SB 3.28.11

Giriraj Swami: 

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

We read from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto Three, Chapter Twenty-Eight, “Kapila’s Instructions on Devotional Service,”

TEXT 11

prāṇāyāmair dahed doṣān

dhāraṇābhiś ca kilbiṣān

pratyāhāreṇa saṁsargān

dhyānenānīśvarān guṇān

TRANSLATION

By practicing the process of prāṇāyāma, one can eradicate the contamination of his physiological condition, and by concentrating the mind one can become free from all sinful activities. By restraining the senses one can free himself from material association, and by meditating on the Supreme Personality of Godhead one can become free from the three modes of material attachment.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

According to Āyurvedic medical science the three items kapha, pitta, and vāyu (phlegm, bile, and air) maintain the physiological condition of the body. Modern medical science does not accept this physiological analysis as valid, but the ancient Āyurvedic process of treatment is based upon these items. Āyurvedic treatment concerns itself with the cause of these three elements, which are mentioned in many places in the Bhāgavatam as the basic conditions of the body. Here it is recommended that by practicing the breathing process of prāṇāyāma one can be released from contamination created by the principal physiological elements, by concentrating the mind one can become free from sinful activities, and by withdrawing the senses one can free himself from material association.

Ultimately, one has to meditate on the Supreme Personality of Godhead in order to be elevated to the transcendental position where he is no longer affected by the three modes of material nature. It is also confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā that one who engages himself in unalloyed devotional service at once becomes transcendental to the three modes of material nature and immediately realizes his identification with Brahman. Sa guṇān samatītyaitān brahma-bhūyāya kalpate. For every item in the yoga system there is a parallel activity in bhakti-yoga, but the practice of bhakti-yoga is easier for this age. What was introduced by Lord Caitanya is not a new interpretation. Bhakti-yoga is a feasible process that begins with chanting and hearing. Bhakti-yoga and other yogas have as their ultimate goal the same Personality of Godhead, but one is practical, and the others are difficult. One has to purify his physiological condition by concentration and by restraint of the senses; then he can fix his mind upon the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That is called samādhi.

oṁ ajñāna-timirāndhasya
jñānāñjana-śalākayā
cakṣur-unmīlitaṁ yena
tasmai śrī-gurave namaḥ

śrī-caitanya-mano-‘bhīṣṭaṁ
sthāpitaṁ yena bhū-tale
svayaṁ rūpaḥ kadā mahyaṁ
dadāti sva-padāntikam

nama oḿ viṣṇu-pādāya kṛṣṇa-preṣṭhāya bhū-tale
śrīmate bhaktivedānta-svāmin iti nāmine

namas te sārasvate deve gaura-vāṇī-pracāriṇe
nirviśeṣa-śūnyavādi-pāścātya-deśa-tāriṇe

vāñchā-kalpa-tarubhyaś ca
kṛpā-sindhubhya eva ca
patitānāṁ pāvanebhyo
vaiṣṇavebhyo namo namaḥ

śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu-nityānanda
śrī-advaita gadādhara śrīvāsādi-gaura-bhakta-vṛnda

hare kṛṣṇa hare kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa hare hare
hare rāma hare rāma rāma rāma hare hare

Giriraj Swami: So, in this section of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Lord Kapila is describing the process of bhakti-yoga with reference to the practices of ashtanga-yoga to begin. But as Srila Prabhupada explains in the purport, every element in the practice of ashtanga-yoga has a parallel in the practice of bhakti-yoga. So, one who engages in the practice of bhakti-yoga need not engage in the practices of ashtanga-yoga. Srila Jiva Gosvami and others, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, have explained which items in devotional service correspond to which items in ashtanga-yoga. Of course, the beginning of any practice of yoga is yam and niyaṁ; the avoidance of activities that are unfavorable for one’s practices, and the acceptance of items, principles of hygiene and cleanliness and so on that are favorable. And then, one progresses to these other practices, prāṇāyāma, pratyāhāra, dhyāna, and the ultimate goal is samadhi.

