Converting the Mind by Radhanath Swami

Material nature consisting of these three modes is very difficult to overcome. The modes of nature are so powerful. They grow and keep us helplessly bound to the exploitative pursuits of trying to find happiness in the world of illusion. How to come out of this illusion? Very difficult! Mind is so restless, so difficult and the senses are so impetuous, so strong. They forcibly carry away even a man of discrimination. So how to overcome the mind and senses? How do resist the temptations of the environment around us? Krishna said in Gita, it is only by surrendering to

Me. Otherwise it is impossible. Cause He is the controller of material energy

He is the Lord of the senses. He can control our senses, He can control our mind. The conditioned soul has no power to do so independent of the mercy of the Lord. So all of our spiritual advancement is really dependent on the mercy of Krishna. And Krishna bestows His mercy in

reciprocation to our surrender. What does it mean to surrender? Surrender means to please the Lord, to work for the satisfaction of the Lord.
Whatever our occupational duty is the purpose should be to please Krishna. That is surrender. Real surrender is an expression of love. In the initial stages on the path of devotion our surrender may be out of fear, our surrender may be out of an intelligent understanding that it must be done even though its so very difficult. But true surrender is the spontaneous desire of the heart to please Krishna. The topmost surrendered souls are the Gopis of Vrindavana. They are spontaneous naturally willing to give up anything, endure any situation just to please Krishna. A sadhaka one who is trying purify themselves, this is how we make advancement.
8:19:6 In the initial stages of devotion we cannot see Krishna directly. We cannot really experience clearly in a direct manner because of our conditioning. But Krishna is so kind that He appears through the spiritual master, He appears through his Name, He appears through the deity, He appears through the process of devotional service. But how to perform that devotional service, how to chant the Holy Names, He speaks through Guru, Sadhu and Sastra. Then when we surrender, when we are obedient to the will of the Lord, when we are willing to live in harmony with the desire of the Lord, then Krishnas mercy can deliver us from the three modes of material nature. Krishnas mercy can uncover the treasure of love of God within us. So how to please the Lord? That is the most vital essential question in all circumstances, at all times, in all places. How in this particular situation can I best please Lord Krishna? Our pleasing Lord Krishna is not based upon our power of speculation. Nor is it determined by our position in society. How to please Lord Krishna? We must hear from Krishna and those who are purely representing Krishna. Here the Supreme Personality of Godhead is very candidly and very clearly explaining one of the very very

essential elements required to please Him. Cooperation amongst fellow devotees. To live in harmony with friendly, loving mutual relationships. We were discussing last night to some length the conflict within the world around us. And how all conflict is due to personal, selfish interests. Whether they be mental, sensual, sociological, racial, religious, national, idealistically, political. People have their own personal interests. When they pursue their interests and other persons have their separate sensual interests there is conflict. Essentially it comes down to everyone in this world wants to be the enjoyer. If I want to be the enjoyer and you want to be the enjoyer, then there is going to be conflict. We may make some laws, we may make some alliances by which we are united to help that both of us can enjoy best but that is very flimsy because if somehow or other circumstances change and you become an impediment to my enjoyment then our alliance breaks down and we become enemies. In World War II Russia and America were allies because they had a common interest. Hitler was threatening both of their sense gratification, proprietorship, power to control. So we have a common interest. You want to enjoy and control. I want to enjoy and control. This country is an impediment. Let us work together, allies united, co-operation, friendship and fight against him and they did it and they won. Then what happened? Then they became as bitter of enemies for the next twenty years as they were friends in World War 2. Now we are seeing nuclear wars because these alliances are based on sense gratification. Very circumstantial and unpredictable according to the winds of change that blow in this world. So Krishna is here speaking that when you are united in devotional service then I am very pleased. Devotional service means pleasing Krishna. What it really means we become the servant of the servant of the servant. Thats what pleases Krishna. That is the Vaikuntha atmosphere where all other devotees are prabhu and I am das. Then the centre is no longer how I can enjoy, how I can prosper. The centre is rather how I can help you prosper, how I can help you enjoy Krishna. That is the spiritual world where our centre is pleasing Krishna and Krishna is pleased when we are more concerned with service, with giving rather than taking, with sharing rather than exploiting. That is what servitude means. You cannot serve Krishna without serving his devotees. Devotees are always very eager to give glory and attention to another devotee, more than they are interested in getting it themselves. If you are interested in getting it yourself you get some cheap adoration from people who do not understand the science of Bhakti. But you will not please Krishna and you will not get the respect of the acharyas who actually have the gift of devotion that they want to give you. Pennywise pound-foolish it is said. To get the cheap adoration, distinction, facilities of this world we are willing to compromise getting the real treasure of Prema. The treasure of love. Krishna wants to give that. That treasure is immortal, that treasure can satisfy the heart. Position, adoration, distinction, facilities of this world they may give some temporary happiness to the mind. But ultimately they create agitation. All material types of happiness create an agitated condition. And even the so-called pacification of agitation that it may seem to bring, only further agitates and aggravates our disease. If you have an itch if you scratch it seems to pacify the itch but it makes the climate of your disease more inflammatory. So thats the way the gross senses are. Thats also the nature of the mind. Profit, adoration, distinction, were agitated if somehow or other we get some praise, we get some glory, we get some position, we get some acceptance we are pacified. But really its just scratching the rash of the disease of the mind. Thats all. What really is the soothing balm that actually penetrates and heals is the mercy of Krishna. Which

