5 Six characteristics of bhakti – Last four characteristics

Hare, Krishna. So thank you for coming today for this last session in our series. And, today we will talk about the 4 remaining characteristics of bhakti. In the first session, we talked about how these characteristics if we consider like a flower stalk, these are like petals are they are conjoined petals. So they are on two sides.

The first are more related with first two are more related with us. That what Bhakti will do to us, kleshaagni and shubhada. So we discussed for this for one session and then after that we elaborated on this. So next are more characteristics of bhakti itself. It is what are the next two characteristics?

Moksha. Moksha laguta. So moksha is liberation. Moksha laghu. Laghu is small.

So laguta kruta. It makes moksha seem small and then there is sudurlabha. So these 2 are more related with bhakti itself, the nature of bhakti. And then then there is. So this is more in terms of both of these are more is the soul’s experience.

What are the soul’s experience? And last is Krishna. So Krishna Akarshani. It attracts even Krishna. So this is more in terms of you can say Krishna’s experience.

This is experience at the spiritual level. Whether it’s our experience or Krishna’s experience. So we discussed about how relationships themselves have some characteristics. So now, here, in one sense, there is a common denominator to all the various vedic traditions that were there in India. There are 6 systems of philosophy.

There are different schools of thought. So we could say the first two characteristics are almost common to any spiritual path. Every spiritual path will say that it will free you from distress. And it will give you happiness. That’s what everyone is looking for.

So even the path of impersonal liberation, that will also say that, okay. Claysh agni will happen. The claysh is because of material existence. And when you become free from material existence, you’ll become free from claysh. And within their understanding, okay, the auspiciousness is when we become one with the unending ocean of white light that is Brahman.

So these, you can say, are common to all spiritual paths. They’re common in the sense that the specifics of how bhakti provides them are different. But it is like, if you go back to the medicine metaphor, whether somebody takes Ayurveda or allopathy or naturopathy, the result that is promised is the same. That your disease will go away and your health will come back. So in that sense, there bhakti, these two characteristics are not unique.

These two characteristics or these two results are promised even by those who seek Guyana, the path of Guyana to achieve Moksha. So that’s why the next characteristic becomes important. That moksha also gives this, but no. What bhakti offers, it makes moksha seem insignificant. Now this itself is an extraordinary claim because moksha is what, the great sages who renounce the world pursue, And it is not, any ordinary attainment.

It’s very, very difficult to attain. So then why would somebody say that, okay. You know, this is it makes moksha seem insignificant. That is there there’s a reason. Now we can go into Shastric references how Rupakha Swami says that if there is the happiness moksha, there is Brahmananda.

That like a drop and if you multiply a drop thousands of times, it will become like an ocean. And the ocean of bhakti is like that. So Bhakti Ananda is so great. Like, if we get an ocean, then we’ll feel what is the point of a drop. It has no value.

So the same theme comes in the last verse of the 8th chapter, 8.32. So whatever will come by any other path, all that will come and more will come for the person who takes to Bhakti and comes to Krishna. So these are scriptural statements. So we can have this characteristic. We can understand it through a metaphor.

The metaphor is of a drop and ocean. We can also under understand it through scriptural reference. There are many references which are given. Let’s try to understand this primarily now through logic. So is it just because we are bhaktas, we claim that the happiness of Bhakti is greater?

And those who are pursuing Moksha, they will say that the happiness of Moksha is greater. No. There is a particular underlying theme over here. So the theme is that in the impersonal path and the personal path, In both, there is an acknowledgment of suffering. No.

See suffering is universal. If we tell people this whole many people may say you are being so pessimistic. But, okay. So yours was given to me, is it? Okay.

Thank you. So in one sense, suffering is universal. Like, we may say that if we say this only Dukkaleya, people may say you’re being so pessimistic. But I have traveled across the world spoken to different audiences. And sometimes I start by saying, no.

We all may have different upbringings. We may have different, religious world views. We may have different philosophical conceptions. But we all can agree on one thing. What is that one thing?

It can be summarized in 3 words. Life is tough. Isn’t it? Isn’t it? We may be very wealthy.

We may be very famous. We may be very popular. We may be very talented but life is not easy for anyone. Now the level of difficulty for different people may be different. There may be some subjectivity in what is considered difficult.