Now, here in the purport, Srila Prabhupada mentions the Āyurvedic science. According to the Āyurveda, the body is composed of these three elements; kapha, pitta, and vāyu, (mucus, bile, and air). In the Tenth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Lord Krishna Himself says [Unintelligible 00:15:49], that this body is a bag of these three elements, and that one who identifies with this bag, sa eva go-karaḥ, is like an animal, an ass, or a cow. So, the body is a bag of chemicals or a bag of material substances, and therefore, it is not very important. In Krishna’s instructions to Arjuna at the beginning of the Bhagavad-gītā, Krishna raises the argument that, “Even if you think that the body is just a combination of material elements. . .” The first argument was that the soul is eternal, na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre, the soul is not killed when the body is killed. The body is just dress for the soul. So, Krishna was telling Arjuna, “Why should you hesitate to fight? Because your killing on my order is not really killing the living entity, because the body is just a dress.” So, the warriors on the battlefield who will be killed will simply change their dress. So, what is there to lament if someone changes one’s dress? Because the person continues to live. And then Krishna said, “But even if you think that there is no eternal soul that has a separate existence from the body, even then there is nothing to lament because the body is just a bag of chemicals.” So, who will lament over the loss of a bag of chemicals? So, [Unintelligible 00:18:06], that is the body, a bag of chemicals.

But the body, especially in the human form of life, has significance, because in the human form of life we can realize God and go back home, back to Godhead. And therefore, the Bhāgavatam says that even though the material body of a human being is temporary just like the bodies of animals, but it can award one the highest perfection of life if one engages it in the proper way, in bhakti-yoga. And therefore, we do take care of the body, not so that we can enjoy the senses like dogs and hogs, but so that we can engage in the process of bhakti-yoga and realize the aim of human life. And in that connection, the Āyurvedic science can be helpful.

In one lecture of Srila Prabhupada’s that I heard recently, he also comments on [Unintelligible 00:19:34] and the Āyurvedic science. And he explained, and it is a fact, that the Āyurvedic practitioner can tell everything from the pulse. The Āyurvedic science is so exact that the physician, just by feeling the pulse, can know everything about the patient’s condition. Then he will ask the patient, “Do you have such and such symptoms?” And then, if the patient says yes, then the diagnosis is confirmed. And any disorder is caused by a disruption in the harmony of these three elements, and the disruption can be detected from the pulse. And then, when the diagnosis is confirmed, the Āyurvedic practitioner will recommend some course of treatment to restore the proper balance, the proper function of the three elements in harmony. And when the body comes to the stage where the three cannot be restored in their proper function, then the soul can no longer live in that body, it has to leave.

That was the prayer of King Kulasekhara. He actually prayed that kṛṣṇa tvadīya-padapaṅkaja-pañjarāntam, he prayed, “Let the swan of my mind become entangled in the stem of your lotus feet.” The swans, they play in clear lakes and they go under the water and they play in the stems of the lotus flowers. So, King Kulasekhara was praying, “Let my mind become entangled in this network of your lotus feet. Because at the time of death, when these three elements; kapha, pitta, and vāyu become disturbed, my breathing will become difficult, my throat will become choked, and I may no longer be able to chant your holy name. So, let me die immediately, while my body is in a sound condition, so that I can chant your holy name properly.”

So, that is the mood of the devotee. He is not concerned so much whether he lives or dies, he is concerned whether he can be Krishna conscious. That is his goal, to fix the mind on Krishna, sa vai manaḥ kṛṣṇa-padāravindayor. And at the time of death, when the body’s function becomes disrupted, it may be difficult. So, King Kulasekhara prays, “Let me die now.” Of course, the purport is not really that we should die immediately, the purport is that we should practice remembering Krishna now, while our body is in sound condition, so that at the time of death, when the body is not working in proper order, one will be able to remember Krishna and the holy name of Krishna. We have to practice now because we don’t know when the time of death will come; it could come at any time, although in ordinary circumstances, one may live to be seventy or eighty or longer.

We had a little japa workshop in Carpinteria, and Srila Prabhupada’s oldest disciple attended, her name is Vraja Vadhu Mataji, from San Diego. I think she is something like ninety-three years old. Do you know how old she is?

Devotee: She is ninety-four.

Giriraj Swami: She is ninety-four, ninety-four years old. Very enthusiastic, very enthusiastic. She brought some of her favorite quotations about the holy name with her. And, at a certain stage, we were sort of sharing or we opened the floor to devotees to share different thoughts and realizations, and so she came out with some of her favorite prayers to the holy name. So yes, generally, we may be expected to live to seventy, eighty, ninety. I recently saw a headline, I didn’t read the article, but that research showed that even if you are not in good health, you can live to be a hundred, which is possible. Someone also told me, a devotee told me that people who have poor health often live longer, because people who have good health are used to being healthy, and then when they get sick, which is inevitable, they can’t adjust. But people who are more sickly live longer because they are used to being sickly. So, when they become more sickly with old age, it doesn’t bother them so much and they can continue. So, this is Āyurvedic science. And Srila Prabhupada appreciated it. Of course, this bag of three elements is mentioned in the Bhāgavatam.