comes when we please Krishna. So how to please Krishna? Krishna is saying when the devotees are united, when they have loving friendship with one another in a spirit of the servant of the servant of the servant, serving each other, putting the centre of our life for the pleasure of Krishna and the service to other devotees rather than my own interests. Beause thats actually the souls real interest. The minds interest, the senses interest unless we are very very advanced they are contradictory to the souls interest. What is the really of the self interest or the atma? Uninterrupted, unmotivated devotional service. Unconditional servitude is what gives joy to the Soul. So here Lord Vishnu is giving His personal darshan to the Pracetas the sons of King Parcinibarhisat. They are seeing Him face to face. And He is offering them any benediction they desire. The Supreme Controller of all controllers is telling, I will fulfill any desire you have. I will give you the ultimate benedictions of life. Why? Because of your mutual friendship and co-operation with each other. So that is surrender. In the age of Kali we are living today, it is a very difficult thing. This is the age of quarrel and hypocrisy. The world is permeated with that influence of quarrel and hypocrisy and at any time and for any reason people fight. If you look at a person! I remember in my youth I saw some one just it was a little dark out and a person came and that person wanted to see who is this? He just looked at him little closely. One friend was introducing another friend to his friend. So this is so and so. That person was looking and the person became so upset that he was looking at him in such a way and immediately punched him right in the face. On an introduction! It is a true story. So if you look at a person in a wrong way they want to attack you, they become agitated they want to beat you to show their prowess before others. What to speak Prabhupada said, if you touch a mans hair it is such an offence he want to immediately battle. What to speak if you look at his wife! So in the age of Kali you just say the wrong thing accidentally, you offend someone, they become your lifelong avenger. So how to overcome this? How to overcome, how to co-operate? We have to make Krishna the centre. Prabhupada talks about the Krishna consciousness movement and Krishna consciousness in this verse. The Krishna consciousness movement and Krishna consciousness are one and the same and at the same time they could be very very much different. There is one particular purport in Sri Caitaya Caritamrta where Prabhupada talks about ordinary mundane envious people who are in the Krishna consciousness movement, who are in the robes and in the identity as devotees and who are actually kali chela, they are actually disciples of Kali. Its not by joining an institution you are spiritual. Everything is based on the qualities that you have just like its not by being born in a Brahman family that you are Brahman. Its not by shaving head, wearing neck beads, being in the robes or the garbs or in the society of devotees that you are a devotee. A real vaishnava is the through qualities in one sense. And the real qualities of a Vaishnava is in the pure state we are non envious, we are the well wisher of everyone. We are the servant of all. And in the state of Sadhaka or striving we are by austerity living by these principles, to create a co-operative friendly environment where the center is pleasing Krishna. Where the centre is living in harmony with the desire of the spiritual master. Srila Prabhupada told us just before he left this mortal world, You can show your love for me by how you co-operate with one another. Now people may think that they can show love for Prabhupada by saying Jai Jai Prabhupada, Jai Jai Prabhupda and then they fight with each other. Is that love? Not by Prabhupadas definition. You