For somebody who doesn’t have any food to eat at all, that is a different kind of difficulty. And somebody who doesn’t come first in the class, you may say, what is the difficulty for them? Because they may experience emotional pain that can be very large. Somebody comes to the World Cup finals and loses in the World Cup finals. You see, your pain is nothing as compared to somebody who’s starving.

But still for them, it’s a very intense pain. So the point is life is tough. So actually, life is tough is just a restatement of when the Gita says the world is. But what happens is, when we say the world is, people feel it is pessimistic. Why?

Because it becomes a statement of the nature of the world. And people feel if you say this world is then there is no hope for me. But, whereas, when you say life is tough, it is a statement of empathy. It is a statement of shared human experience. So life is tough.

And everybody wants relief from the toughness of life. So now, why is life so difficult? What can we do to get relief from the toughness and the difficulties of life? So, this is where personalism and impersonalism have a different diagnosis. Like, sometimes we may have some fever and we may go to different doctors.

And one doctor may say this is, you know, this is just seasonal flu. Another doctor may say this is malaria. So spiritual doctor may say there’s malle in the area of your heart. Isn’t it? But whatever it is, there can be different diagnosis.

So, suppose there is a patient and they they have got some disease like arthritis. And when they got arthritis, even a small movement, they move their hand, ah, there’s pain. They move their leg, there’s pain. If the arthritis are all over the body. Even if they hear a joke and they laugh.

They laugh a little bit and they feel pain. So any movement of the body causes pain. So then what happens is, the impersonal, there’s pain and pain comes from movement. So the solution that is thought is, if there is no movement, then there will be no pain. So this is one way a patient may diagnose.

Okay. I want to be free from pain, therefore I should just be able to stop moving. I can just stop moving, then I’ll be free from pain. So like this, what the impersonal thing is? Desires.

They cause bondage. And what is it? It is qualities in this world that lead to desires. You know, something is attractive, hey, I want this. Something smells bad, I want to go away from this.

So qualities lead to desires and desires lead to entanglement. They lead to bondage. So the impersonalist solution is, if there are no qualities, then there’ll be no desires. And if there are no desires, then there’ll be the bondage. You can say bondage and suffering go together.

When we are bound to something like alcohol, like is bound to alcohol, they suffer. So then there is no bondage and no suffering. So this is the diagnosis of the impersonalists. And that’s why the Okay. That’s why the impersonalist diagnosis is that actually all qualities in this world are false.

Even the qualities we attribute to God, they are also false. They’re also Maya. Becoming attracted to the qualities of God, maybe, not maybe, is better than being attracted to the qualities of people in this world. But ultimately, even that is Maya. So, we need to go beyond it all.

And then what happens is, then there will be just the state of existence. Just just just pure consciousness. See, sometimes we say impersonalism means what? You say some people, there’s a famous impersonalist who went to America and he said, there are many gurus in the past who came and said that I am God. So he said, I’m not such a guru.

I’m not a guru who has come to tell you I am God. I’m the guru who has come to tell you, you are God. In one college in America, I saw a t shirt on one boy I was wearing. I was an atheist till I discovered I was God. So, now this is a common understanding of impersonalism.

That we will merge and you will become God. However, this is not the actual understanding of impersonalism. See, there is maya wad and there is what you can call as neo maya wad. Means So this is a distortion from what taught. So hold that we are all gods.

I’m going a little bit into impersonalism over here because it’s important to understand what means. So they say we are all gods. But actual holds that that even God is an illusion. So their idea is that there is only Brahman that exists. Brahman is the only reality.

When Brahman comes in contact with it becomes When Brahman comes in contact with rajas, it becomes When Brahman comes in contact with tamas, it becomes Prakriti. It becomes material nature. Now this is not the correct philosophy. Don’t note it down as the correct philosophy. This is their idea.

And they say, what happens first? The g y is attached to prakrti. The g y is attached to prakrti and this causes bondage. So first, we need to understand that prakrti is Maya. And many impersonalists will also practice bhakti.

Because they say, actually, for the jiva Is this color visible? Okay. For the jiva to become attached to is good because the jiva can become detached from prakrti. So, so this is, this is the lowest. This is the lowest level and this is an intermediate level.

