security gate and entered into the premises. Just as those residing in the house are especially vulnerable to such intruders, we too are especially vulnerable to the inimical desires that have penetrated into our mind. We misidentify with such desires and act on them. For example, we may have resolved to diet for health. But then a desire to eat something fatty pops up within us. If we mistake that desire to be our desire, we end up bingeing. If we can recognize that desire as an unwanted trespasser, we can strive to resist it.

How can we identify the mind instead of identifying with the mind?

Here are four strategies:

• Labeling
• Advising
• Purifying
• Persisting

 

Labeling

When we interact with people regularly, we gradually form labels for them: “He’s lazy,” “She’s fussy,” “He’s rash”, “She’s vain.” This labeling tendency can mislead. People are a complex blend of strengths and shortcomings, but labeling reduces them to just one of their traits.

Still, labels, if used carefully, can serve as helpful functional guides. People are what they are, and aren’t likely to change overnight. Once we understand their nature, we can adapt to them. For example, some people are grumpy when they wake up in the morning. If we have to live with them, then a label can remind us to not take their morning mood too seriously.

Labels can help us identifying the mind instead of identifying with it. When we find ourselves in a grumpy mood, we can label the mind, “Today, my mind is grumpy.” Many devotional songs employ this strategy of labeling the mind. The philosopher-saint, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura, in his song Dushta Mana, labels the mind as wicked while reflecting on how it misleads and how it can be led back on the right path.

The purpose of labeling is to contextualize the behavior, not perpetuate it. By observing ourselves, we can note phases when our mind is, say, grumpy and label it accordingly. But we don’t want the mind to stay grumpy. So, rather than labeling it as grumpy, we can label as grumpy the phase it is going through. The label can help us lower our expectation, thereby preventing a mismatch between our expectations of the mind and its amenability. We steel ourselves internally to not take its mood too seriously and learn to work around it.

Additionally, while tolerating people’s grumpiness, we also try to improve their mood. Similarly, while tolerating the mind’s moods, we can also try to improve its mood. Changing the mind is, in fact, the thrust of the remaining strategies.

 

Advising

There are few things we give as freely as advise. And when it comes to behavior, we often give advice quite expertly. When others tell us their problems, we frequently counsel them to act in ways that we ourselves would do well to remember and apply.

We can use our advising propensity to advise our mind. Our advising others won’t benefit us as much as our advising our own mind. Devotional songs use this strategy of advising the mind. For example, the saint-poet Govinda das in his song bhajahu re mana urges his mind to stay fixed in Krishna, assuring it that such focus will grant sublime peace.

Does the mind listen to good advise? Maybe not immediately, but over time, it does listen. The mind is stubborn, but not incorrigible; it is reformable. Vital for reforming is reformulating. We need to reformulate the mind’s conceptions in the light of spiritual knowledge.

For example, the mind may have its pet conceptions about which worldly things will bring happiness. But such things usually provide just a little happiness in the beginning followed by a long tail of misery (Gita 18.38)[3]. To advice the mind where it can find real happiness, we need to reformulate our understanding of life and its purpose. The best way to such reformulation is the regular study of scripture. Scriptural study helps us understand that real happiness is found in higher spiritual reality: in loving remembrance of Krishna and in purposeful devotional service to him.

We need to not just study scripture, but study it regularly because the mind is outstandingly forgetful. It forgets both how worldly pleasures are so superficial and short-lived, and how devotional fulfillment is so substantial and sublime. Recognizing that the mind is a slow learner, we need to keep advising it repeatedly by regular scriptural study.

Improving the mind requires not just education but also purification. That brings us to the next strategy.