can understand how to show love by the person you are trying to love. Now Prabhupada you dont know, I dont know how to love you. Thats not love. Love means we have to hear from the beloved, we have to live in harmony of the desire of the beloved. You can show our love for me by how you cooperate with one another. I remember when I was living in the caves in Himalayas, there was scorpions, sometimes cobras and other serpents, sometimes leopards in the environment around me. Many monkeys, sometimes brown, sometimes white, many insects, big spiders. Haribol! But I can tell honestly it was so much easier living amongst them than living in the brahmachari ashram. Because the false ego of the scorpions and the snakes and the leopards and the monkeys and the spiders and insects is not really all that conflicting. They may get you, they may bite you, they may not bite you but there is not much of a ego problem. But when you are living with human beings. Hari bol! Very difficult! And I was thinking if I get married then thats also quite. I havent seen two people yet who get along all that well. So living with people is a very difficult situation. How to cooperate, how to somehow or other put your own false ego aside to serve someone else! Very difficult! But that is the austerity of pleasing Krishna. This is the sankirtan movement that means together we are glorifying the Lord through our chanting, through our speaking, through our hearing, through our actions. Whatever we do is for the glorification of the Lord- that is sankirtan. Together! Samyag, together we are doing! So if we are actually serious about spiritual advancement we must take this principle of this verse very very very much to heart. Today amongst different camps of different gurus, canvassing my guru is better than your guru. You should come here, no no you should come here. Pulling, tugging amongst Vaishnavas. This is pleasing to Krishna? Vaishnavas fighting, vaishnavas bringing each other to courts, fighting, Vaishnavas disrespecting someone whose faith is being illuminated in another way. In the name of recruiting, in the name of political considerations we are simply displeasing Krishna. And within our own ashram! The mind will always be at work to think of ways to not cooperate with somebody else, to find faults with somebody else. Do you have that experience? The mind is such a thing, it can make heaven into hell and hell into heaven. And its tendency is that it wants to find faults. While you are chanting your rounds your mind is working to try to figure out various ways to find faults with your God brothers, with your God sisters and others around you. Proposing so many requisitions of why you should fight with somebody. Not necessarily verbal fight or physical fight but fight within the mind. So how to overcome that evil Kali influence? By understanding with conviction that what pleases the Lord is our mutual, friendly, loving relationships. And we find that wherever that atmosphere prevails so many benedictions come. So many benedictions come! Beautiful temples, wonderful wonderful expansion of preaching, so many things. In quality not just in external superficial quality but in quantity, in quality. Krishna fulfills all of our spiritual desires when He is pleased with us. Gauranga Prabhu particularly selected this verse to speak on so there must be some good reason here. He wants me to speak on this subject and now we would like to request Gauranga Prabhu to tell us what is the reason! Perhaps there is problems or perhaps like an expert physician he is giving you inoculation to give you the spiritual strength to be able to somehow or other resist the problem if it does happen in the future because it will. As soon as selfish interests becomes prominent in our heart Kali exploits that opportunity and creates havoc in relationships. And she knows you cannot hide, you cannot hide any of

your vices or any of your ego, selfish ambitions from Kali. Kali is so knowing and all pervading within this world today. As soon there is the ego, Kali is right there to exploit it. Somehow or other in its laboratory, figures out the chemicals that would make that combustible anartha explode. For those of you who are studying chemical engineering! Is there any question? Thus we must learn to unite in the chanting of the Holy Names in glorification of the Lord because that is only unity. Our unity is put Krishna in the centre. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhus order is we should chant the Holy Names together to glorify Krishna. I am the servant of the servant. You are servant of the servant. We are all servant of the servant. There is only one master. Our real wealth is the mercy of the Lord Nityananda. My Lord, my Master is Lord Sri Gaurachandra and Sri Sri Radha Gopinath is my very life and soul. So by chanting the Holy Names together we are putting Krishna in the centre. So that is our duty to glorify Krishna in sankirtan, in our discussion in Srimad Bhagawatam, in every thing we do should be an extension of sankirtan, whatever we do in our life should be an united effort to glorify Krishna. That is the means by which we can overcome the influence of Kali. The only way in the age of Kali of over coming this tendency of quarrel and hypocrisy is sankirtantogether we chant the names of Hari. One benediction in this ocean of faults of Kali. Simply by performing sankirtan we can attain the perfection of liberation Therefore those who have good intelligence sumedasah, they come together to put Krishna in the centre. How? By chanting the Holy Names, by glorifying the Lord. Is there any question you would like to ask? Hari Hari Bol!