But afterwards, when you truly advance, you will understand that actually the jiva is Maya and ishwar is also Maya. So the only thing that exists is Brahman. So, Brahma satya, Jagannmithya. So it’s not just Jagannmithya, jivamithya, and Ishwar alsomithya. So so the imperialist idea is that, there is only existence.

There’s no activity, there are no desires, there is no reciprocation. So it is very similar to what? Oh, all activity causes pain, therefore, give up all activity. All relationships, all desires cause pain, therefore give up all desires. And how can we give up all desires?

By believing that everything desirable itself is Maya. But this is not the Bhakti understanding. See, the the if you consider, go back over here, the same patient can understand that, okay, actually, I’m experiencing pain. And pain occurs whenever there is movement. However, the cause of the pain is a disease.

That, when there is a disease, because there is arthritis, at that time when I move my hand, there is pain. So, if there is no disease, then there can be movement and there will be no pain. In fact, there can be pleasure. Now, when we move, we can run, we can dance, we can see various places. And movement, action is the basis of joy.

So similarly, in the bhakti understanding, the problem is not that qualities lead to desires and desires lead to bondage and suffering. The problem is that these are temporary qualities. So it’s like temporary quality. When we are attracted to things with temporary qualities, then we have material desires. And material desires lead us to bondage and suffering.

Why? Because what the things that we are attached to, they go away. Or we go away from the things that we are attached. Now, we may earn a lot of wealth, but somehow the stock market crash and the wealth goes away. Or we may earn a lot of wealth, but then we grow old and we die and then we go away from the wealth.

So either way. So, however, if there are eternal qualities and eternal qualities are present in Krishna. So when there are eternal qualities, toward those eternal qualities, there are desires, there are spiritual desires. And these desires, they actually lead to liberty, freedom and even ecstasy. That these desires, the desire to serve Krishna, that brings joy.

What happens is the more our consciousness is filled with the desire to serve Krishna, the more we’ll become free from other desires. And the more we become free from other desires, the more we become absorbed in Krishna. The more we can remember Krishna. The more we can become happy. So suppose there is some small child and when the child is sick, the mother has to give medicine to the child and the child doesn’t like to take medicine.

So the mother has to hold the mouth of the child. Open the mouth. And the child is given the medicine. Now, one day, the mother wants to give the child delicious kheer. And the mother says, take this.

The child says, no. And the mother says, take it. No. And the mother holds that and gives it. And the child just doesn’t want to take it.

The child starts shaking the head violently. And the child shakes the head violently and what happens? All the curious falls in the mouth and spills away. But even through that, if the mother keeps pawing, then what happens? Slowly a few drops start going in.

And then as the drops start going in, the child is shaking the head. So similarly for us, right now, we have so many other desires that even when Krishna comes into our consciousness, the remembrance of Krishna is like drinking kheer. But we think, oh, watching TV is better. You know, political use is better. Credit sports is better.

Stock market prices is better. So even when the opportunity to focus on Krishna is there, we don’t focus on Krishna. That it’s extremely joyful. But we don’t feel it because we are distracted. Pogaishva prasakthana pagaishva prasakthana pagaishthaam.

Krishna says, when we are caught with desires of sense enjoyment and worldly profit and wealth, then those desires drag our consciousness. And thus, That steadiness to focus on Krishna and experience samadha. That doesn’t happen. But somehow, we, like the mother holds the child firmly like that. We, without buddhi, hold our mind firmly.

So our intelligence is like the mother and our mind is like the child. So if we just hold our mind steadily, then gradually we’ll start experiencing that this is something extraordinary. That, you know, okay, I like music. There are there there are there is movie songs and there are these other songs. I like all of them.

But then if we keep hearing Krishna Kirtan, we’ll find that initially this is also just another music. Sometimes nice, sometimes not nice. But as we keep hearing it, we will start realizing there is something extraordinary in this. It just transports me to another level of reality. So, just as a person who was sick and couldn’t move at all, if they stop moving, they do get relief from pain.

But if they get healed, and they can travel and they can trek and they can dance, then the joy of dancing is 100 and 1000 of times greater than the relief of feeling no pain because of being motionless, isn’t it? So similarly, just having no desire at all. It’s very difficult to be in that state but if somehow, just as it’s very difficult to just be completely motionless. But even if somebody came to that state of having no desire at all, that state will not last for long. And even if we could stay in that state, there is there is only relief.