 

Purifying                   

The mind is a creature of habit. It acts according to its habitual patterns, even when we want to act differently. For referring to our innate pattern of thinking and acting, a commonly used word is inclination. This is a particularly apt word; its other meaning serves as a good metaphor for the way the mind functions. Inclination also refers to the tilt of a physical structure such as a floor. If the floor is inclined southwards, whatever water falls on it will naturally flow south. If we want the water to flow north, just our intention to make it flow that way won’t be enough; we need to couple that intention with reconstruction. Only when we make the floor inclined northwards will water naturally flow that way.

Inclination determines flow – this principle applies to our inner world too. Our desires naturally flow according to our mind’s inclination. For example, as people get addicted to alcohol, their mind becomes increasingly inclined towards it. Even if they resolve to become sober, their desires keep going towards alcohol because their mind is still inclined that way. Just their resolution to abstain doesn’t change their mind’s inclination. They need to couple their resolution with mental reconstruction. Such reconstruction is brought about through purification.

To better appreciate the necessity of purification, let’s re-consider the point of changing our conceptions of happiness. Whereas education changes our conscious conceptions, purification goes deeper, changing our subconscious definitions of happiness.

Bhakti-yoga is the most potent process for purifying ourselves because it brings us in contact with God, Krishna, who is all-pure and all-purifying. The more we connect with Krishna in a mood of devotional service, the more we access spiritual happiness that makes worldly pleasures seem pale and stale. And the more we relish higher happiness and realize how it is far preferable to mundane indulgences, the more our mental flooring gets reshaped. When our mind becomes naturally inclined towards Krishna instead of worldly things, our inner struggle ceases. The Gita (06.27)[4] points to this state while outlining how purification brings pacification of the mind and satisfaction of the soul.

 

Persisting

For the mind to change its ways takes time. During the interim period, we need to be persistent in our devotional practices. The Gita (06.26)[5] characterizes the mind as restless. Restlessness typifies children too. When a mother tells her little girl to study, she factors in the restlessness natural to childhood. Accordingly, when her child gets distracted, she doesn’t get irritated – she gets her girl back to studies, gently but firmly.

We need to become like a mature mother for dealing with the child-like mind. Instead of getting exasperated when it gets distracted, as it inevitably will, we need to expect its distractibility and prepare for it. The same Gita verse (06.26) recommends that whenever the mind wanders, we re-focus it, calmly and consistently.

As the child grows up, she understands the importance of studying and herself chooses to focus on studies. Similarly, when we persist in the practice of bhakti-yoga, the mind grows up and understands what is truly important. Thereafter, it naturally focuses on important things and ultimately the most important thing: our eternal relationship of service with Krishna.

Additionally and far more consequentially, our persistence in practicing bhakti-yoga pleases Krishna. He appreciates our intention, even if we can’t always translate it into action. By his omnipotent grace, he progressively empowers us to first rein in the mind and then reform it.

Ultimately, to identify the mind instead of identifying with it, we need to identify with Krishna, as his eternal parts. When we become situated and satisfied in serving him, the mind becomes our friend and we swiftly and joyfully progress towards success and happiness, both in this life and the next.

 

[1] One must deliver himself with the help of his mind, and not degrade himself. The mind is the friend of the conditioned soul, and his enemy as well.

[2] As the embodied soul continuously passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. A sober person is not bewildered by such a change.

[3] That happiness which is derived from contact of the senses with their objects and which appears like nectar at first but poison at the end is said to be of the nature of passion.

[4] The yogi whose mind is fixed on Me verily attains the highest perfection of transcendental happiness. He is beyond the mode of passion, he realizes his qualitative identity with the Supreme, and thus he is freed from all reactions to past deeds.

[5] The mind is restless, turbulent, obstinate and very strong, O Krishna, and to subdue it, I think, is more difficult than controlling the wind.

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It was Ford and Reuther, and the ceremony was covered by Time magazine, the New York Times, the Chicago Tribune, the Detroit Free Press!
Udayananda: We had kirtan competitions. Devotees from the Chicago temple would do their thing, the L.A. devotees would do their thing, the Radha-Damodar party would do their thing and the London devotees would do their thing, like that.