Q: inaudible A: close relatives? You should be respectful. You should respectfully continue what you are doing with great determination. Because if you allow them to divert your attention from the path of pure devotional service you are actually cheating them! Like a plunderer you are robbing them of their possibility of getting Krishnas mercy and you allow them to take you away from path of Bhakti at any level do you know what an offence they have committed? After 8400000 species of life the spirit soul finally comes to the human form and after so many human lives of just living like animal you finally to the point where you are at the thresh hold of the ultimate perfection of loving service to the Lord or you are actually at the thresh hold of having a treasure that you can distribute and share with the whole world for their ultimate benefit and someone takes you away from that to again engage you in animalistic propensities! To waste the valuable jewel that you have attained in the human life. If you allow them to take you away sentimentally they may think oh! Now I am so happy but really they are

not so happy. I have said many times the example. My parents when I first came back from India and I was a Vaishnava, at least trying to be. They said, we will be so happy if you just come back home and live with us and I said I lived with you for 18 years and I never saw you were happy, why should it be different? Its not going to make you happy, its just one less, out of many innumerable things that make you miserable it is just one less thing. But even that will ultimately make you miserable. But if I become a pure devotee you will become liberated and so many other people will become liberated so dont cheat them. Dont cheat them of that opportunity. Dont implicate them in such an offence. But at the same time because they are relatives it is your duty to be respectful, to honor them. Honor them and respect them but simultaneously not compromise in pure devotional path. You may compromise your certain ways in relationship with them. You may not be speaking the absolute truth, you may compromise by saying how are you? How is aunty? Just to show some kindness according to their understanding. The kindness that they can relate to. We are not fanatics. Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur when the Governor of Bengal came to Mayapur he treated him with respect according to how the Governor can understand respect. He didnt compromise his own principles but he dealt with him according to his understanding of respect. So if a relative comes and you just immediately start preaching about how many hairs in the body of a cow and you go to hell every time you eat meat, then they are just going to think you are a fanatic! How are you? How is aunt? How is uncle? Kaaka/kaaki? Maama/maami? All of these things! Thats what they like to hear, they may think you are kind of normal. You can do that and not compromise your own personal spiritual purity. That is respect. That is being considerate. Does that answer your question? Q: inaudible A: sometimes! you are descending from Satya Yuga. Q: inaudible A: amongst devotees? Amongst devotees we should be very meek and humble. Other people? Q: inaudible A: we should understand what it means to be meek and humble. Meek and humble doesnt mean that you let people exploit you. Meek and humble means Krishna is in the centre of your life. Meek and humble means you are really living in the spirit of servitude toward Krishna and towards all living beings. So you must understand what it means to serve. The spiritual master is serving by chastising the disciples sometimes. Thats actually meekness and humility in a practical form because this is what is best to serve the disciple, to chastise him. The Guru is in no other position in his own heart than serving that person. A father is to serve his children. Sometimes the father has to discipline the child. That does not transgress his meekness and humbleness cause he is not doing it for himself, he is not doing it for his own ego, he is not doing it out of frustration. He is doing it because it is the best way to serve. So if you have something that you want to use for Krishna and somebody wants to take it away for materialistic and egoistic purposes then your meekness and humility towards Krishna has to defend what belongs to Krishna. I remember at New Vrindavan in 1972 some dacoits attacked with guns and shot devotees, broke deities. They were like the western version of Aurangazebs people. And devotees were helpless.

When Prabhupada heard about it he said you should get weapons and learn how to defend the temples and defend the devotees. If these people came you dont let them just break deities, and rape women and shoot people. It is your duty to defend whatever property you got and the rights of the devotees, sanctity of devotees. So thats meekness and humility. Sometimes to fight, if people are trying to exploit our rights. So we must understand the spirit of what real meekness and humility is. It is not just a sentiment. Its not that anybody who wants to do anything I just very quietly say, all right Prabhu, you may do! Break in audio Humble as he was shooting arrows into peoples bodies. So he was serving the interest of Krishna but he was not doing it for himself. He was not doing it for his own ego, his own distinction. He was actually living in harmony with Krishnas will. So someone is trampling on your own false ego yes you should be meek and humble. Yes I deserve worse! But if someone is trampling on your rights to serve Krishna or someone is threatening the property of Krishna then it is time to stand up. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, He ordered everyone in Nawadwip to chant Hari Naam. So devotees were chanting with mridanga, with kartals, sometimes with conchshells, sometimes with gongs, sometimes with clapping their hands. Chand Kazi became outraged. He had a thousand soldiers just combing through the streets and lanes of Nawadwip looking for anyone doing sankirtan. He would beat them, they would break the mridangas. So the devotees were meek and humble. They came to Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. What are we going to do? We cant stand up against the military of Chand Kazi. So Mahaprabhu who taught He was the very supreme embodiment of those principles. He called the devotees of Nawadwip and He said, Today Nityananda Prabhu spread the word, call the Vaishnavas, today I will personally dance in the streets of Nawadwip. Today I will lead the kirtan, today I will burn down the house of Chand Kazi, death personified stands before him. What will he do? Hare Krishna! Sri Caitnaya Mahaprabhu brought all those people Nawadwip completely against the laws of Chand Kazi that he proclaimed. He was dancing in the streets in utter civil disobedience. But did He do for himself? He did it for the sake of dharma as Arjuna fought for the sake of dharma selflessly in a spirit of service. That is trnad api sunicena, being humble like a blade of grass. For ones own personal self-interest, let people step on us. But for the welfare of the others in the mission of the Lord we are willing to stand up and defend. Does that answer your question? Q: inaudible A: Real compassion requires real intelligence. It is not a sentiment. Just like Prabhupada our Guru Maharaj used the example, that if a person has typhoid, if the person eats fried paranthas he dies. Yes! But the person who wants fried paranthas, Prabhupada actually explained this. That when he was young, when he was a grhastha in Calcutta, a child had typhoid. He was crying to his mother please give me fried paranthas. The mother said no no you have typhoid! No friend paranthas. No no I hate you I hate you. Give me fried parantha. So the mother gave him friend paranthas out of compassion and what happened? The child died! Is that compassion? Real compassion is not just the immediate needs of the person you have to see the whole picture. Proper preacher has to look and see in a broad vision. So we