There is not really joy over there. On the other hand, when we find something truly desirable and we pursue that and we get joy in that. And when we pursue Krishna, the soul is eternal. Krishna is eternal. The bond between the 2 of them is eternal.

That’s why it is It’s an ocean of happiness and that too vardhanam. It’s an ocean of happiness that keeps expanding. So this is how moksha laghuta krta. What bhakti does is, it makes the happiness of moksha seem like insignificant. So moksha is like relief from pain.

But Bhakti or Bhaktyananda is like the joy of dancing. Joy of trekking. The joy of moving about freely. So this is far, far greater. Now, this is moksha lagutta kruta.

Now, the other characteristic correspondingly is su durlabha. Su durlabha means extremely rare. Now, why is Bhakti so rare? It is not that Krishna does not want to give Bhakti. Rather, Krishna wants to know whether we want Bhakti.

He wants to see our desires. The Bhagavadam says, Krishna Krishna says, I’ll give mukti easily, but I will not give bhakti. I’ll not give Prema. Why? That is related with the last point.

What happens is when there is love, love actually conquers Krishna. So Ajithopya Sita Strelokyam, the Bhagavatam says. That Lord who is unconquerable becomes conquered by Lao, by Bhakti. So the example could be, if there is a King. The King can, if there is a prisoner, There’s a prisoner.

Now there’s one thing is to release the prisoner. That also is a big thing for the prisoner. That is a big thing. And from the prisoner’s perspective, being released can be a great source of relief. But on the 8th, the king adopts as a prince.

That’s a very big thing, isn’t it? So if the king is going to adopt as a prince, that means this person becomes a member of their family. So you could say every citizen also has a responsibility of the king. But that is very different from a member of the direct direct member of the family, the prince. So a king giving release is like Krishna giving Moksha.

But Krishna giving Bhakti is like Krishna adopting. Now Krishna doesn’t have to adopt us because we are already his children. But when we are to go back to Krishna’s abode, at that time, Bhagopal says in my lecture, that you know Krishna, Krishna is reciprocating pure love with His devotees, His pure devotees. And He doesn’t want those who are not pure devotees to disturb Him. It’s like, suppose we have not yet become purified.

And Krishna takes us to the spiritual world. And there everybody is talking about Krishna. Everybody is delighting in talking about Krishna. And we ask, okay, when is the when is the next cricket world cup? Who won the cricket match?

You know, we go to the spiritual world. Going there is not just simply a matter of physical relocation. There has to be the redirection of our heart toward Krishna. So we enter into Krishna’s intimate family. So when it is dulabha, at one level we can say it is so dulabha, there are 2 ways of understanding it.

One is, Krishna does not give easily. And it’s true. It’s like, King will not adopt a prisoner and a Prince very easily. But there’s but the other thing is, because we do not desire strongly. In the same Bhakti r Samrath Sindhu, later on it is said, what is the price of Krishna consciousness?

Intense greed, yes. Krishna bhava or that that the tatra laulayam api maulayamikalam. Just I have to have intense desire for it. So that level of desire is actually difficult to develop. It is the problem for us, sadhakas, is that say right now we are in what in our methodology called no man’s land.

See there is the world of Maya and there is the world of Krishna. And now we are somewhere in between. We are not fully in Maya, but we are not fully in Krishna also. So for us, how it is? And, yeah, Krishna is nice, but, you know, Maya is also not that bad, isn’t it?

So that’s why our desire is not very strong. And the problem is often, like, Krishna is invisible to us. And Maya is ultra visible to us. So, because Maya is ultra visible, the desire for Maya tends to become very strong. So this desire is generally developed through the eyes.

Whereas this desire is developed through the ears. We need to hear about Krishna. The more we hear about Krishna, the more we understand His glory. And the more we understand His glory, the more the desires develop. So it is rare.

The Bhakti is rare because the level of, that level of desire for Krishna is extremely rare. That even among many people who may become devotees, even those who become extraordinarily great devotees, for them to have the level of desire, I desire Krishna and nothing but Krishna. That is not easy. Because in this world, there are so many things which come up. And sometimes in Bhakti, there are good things also which we may need to give up for Krishna’s sake.