I met one devotee, very intelligent devotee, Nimai Nitai dasa, who was based in Boston and he is really expert in Āyurveda. And Āyurveda, like any Vedic science, has its paramparās. And so, I asked him who was his teacher and who was his teacher’s teacher, in what line did he come. And he mentioned someone not so well-known in America from South India who studied and practiced and taught Shuda Āyurveda, pure Āyurveda, not mixed with other processes. But he really had a profound understanding, and I asked him, “Did it all come from the person in South India?” He said, “Actually, most of it came from Srila Prabhupada’s books.” There is so much in Srila Prabhupada’s books about Āyurveda or related to Āyurveda that he got most of it from Srila Prabhupada’s books.

So, of course, we do take help from allopathic medicine as well, as required. Once, His Holiness Tamal Krishna Goswami said that, “Alternative methods are good as long as there is nothing wrong with you. But if there is something really wrong with you, you may need Āyurveda.” But of course, that is not entirely true either. Sometimes our acharyas make these very strong statements for specific reasons, usually to cut some false attachment, material attachment, some misconception. But Srila Prabhupada usually did it the other way. After describing the glories of Āyurvedic science, then he said, “In Western medicine, first thing, they want your blood. Unless you give them your blood, they won’t talk. And then, after blood fees, then some rubbish medicine,” [laughter] but of course, we do need to take everything in perspective.

Prabhupada didn’t want us to put too much faith, I think that was the basic point, he didn’t want us to put too much faith in material improvement, in the future promise of material solutions. Because ultimately, the promises are vain. They may give some temporary relief or benefit, but ultimately, they cannot solve the basic problems of janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi- duḥkha-doṣānudarśanam. The Bhagavad-gītā says we should always be conscious of the defects of birth, disease, old age, and death, because they are concomitant factors of material life. As long as we have the body, we have these miseries of birth, disease, old age and death. Sneezing, for example. We have these miseries. So, therefore, we should not be too attached to the body and think that we can be happy in the body, because as long as we have the physical body, there will be miseries. And we shouldn’t live in the false hope that modern science will cure the ills of the body, because they won’t. Birth, disease, old age and death have existed from time immemorial with the body, and they will continue to exist. So, the real program should be to gain release from the body and the material miseries and go back home, back to Godhead.

And Prabhupada always criticized the scientists for giving false promises of future hope, which he used to call a postdated check, “In the future, we will find the cure to this. In the future, we will find that solution for that.” But where is the evidence that in the future. . .? In the past, as Prabhupada said, they cure one disease but then another disease comes. Say tuberculosis is under control, more or less, but now they have cancer, AIDS, heart disease.” So, the basic facts remain the same. He told the story of one clever lawyer in Allahabad who gave that false consolation, “In the future.” Prabhupada mentioned he also had a case in the Allahabad High Court. So, he was there, and there was one English barrister. And the English barristers were very special and costly. So, one doctor actually had been charged with murder and convicted of murder. The doctor had ruthlessly killed, stabbed to death, his servant. He found out that his servant had been involved with his wife, so he called his servant into the operation theater, the servant had no idea that the master knew. He called the servant into the operation theater and mercilessly stabbed him to death, very brutally stabbed him to death. Then he put the corpse in a box to take it away, and as he was carrying the box, blood was dripping out of the box. And one police officer happened to come along, and he saw the blood dripping out of the box. So, immediately, he arrested the man and he was tried and convicted of murder and sentenced to die.

So, while the doctor was being taken away to be prepared to die, the lawyer told him, “Don’t worry, I will get you off on appeal.” Now, he is being taken to be killed, and the clever lawyer is saying, “Don’t worry, I will get you free on appeal. Now you die, but in the future, I will get you free on appeal.” So Prabhupada said, that is what the scientists say. “Now you die, in the future, we will find the cure.” So, we should not have false hopes in the material world, that is the basic idea. We should see the material body and material existence for what it is, which is, duḥkhālayam aśāśvatam, the material world is temporary and it is full of misery. But again, the human form of life is very valuable because it gives us the opportunity to realize God and go back home, back to Godhead. So, we keep the body and soul together, we take care of the body. And Srila Prabhupada mentions that if we follow the basic principles of hygiene and the mode of goodness as we do in Krishna consciousness, getting up early and keeping clean, eating moderately, eating pure food, kṛṣṇa-prasāda, then the bodily misery should be mitigated. And we can use the body to engage in devotional service. And of course, the goal is to meditate on the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Even in terms of yoga, dhyānāvasthita-tad-gatena manasā paśyanti yaṁ yogino. In dhyānā one should meditate on the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna. And the same achievement can be realized by chanting the holy name of Krishna, because the holy name of Krishna and Krishna Himself are the same.