should train the students who are coming to us at IIT in a proper etiquette because factually the people of IIT are working very hard to maintain this institution. Yes! The faculty members, teachers, administrators they are working very very hard to maintain this educational institution, the integrity and the dignity of this institution. What are we doing? What are you doing? You are just getting, of course you are giving tuition money so that is something but ultimately you just getting the results of all their hard work. So devotee is grateful. It is said in west, do not bite the hand that feeds you. You are here, you are learning. By the process of learning you are going to get power and distinction in the world that you could use in Krishna service in a very very valuable way. You are also given so much opportunity to meet so many young intelligent future leaders of the world and help them to become Krishna conscious. Thats a facility being provided to you. Now whether we agree or not agree its just basic etiquette, common sense that you respect them. If somebody lets you in their house and you dont respect them because they are doing things different than you, then do you think they are going to keep you as a guest in their house? So I have heard that some people have criticized the canteens, the messes, that they are serving poison. Now thats the college giving the food. Now whether its true from the philosophical level or not there is basic etiquette. Just like we were talking about when you go to meet your relatives you dont just tell them that they are, if you want them to be favorable to you, you have to show them some affection, respect. You dont just start quoting Manu Samhita on everything they do? Theyll hate you, theyll disown you, never want to talk to you again, they will think you are crazy hateful fanatic. We are not fundamentalists. We are compassionate Vaishnavas. What does it mean to be compassionate? Means according to time and circumstance we have to do the needful to elevate peoples consciousness. So we should show respect and gratitude towards the institution. Whatever they are feeding to the students thats their business. We are trying to give Krishna consciousness but if we criticize publicly what they are doing, then its not proper etiquette for one thing and as far as from a point of view of strategy its utter ignorance. Because yes you may say something that may be on one level true, thats not going to affect anybodys life on a positive way but it is going to affect thousands of people in a negative way because you wont be allowed to preach in the campus anymore! And as far as grades it is as far as a student goes your service is to chant sincerely, associate devotees sincerely and get good grades. Because thats what will give dignity and integrity to our society in the eyes of the faculty and eyes of the student body. If you dont get good grades because you are a devotee you will actually be chasing people away from Krishna consciousness. Your example will be disturbing the integrity of our society in the eyes of the people. So if you want my advise people who come to take Prasad with the devotees there should be strict uncompromising laws, shaastra, shaastra laws and shastra weapons for those who dont follow the laws. And what is that? Unless a persons behavior is exemplary, unless a persons etiquette is exemplary and unless a persons studying is exemplary they should not have the right to come and take Prasad with us. Now you may be sentimental and give the sick child a fried parantha thinking oh he is crying, he cant take anywhere else, how can he eat those things in the other place. But eating that fried parantha is not only harming that person but it is threatening hundreds and hundreds and thousands of other young men from the opportunity of perfecting their lives. Do you understand? So people should know that if you want to this level of association of devotees, you have to work hard in your studies and be exemplary. That is your preaching! And if you are not willing to do that you can