See, there is this remarkable thing about Srila Prabhupada. The previous point we said about how, you know, bhakti is about desiring Krishna. Isn’t it? Krishna we understand Krishna is eternal and we desire Krishna. So Prabhupada for most of his life was a grahastha.

And he tried very hard through his grahastha ashram to assist his guru’s mission by expanding his business and trying to offer financial support. Krishna had some other plans. But the point is that there were other disciples of Bhakti Salaam Suttaqur who were also great souls in their own way. But some of them were sannyasis throughout their life. Some of them were they didn’t have grasp the responsibility.

They could study shastra throughout their life. They could, learn Sanskrit very deeply. Prabhupada, he read most of the Shastra that he read while he was traveling. In his business, he would travel all over India. While in his travels, he read books.

So there could have been other godbrothers of Prabhupada who might have been more renounced than him or more scholarly than him. There may have been. What differentiated Prabhupada from them was the strength of his desire. That he had the strongest desire to fulfill his spiritual master’s mission. It was not that, Bhakti Sajan Thakur gave that instruction to preach in the west just to 1 or 2 disciples.

Like a standing instruction to all his disciples. But Prabhupada took it up. So Prabhupada had such a strong desire and because of that desire, he was at the age of 70. You know, love is seen generally by 2 things. What we give to our beloved and what we give up for our beloved.

Like, what we if parents love their children, the parents may want to offer the best education to their children. You know, you can get the best books, the best tuition classes, the best facilities. What we give to our beloved. But, say, you know, we want our child to be child in a hostel. We want the child to be in an AC room, so we have limited money.

We say, okay. I’ll remove the AC from my house and I’ll have AC for you. So what we give to our beloved and what we give up for our beloved. So love is seen by both these things. So at one level if we see, Srila Prabhupada, what did he give?

He gave his entire life. His entire life means even at the age of 70, he went all alone and he his last years were years of total dedication. He traveled tirelessly. No. You know, I am not even half as half as old as Prabhupada.

But when we travel, we often get jet lag. Prabhupada had no jet lag at all. It’s amazing how much energy Prabhupada had. So he was tireless. So Prabhupada has strong desire to serve Krishna.

But along with that, you know, so generally when we desire something very strongly so Prabhupada built 108 temples for Krishna. Prabhupada wrote 70 books. Now among all the temples that Prabhupada built, there was one temple for which Prabhupada endeavored the most. Which was that temple? Juhu temple.

Yes. And no. Srila Prabhupada departed in November 77. And the Juhu temple was inaugurated in January 78. Sankranti time, more or less.

They are just 2 months away. And Prabhupada could have said to Krishna, Krishna, I worked so hard for this temple. Just let me see the inauguration of this temple. Let me see that and then I will live peacefully. But when Prabhupada asked towards the last days, do you have any last desires?

And Prabhupada said, kuch ichanahi. Kuch ichanahi. So Prabhupada did not see that, oh, if I am not there, how will this temple be inaugurated? He saw himself as an instrument. He saw that Krishna has a role for me.

And it’s like on a play, in a drama, the director has a role for a player. And the director says, no. Come back from the stage. He says, no. I want to play more.

No. Come back. Prabhupada’s attachment to Krishna was more than even his attachment to build a temple for Krishna. And that’s how he was ready to give up his desire to see the Juhu temple. He did everything for Krishna.

He fought like a warrior to build a temple. But when Krishna’s call came, Prabhupada gracefully accepted that. So leave alone material attachment that can distract us from Krishna, Prabhupada demonstrated how even spiritual attachments did not distract him from Krishna. So that is the glory of Srila Prabhupada. So bhakti is rare not because Krishna withholds it, but it’s because that level of desire for Krishna is rare.

And it is by associating with devotees who have such desire that we get the desire. When we hear from devotees who are filled with love for Krishna, who are filled with the dreams of serving Krishna, then we also get surcharged by that desire. Bhakti sanjayate bhakti. That’s why association of devotees is so important. And it’s not that in association we just discuss Prajalva.

In association, we discuss about Krishna, then our heart becomes energized with desires for Krishna. So this is how Then we go to the last two characteristics. We have discussed both of them partly. But the first is Now the word this is a little complicated. Now in that there’s means bliss, ecstasy, joy.

Now Sandra means intense or concentrated. Means, this is a very special experience at the level of the soul. It is concentrated, intense, spiritual experience. What do we mean here by concentrated? See, it is there are many different kinds of pleasures.