So, when we chant and hear with attention, the mind is fixed on Krishna, sa vai manaḥ kṛṣṇa-padāravindayor. And when we constantly engage in devotional service, then we transcend the three modes of nature, which is mentioned in the verse, brahma-bhūyāya kalpate. But one must be constantly engaged, māṁ ca yo ‘vyabhicāreṇa bhakti-yogena sevate sa guṇān samatītyaitān brahma-bhūyāya kalpate, one should engage in undeviating devotional service. There Srila Prabhupada says ‘unalloyed.’ If we deviate, it means we are engaging in something other than devotional service, karma or jnana or whatever. But if we engage exclusively in devotional service, have no other interests or no other activity, then we rise above the three modes of nature, and then we can realize God, go back home, back to Godhead. And therefore, whenever we have time, we chant, Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare/Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare and hear; hear the holy name and hear the Vedic literatures.

There is one verse in Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta that says that the living entities have forgotten Krishna from time immemorial, and therefore, the sage Vyasadeva compiled the Vedic literatures, so that the living entities can remember Krishna and their eternal relationship with Him. So these two processes; reading the Vedic scriptures and chanting the holy name, they can really fix the mind on Krishna. And at the same time, we engage the body. Of course, we engage it in chanting, we engage the tongue in articulating the words, we engage the hands in holding the mala or playing kartals, clapping the hands, dancing, or we engage in other activities meant to please the Supreme Personality of Godhead such as deity worship, arcanam, śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ smaraṇaṁ pāda-sevanam arcanaṁ vandanaṁ sakhyam ātma-nivedanam, nine processes. And ātma-nivedanam is the last, complete surrender. Sometimes surrender is said to be the threshold of bhakti, the beginning, and sometimes surrender is said to be the last word in bhakti. Because there are degrees of surrender or different definitions of surrender. Ātma-nivedanam; ātmā can mean the body, it can mean the mind, it can mean the self. So, a surrendered soul engages the body, the mind, and the self in the service of Krishna, ānukūlyasya saṅkalpa prātikūlyam vivarjanam.

Srila Sanatana Gosvami has cited six items of surrender, six divisions of surrender, beginning with accepting whatever is favorable and rejecting whatever is unfavorable for devotional service. Then one should be convinced that Krishna is one’s maintainer, that Krishna will maintain one in all circumstances, one should accept Krishna as one’s guardian, goptṛtve varaṇaṁ tathā. Just like a parent or a guardian maintains a child or other dependent, Krishna will maintain the surrendered soul. Commenting on this item, ātma-nivedanam, Srila Jiva Gosvami says that the surrendered soul feels like an animal that has been sold to a master. Of course, not these days when they slaughter the animals, but in Vedic civilization, the animals were considered part of the family, like children, and they were maintained by the masters. So, he says that in the mood of surrender, one feels, “I am like an animal who has been sold to a master, and I have nothing to worry about, the master will take care of me. I don’t belong to myself; I belong to my master. And he will feed me if he wants, he will keep me alive if he wants. It depends on him; it is not my problem. I don’t belong to

myself; I belong to him. So, he can do with me whatever he wants.” That is the mood of surrender. And therefore, the surrendered soul has no anxiety, it is not his problem, not her problem, it is up to Krishna. And if one is absorbed in Krishna consciousness, in devotional service, then it doesn’t matter if he lives or dies.

Of course, we may want to live because of the facility afforded by the human body to serve Krishna. But personally, it doesn’t really matter to the devotee because he will serve Krishna in the next life, he serves Krishna in this life. The change of body is just a change of dress, so there is really no difference. And therefore, Srila Prabhupada used to tell the story of a sadhu that gave different blessings to different people. So one, I guess a prince, Raja Putra, he approached the sadhu, “Please bless me.” So, the sadhu blessed him, “You should not die. Because of your past pious activities, you have taken birth as a royal prince, you have all facility for sense gratification. But now, you are engaging in all sorts of sinful activities, and when you die, you will have to suffer the reaction. So, I bless you that you do not die.” Then Muni Putra, son of a sage or brahmachari, you could say brahmachari. He was doing penance and austerity for the sake of spiritual advancement. So, the sadhu blessed him that, “You may die immediately because you are undergoing severe hardships, penances, and austerities to realize God, and now you have done enough, so you can die immediately and get the fruits of all the austerities you have performed.” And then a butcher, an animal killer, he blessed him, “You should not live, and you should not die. Your present life is horrible because you are killing animals, and then in your next life, you will suffer more because you will suffer the reaction for all the pain that you have caused to the animals. So, you should not live and you should not die.” And the devotee, he blessed, “You may live or die, it doesn’t matter because you are serving Krishna in this life, you can live, and in your next life, you will continue to serve Krishna, so you can die, it doesn’t matter. For you, life and death are the same because in any situation, you will serve Krishna and be Krishna conscious.”