chant, read Bhagawatam, you can come to the evening programs but as far as coming and taking prasad, these things- No! You are a blemish on Srila Prabhupadas name and the name of our institution, on the name of our path of spirituality, by coming taking Prasad with us and not being exemplary in your lifestyle here in the college. So you should be very strict. A persons behavior, sadhana as well as studies, grades should be minimum satisfactory to the administration. If we do that we will give impetuous to people to be more responsible in their prescribed duty, which is studying. And not only that but we will create an environment with the faculty who will appreciate us rather than condemn us because we have to understand they are not mahatmas, they are professors. And we are coming within their realm of occupation. So if a person is doing bad in their studies then we have to understand, they are going to calculate by that. So we must respect them. And we see the results sentiment, feeding the fried paranthas and the result is ???? there was auditoriums booked for the program last night. But because of feeding some fried paranthas to some crying students we end up on the rough here only third or one fourth of the people who could have come. Yes! So we have to see the whole picture. It was a wonderful program last night. I am very happy! But we should understand that whatever rules they have made against us, its not just the faculty being closed minded. We should see it as Krishna wants to teach us a lesson. Krishna is trying to speak a message to us. If you are preaching in America if you are preaching in India if you want to be successful you have to respect the laws of the state. In the Vedic scriptures polygamy is allowed. A man can have more than one wife. Its throughout out the Vedas, its in the Bible, its in the Koran. Its a natural thing on that level. However Srila Prabhupada, cause devotees are reading Vasudeva had Rohini, he had Devaki and several wives. King Chitraketu how many wives he had! These are great people. Even Arjuna had at least three wives. Yes! So we read about these things. Bhima had a couple of wives. Krishna had 16108 wives. Prabhupada, when devotees wanted to take more than one wife he said you have to respect the laws of the land that you are in if you want to preach. We are preaching in America we have to respect and honor their laws, we cooperate with them even if they are not exactly the way we want. So if you are coming into IIT you have to respect their standards, we have to honor them, we have to show respect and gratitude to them for what they are giving and not fight against them in that sense. All the hundreds of devotees who have benefited should definitely voice how much they are benefiting but your voice will be heard if according to their standards you are proper. If a hundred people come who are failing their exams and say we like this movement and its doing good for us what will the faculty say? What good is it doing? By our standards you are ruining your life. You were doing good until you started eating their prasad . But if a hundred people who are excelling in their grades who are doing exceptionally well one if they come and say, we are doing this and we are doing nothing wrong by your standards then they have to listen, they have to take note of that and they will. So any of you who are students or any students you know should inculcate this message in their hearts, that your service to Krishna is to do exceptionally well in their studies as long as you are here, along with your hearing, along with your chanting and if you are not doing well then dont put blemish, dont put shame to our society in the eyes of the people who are providing so much for us. Chant but keep low key! Take your food with everybody else but dont come and show your separatism toward us and then disgrace us. Cause really you are disgracing Krishna. Is their any question on this particular subject?

Q: inaudible A: Its harsher not to do that. What they say in America, spare the rod and spoil the child. Our brahmachari ashram at Radha Gopinath temple there are strict rules. At the beginning people thought it was harsh. Insincere, undisciplined people thought it was harsh, that they couldnt live in the ashram. But what is the result of being strict? Its actually merciful because it gives integrity to so many thousands and thousands of people to see what the standard is. They see integrity in our society, they see integrity in our leaders and they have faith and they come. So you can be compassionate. You are not kicking them out, they are kicking themselves out. Thats the way it should be seen. We have a rule unless your studies are satisfactory according to administration you cannot come here and take prasad. Now we are not kicking you out if you are not working hard enough in your studies you are kicking yourself out prabhu! We are not closing the. We are telling you that the door is open but there is a price. Not a monetary price! The price of your sincerity and I think you should even if they cry, even if they weep, even if they threaten to commit suicide, you should hold fast and practically every brahmachari thats ever joined the ashram their parents threaten to commit suicide. But out of thousands of such threats its never happened. So we cant just be blackmailed by their emotions. We have to have standards and we have to have a vision. Real compassion is not giving that person a fried parantha. Real compassion is creating a image of our society that will be respected by the faculty and administration and students in the campus. Thats preaching. What do you say prabhu? Q: inaudible Maharaj: From your heart? Haribol! Thank you! Any other questions? Yes prabhu? Q: inaudible A: We have intelligence; we have the power of discrimination. The intelligence is supposed to over rule the condition of the mind. Yes! Body is chariot, the horses are the five senses, the passenger is the spirit soul- the jivatma, the reins are the mind and the charioteer is the intelligence. Now what happens if the reins are controlled by the horses? And the spirit soul is in a very very dangerous, unpredictable predicament. Or what happens if the charioteer is a mad man? Is insane, is crazy? So if the intelligence just wants to do whatever the horses say, the charioteer whatever the horses want thats what I want, then the spirit soul is in the most abominable predicament. The purpose of the charioteer is to somehow or other control the horses, control the reins, control the mind according to the real needs of the passenger. Yes? If you go in a taxi, the taxi driver is in a sense is the intelligence. If you tell a taxi driver please take me to Radha Rasbihari temple in Juhu and he takes you to some disco in Malad. He is supposed to be doing what you say. So the intelligence is supposed to be united with the soul and performing the austerity of directing the mind and the senses and the body. So with our intelligence we should be preaching to the mind. Bhaktisiddhantha Saraswati said every morning I beat my mind a hundred times with shoes and every evening with broomstick. Yes! That means the intelligence, the