Say, like, people watch movies. Now I was in America. I was invited at one time to my first in 2014, I started going to America. You know, the first year I was invited to many college programs. So I lost track of which all programs I was going to.

So when I was going to one program, I asked the devotees, which is this university? And they said, this is the American Institute of illusion. Now what does that mean? At that time, I wiped away the America itself was an institute of illusion. It’s spreading materialism all over the world.

But my point but it is actually the college where how movies are made. You know, how to do cinematography, how to do choreography, how to direction, how to do video editing, all that is taught. It’s one such college. So now there are 100 even thousands of movies that are made every year. But some movies become flops.

You know? What is the opposite of a flop? Hit. Okay. So some movies few movies are hits.

Many are flops. Now, why do many movies flop? Audience doesn’t like. Why does the audience not like? Because the illusion is not good enough.

Isn’t it? See, people want to forget the boredom and the minority of their life. And when they are watching a movie, you know, if the acting is not good, if the plot is unrealistic, whatever it is. If the illusion is not good enough, then the spell breaks and then you don’t enjoy it. So what happens is that in all material enjoyment, It is always interrupted or it is dissipated enjoyment.

What do you mean interrupted? Like in a movie, I might enjoy one dialogue. But after all other dialogues are so boring. You might enjoy one fight scene, you know, one dance sequence, but others are boring. So in real life, whatever enjoyment we get, you know, it is not like complete immersive enjoyment where everything is enjoyable and there is nothing to complain about.

There’s always something that is disappointing. Okay. You know, in this part of the world, okay, you know, the culture is good, but the work work is too much. Or, you know, this is not right. That is not right.

Like, many people from who come to here, may want to go to America. Now America, maybe the glamour is more. But then you don’t get get any maids or any staff for I’ll help you get work at home. So everything you have to do on your own. There are challenges.

So that every that every happy experience in this world is diluted and contaminated by something unsatisfactory. So now we may say, okay. You know, I had a I had a meal. This was a delightful meal. Everything was wonderful.

Okay. It may happen one time but it doesn’t happen each time. So that so it’s like when you say there is no happiness in this world which is fully satisfying. The one one thing is satisfying but the other thing is not so satisfactory. So nothing is fully satisfying.

We can all think of whatever dreams we may have had. Some of the dreams are fulfilled. But then, what happens? Okay. One part of this is wonderful, but another part is not.

They say love is blind, but marriage is an eye opener. Isn’t it? So when people say they’re in love, that is completely mad and thinking that the other person is is a fulfillment of all my dreams. Now even if the other person is wonderful, still everybody is human. So everybody has their limitations.

So what happens is that there is no undiluted, uncontaminated happiness in this world. Every happy experience is contaminated. But the experience of Krishna is satisfying at every level. In the Chaitanyaartha Amruta, the example is given that Krishna, enters into and enchants every one of our senses. The sight, the form of Krishna is extraordinary.

The fragrance of Krishna is extraordinary. The music of Krishna is extraordinary. The sound that comes through the ears. Everything about Krishna is enriching, is enchanting. And in that sense, the happiness that we get by immersion in Krishna, there is no interruption in that.

There’s no dilution in that. No contamination in that. So, why? Because Krishna is Krishna is not just Akarsha but Sarva Akarsha. He is all attractive.

Now, getting this experience takes time. Right now, for us, maybe one aspect of Krishna is attractive. Maybe we like kirtans. But, you know, we don’t like japa so much. We don’t like, maybe everybody likes prasad.

We all like feasting. Most of us don’t like fasting. So there’s some things about Krishna consciousness we like right now, some things we don’t like. But when we come to the level of pure universal service, everything about Krishna becomes joyful. In the spiritual world, there is separation from Krishna also.

But even in separation, there is actually a greater immersion in Krishna. There is a greater remembrance of Krishna. And that is why, actually, the devotee becomes even more joyful. Yes. The devotee wants union with Krishna, But it’s like, at the material level there is enjoyment and there is suffering.

At the spiritual level there is union and there is separation. Now, the basic experience of material level is an illusion. So it is like poison. Now material enjoyment is like sweet poison. Material suffering is like bitter poison.