intelligence has to keep the mind in check so we see that our mind is finding faults with others the intelligence discriminating. This is your spiritual downfall, this is not pleasing to Krishna, this is not pleasing to Guru. The intelligence should somehow or other convince the mind to see the good in others. Pod marks in the moon to find fault in a Vaishnav looking at pod marks in the moon. There is so much beautiful light coming from the moon in comparison the pod marks are of very little relevance although they are there the fact that this person is chanting Hare Krishna, the fact that this person is a devotee even though the person may be full of anarthas, he is one out of hundreds and millions because he is taking to the path of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. So try to see the good, try to offer respect, amanina manadena, that is the principle of Mahaprabhu. So the intelligence has to preach to the mind. Intelligence has to monitor wavering uncontrolled tendencies of the mind. The nature of the mind is to find faults; the purpose of the intelligence is to see the good in vaisnavas. The fly is very eager to go to the sewage areas where all kinds of abominable substance are present and he likes to drink the juice of stool and urine. Yes! Whereas a honeybee wants to go to the flowers and he doesnt even care about the flower he is only looking for the essence of the pollen, to drink the nectar. So we have to convert the mind from being a fly to a honeybee. Thats the business of the intelligence to discipline the mind, preach to the mind, monitor the mind on the basis of what we read in the scriptures, what we hear from our spiritual master. If the intelligence is nourished by the power of Guru, Sadhu and Sashtraa and with that power we must control the mind, must preach to the mind, must understand. Therefore it is very important that we are philosophically strong so the intelligence can deal with the mind. Its not that we just have to be philosophically strong to preach to the people, to the conditioned souls in the world. We have to be philosophically strong to preach to our own mind. Yes! Hari Hari! Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya told Caitanya Mahaprabhu you are so beautiful, you are so young, you are only twenty four years old. You have taken sanyas. How will you survive as a sanyasi unless you are really able to discriminate between matter and spirit? So I will teach you the Vedanta sutra! Then you will be able to discriminate. And actually what he was saying was right. The only problem is he wasnt right about who Lord Caitanya was and he wasnt right about his interpretation of Vedanta sutra. But the principle is that unless our intelligence is fixed in the truth then we will easily be disturbed and diverted by the allurements of material nature. So we must nourish our intelligence by reading the scriptures, by coming to Hari Katha, by sincerely taking shelter of the Holy Name so that when the restless mind and senses become affected and influenced by the environment around us the intelligence says No! Are you finding faults with the devotee? The fault is in you! Bhaktisiddhanta taught our intelligence what to think. He said whenever I see a fault in another devotee because I am honeycomb with hundreds and thousands of faults myself. Thats why I am seeing his faults. The world is a mirror of your mind, of your own consciousness. If you cant see good in another vaishnava thats not his problem, thats your problem. Something you have to work on. In this way the intelligence must perform its service. Does that answer your question? Hari bol! I think we should end. One more question and then we will!

Q: inaudible

A: how to work on the perfectionist attitude? Bhakti means knowledge and detachment also. You have to be detached. Some attachment is required cause the problem is when you have a whole room of people with perfectionist attitude and each has their own interpretation of perfection at every moment. Yes! Its more difficult. And amongst the students of IIT you are all perfectionist to some extent otherwise you couldnt be coming to this university. So you have that tendency. So we should be striving for perfection. We should understand what really is perfection. There has to be a sense of detachment. Thats part of perfection. Whether you are right or wrong if in a particular specific instance of management or practical application, whether you are right or wrong if you create a havoc and enmity then the little picture you are right but in the big picture you are all wrong. When it comes to the siddhanta the philosophy we cannot compromise. But when it comes to application according to time place and circumstance we have to be practical and we have to be a little detached. Srila Prabhupada came to the west he wanted to give people Krishna consciousness but he understood if I teach them all the orthodox rules and regulation and rituals these people will be bewildered. They will never accept and it is the same thing here in IIT. You people are in western orientation of education system, you are very much westernized in many ways. If all the strict ritualistic rules and regulations of Krishna consciousness were provided to you, you would faint. You would faint! Therefore Prabhupada gave the essence because it is practical. And he was criticized for it by people who just couldnt do anything he was doing. Cause they were very perfectionist in all the details and he was perfectionist in the essence and somewhat lenient in the details. But thats how he transformed peoples hearts. So in the essence we should be perfectionist but in the details we have to be practical kala, desh, patra- according to time, place and circumstance and as the Pracetas. The Pracetas were obviously kings, they were the son of King Pracinabarhisat , descendant of Dhruva Maharaj, Swayambhuava Manu they were great personalities, living in the bottom of the ocean for ten thousand years doing tapasya. Haribol! There was plenty of reasons for them to argue and fight. But they didnt! Each one had their own heart, their own opinions but they understand our unity, our harmony on the basis of the essence, of pleasing Krishna is what will please the Lord. So dont be a perfectionist on the basis of your false ego. Be a perfectionist in pleasing Krishna and understand how. There has to be some enthusiasm but in certain cases detachment. Within any society there is leaders and nature of a leader is usually they have strong will and in different ways.. Break in audio.. forgave Ashvatthama. Why should a mother suffer like I am? And Bhima, kill the rascal! He is an offender! And Arjuna is in the middle. He doesnt want to displease his older brother and he definitely doesnt want to displease his wife. Either way his life is hell. Can you imagine displeasing Bhima and having to live with him? And can you imagine that nagging of Draupadi if you displease her and break her heart. Haribol! He respected them, he loved them, he didnt want to break Bhimas heart, he didnt want to break Draupadis heart but they are telling him opposite things. Bhima kill the rascal, he is an offender and Draupadi is saying, forgive him! Let him go! His mother is a noble soul. She should not suffer the death of her only son. Now Arjunas inclinations were certainly toward Bhima. Yes! Because he is a kshatriya! Draupadi she is a kshatriya but she is a lady also and she is a mother also. Mothers have their way of thinking. And the fighters have their way of thinking. So what did Krishna tell him to

do? He told him to kill him and not kill him simultaneously. By humiliating a kshatriya thats worse than death but at the same time the mother doesnt care if he is humiliated. The mother says as long as he is alive I am happy. As long as he is eating well I am happy. So he had to compromise according to time, place and circumstance and he is dealing with Vaishnavas. Here we have an instance of Vaishnavas who have completely different opinions and are very strong about their opinions. And actually Draupadi and Bhima were both happy, they were satisfied. Because there was a certain sense of detachment for the sake of the whole. Does that answer your question? Perfectly? Thank you very much. Srila Prabhupada ki Jay! I want to thank all of you very much and Gauranga Prabhu told me some of you are cycling here. Yes! he wanted me to say something about that? From IIT campus by cycle? Bicycle or motorcycle? Bicycle is better than motorcycle! Motorcycle the only exercise you get is your wrist. People need exercise for physical. Body is a temple of God. Its the duty to keep the temple in proper condition. And for good health whether it is ayurvedic, allopathic, homeopathy or naturopathy or any other pathi, everyone agrees that some of the ingredients of good health- one is cleanliness, Hygienic, intelligence, two is proper diet, three is proper exercise. These three things are very essential to maintain the temple of God to be equipped to actually do the service we want to do. So actually bicycling is a very good exercise for the body. Its a benediction. By modern standards its called aerobic. Its one of the most conducive aerobic exercise, bicycling. Because it makes the circulation and heart, the organs! So you should consider coming here by bicycle is the ultimate for body, mind and soul. Whereas if the program close by it would be only be for the mind and soul and now you are getting body, mind and soul. Everything is being nourished and strengthened by this exercise. To be honest with you because in my age exercise is so important, every age exercise is important. Devotees they brought to me a stationary bicycle. Stationary bicycle because for me to go to give class its only about a ten second walk from my room so what exercise am I getting? So I am doing and going nowhere and you are doing and you are going somewhere, you are going to Krishna! So oh how fortunate you are! How many will be coming to Yatra? Going to Vrindavan Dhama and these Holy places is one of the most important principles in cultivation of Bhakti. Visiting these Holy places with Holy men brings out an environment of nourishing our faith. These Holy places are very sanctified and very powerful to award pure devotion. So we should be very grateful and for every moment you are on this yatra you should be immersed in very very sincere prayers. Sincere crying out for the mercy of the Lord, praying for Sri Radharanis mercy. She is Vrindavaneshwari! And eager to serve.