But it’s still poison. At the spiritual level, remembrance of Krishna is like nectar. Union with Krishna is like sweet nectar. Separation from Krishna is like bitter nectar. It is bitter but it’s still nectar.

It is bitter but it’s still better than even the sweet sweet poison of metal existence. The Chetan Chetan would use the example that this is like hot sugarcane juice. It’s it’s sugarcane juice. It’s delicious. We can’t stop drinking it.

But it’s hot, we feel I can’t drink it. So but the point is everything about Krishna is joyful. And Bhakti helps us connect with Krishna, become absorbed with Krishna. And that’s why it’s intense concentrated bliss. And then the last aspect of this Bhakti is is Krishna Akarshini.

That bhakti attracts even Krishna. So the idea here is that Krishna is all attractive. And yet, Krish while Krishna at one level is complete, he doesn’t need anything. He’s called Atmarama. Ultimately, those who become devoted to Krishna also become Atmarama.

They become self satisfied. And yet, when a devotee’s heart is filled with love for Krishna, Krishna is amazed that what is it in me that attracts these devotees so much to me? Like, say, Krishna is here, and say, we are here. So, now, this is the bond of Bhakti. So what bhakti does is that bhakti, with bhakti we become attracted to Krishna.

So when we become attracted to Krishna, we experience joy. But the joy we experience is so great that Krishna start thinking, what is this joy that they are experiencing? So even Krishna becomes attracted. And Krishna also wants to experience it. So Krishna, He is so joyful.

He is so He is so charmed by the devotee’s heart. You know, Krishna becomes Chaitanya Mahaprabhu to experience bhakti. See, Krishna can experience everything, but Krishna can’t experience bhakti because He is the object of bhakti. His object means He’s the receiver of devotion. He wants to be the he wants to be the offeror or the giver of devotion.

So Krishna comes over here and he becomes this bhakti is so sweet, so intoxicating, so enriching that it attracts even Krishna. So in every religious tradition it is said that God is supreme. There is true through that, but in the Bhakti tradition, there is and there is In yes, Krishna is supreme. But in lila, actually it is bhakti that is supreme. It is, in the spiritual world, it is not that God is supreme.

It is love that is supreme. And that is why Krishna hides his Godhood. Krishna in the spiritual world is not acting as if he is God. He is acting as a sweet lovable child. Why?

Because he he wants he is attracted to Bhakti. He wants that sweet reciprocation of love. And that’s why he conceals his godhood so that his devotees can love him uninhibited. The devotees all if Yashoda may always remember, Krishna is God. And she can’t chastise him.

She can’t discipline him. Her love would become interrupted. So what happens is that Krishna through yoga Maya conceals his godhood. So Krishna does not delight so much in exhibiting his godhood as in experiencing the reciprocation of love. So in the spiritual world, it is bhakti that reigns supreme.

In Barsana, there is a place called Maan Mandir where Radharani becomes upset with Krishna. And then Krishna goes there, and Krishna, while seeking forgiveness from Radharani, bows down and touches his head to Radharani’s foot. Now everybody touches their head to Krishna’s foot, but Krishna, he subordinates himself to Radharani. So that is how Bhakti attracts even Krishna. And there is this is the supreme glory of Bhakti.

Krishna attracts everyone, but Bhakti attracts even Krishna. The world is attracted by Madan. Madan is attracted by Madan Mohan. And Madan Mohan is attracted by Madan Mohan Mohini. And that Madan Mohan Mohini is actually the embodiment of bhakti.

So the glories of bhakti are ultimately the glories of shrimati Radharani. Because Radharani is the embodiment of bhakti. And it is that Radharani’s mercy that we seek when we try to practice bhakti. These are her glories and by understanding her glories, by appreciating her glories, by getting her blessings, we will ultimately be united with Krishna. So I’ll summarize what we discussed today.

We discussed 4 color characters of Bhakti, the last 4. The first was how becomes insignificant. This was where I spent a lot of time. I explained how suffering is universal, but the impersonal diagnosis of suffering is, it is incomplete. The incomplete diagnosis is that pain is caused by is movement and should stop movement.

So the incomplete diagnosis is that, actually bondage is suffering is what we want to avoid. So suffering comes because of desires. Desires come because of qualities. So they say that give up qualities and we’ll give you desires, we’ll give up suffering. But actually, what the personal understanding is that there are there are eternal qualities and Krishna has eternal qualities.

And when we dwell on Krishna, we get spiritual desires. And through the spiritual desires, we don’t get suffering, we get ecstasy. We get the supreme happiness. So it’s like the relief, no pain versus dancing. No pain through no motion.

The joy of dancing is far far greater. So the joy of Bhakti is far greater. And the second was we discussed two reasons for it. 1st is, like the king may release a prisoner, but the other is to adopt as a prince. So this itself is rare.

But more it is Krishna gives this rarely, but more that, the desire for Krishna to be greater than the desire for anything else. Anything material or spiritual. This is what is rare. And we discussed how had a great desire to offer the best of this world to Krishna, to spread Krishna portions all over the world. But then Prabhupada was ready to his desire to please Krishna was more than his desire to see the temple that he had made to please Krishna.

So we saw about how love is seen by what we give and what we give up. So Prabhupada was ready to even give up his own plan his plans for serving Krishna. And then we discussed about So here the idea is material pleasure is is always interrupted. It is diluted because it is not everything is enjoyable. But with Krishna, He’s all attractive.

So, therefore, the experiences of concentrated bliss with no interruption. Every aspect of Krishna is attracted. Krishna is the complete sense object for the purified soul. And the last is Krishna. So we discussed how Krishna attracts everything in this world.

But that Krishna so in the spiritual world, what is supreme at one level is Krishna. But another level it is? It is bhakti. It is love that is supreme. And in terms of, but in terms of lila, what actually happens in the spiritual world?

So because love reigns supreme, Krishna himself subordinates his godhood. So Krishna is attracted by love and so Krishna, he does not show his godhood. He actually subordinates his godhood for the purpose of love, for uninhibited love. That is how great love is and it is that love. So ultimately, this love, this bhakti that attracts Krishna is non different from Radharani.

So by understanding the glories of bhakti, we understand the glories of Radharani. And by getting her mercy, we also become attracted to Krishna and enriched with Krishna consciousness. Thank you very much. Hooray, Krishna. So I think we don’t have any time for questions today.

So I’m very grateful to the opportunity to be here with all of you and to see your enthusiasm and your capacity you know, there is intense bliss. So my classes are intense intellectual exercise. So thank you for being ready for 5 days of workout. My best wishes and prayers that in this month of Kartik, all of you become enriched with Radharani’s blessings and get profuse devotion so that in this Mathuradesh, more and more people can be attracted to Krishna, and all of you can also be attracted more and more to Krishna. Of course, Prabhu in one sense, Prabhu in one sense, is playing the role of a Shiksha guru for all of us because practically every preacher refers to Prabhuji’s talks, analysis, presentation, and this has, empowered our preaching in so many ways.

So, Prabhuji, you are nurturing us in more ways than that you are aware of, you know, and we are very, very fortunate that, we could host, Prabhuji during this visit. Prabhuji’s unique presentation of drawing on the on the screen. So I was also just thinking towards the conclusion that, of course, I don’t have a pen and a tablet. So there is lord Krishna. There are there are his instructions, and following his instructions leads to happiness.

And jiva is here, but the jiva is covered in confusion, you know. Then comes Chaitanya Charan Prabhu, removes the confusion, and we experience we’re able to understand Krishna’s instructions for happiness. We will draw this and send it to you, Prabhu. So, once again And it’s your humility, Prabhuji. So with Prabhu’s permission, we will chant 3 times that may, Krishna, Prabhuji more and more and more so that he is able to keep good health and travel all over the world, to present the philosophy of, Krishna consciousness in a manner that is timeless as well as timely, that it touches the hearts of so many, educated, intelligent people, and inspires all of us to practice and in our own limited way present a, philosophy of Krishna consciousness nicely.

So we’ll chant 3 times. So, Prajna, kindly keep us in your prayers and bless us that we are able to apply, the teachings that you presented to all of us, in our own lives and also be able to serve Srila Prabhupada’s movement as some insignificant instrument, taking inspiration, from you. Hare Krishna. So we wish Prabhuji a safe journey back. Prabhu travels 9 to 10 months every year.

So that’s also a nice example of desire, what Prabhu explained in his talk. Thank you very much, Prabhu ji, for for your inspirational visit and benefiting us in so many ways. Hare Krishna.