So, devotees, they don’t mind so much what happens to the future of their lives, as long as they follow the orders of the spiritual master and serve the spiritual master, then it doesn’t matter. They leave it to their master. And they chant Hare Krishna and are absorbed in the pastimes of Krishna and serve Krishna to the best of their ability. And they are free from anxiety—vaikuntha. Vaikuntha is the place where there is no anxiety. But the main process, the most essential process is to chant the holy names, Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare/Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare, with attention.

As Srila Prabhupada mentioned in the purport to one of the previous verses, Text Nine: “The process of Kṛṣṇa consciousness is to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa and to hear the sound attentively so that the mind is fixed upon the transcendental vibration of Kṛṣṇa’s name, which is nondifferent from Kṛṣṇa the personality.” So, that is our challenge, to chant and hear the vibration with attention. And that is easier when we are in the mood of surrender, not trying to make our own arrangements but depend on Krishna to do what He thinks is best for us.

Hare Krishna.

Are there any questions or comments? Vinode Bihari?

Devotee: [Unintelligible 00:50:54]. I have two questions. First question concerns about the various processes of ashtanga-yoga, yama, niyama, prāṇāyāma etc.

Giriraj Swami: Yes. Vinode Bihari Prabhu is saying that I mentioned that the different stages in ashtanga-yoga have corresponding stages in bhakti-yoga, and if I could elaborate on that.

Well, the aim here is to fix the mind on Krishna. And in general, the corresponding practice or process of fixing the mind on Krishna is smaraṇam, remembrance. So, in the Upadeśāmṛta, which Srila Prabhupada has translated as the Nectar of Instruction, Srila Rupa Gosvami says that the essence of all instruction is that one should remember Krishna and His associates twenty-four hours daily. And in the purport, Srila Prabhupada quotes elaborately from Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura about different stages of smaraṇam. And these different stages of smaraṇam, relate to different stages in ashtanga-yoga. But the basic idea is that in the beginning we remember, but only for a short time, then we forget. But as we increase and become purified, then we remember for longer periods before we forget, and at the same time, our remembrance becomes deeper.

So, the two processes occur simultaneously. We remember for longer periods and our remembrance is interrupted for shorter periods, and our remembrance is deeper. And then, when we come to the stage of dhyāna, it is almost continuous and very deep. And then, when we come to the stage of samadhi, it is continuous and extremely deep, that is the transcendental position, liberated stage. So, those different divisions, their technical names for them, dhruvānusmṛti for example. So, those different stages of remembrance correspond to the different stages of ashtanga-yoga in terms of fixing the mind. Obviously, they don’t correspond to the physical practices of ashtanga-yoga that are meant to fix the mind because our method is basically śravaṇam kīrtanam smaraṇam, but the corresponding degree of smaraṇam is analyzed in bhakti-yoga.

Devotee: The second question is on the forgetfulness. The most exalted living entity is Brahma. Even Brahma forgets. I think Brahma once forgot about his creative capabilities, and then he meditated on the virāṭ-rūpa of the lord?

Giriraj Swami: Yes, Vinoda Bihari Prabhu says that everyone in the material world forgets, even Lord Brahma forgets. So, how can we remember?

It is true, Lord Brahma sometimes forgot who Krishna was, and therefore, he prayed to take birth in Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s līlā, he took birth as Haridasa Thakura. And as Haridasa Thakura, he was always engaged in chanting the holy name of Krishna and hearing. He is also a learned scholar. You can see when he gives discourses on the holy name, he cites so many references from various scriptures. He is a learned scholar but, mainly, he absorbed his mind in chanting the holy name of Krishna, spent his time in chanting the holy name of Krishna. And at the same time, he was subjected to great external punishment, being beaten in twenty-two marketplaces. But he prayed that he should take birth, which he did as Haridasa Thakura in Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s pastimes, such that he would never again forget. So, we can take the lesson, that if we chant the holy name, become absorbed in chanting the holy name, in spite of all difficulties and disturbances, we will never forget Krishna, we will always remember Krishna and never forget Him.

Devotee: [Unintelligible 00:57:41]

Giriraj Swami: Yes, yes. Janaka Maharaja dasa says Chaitanya Mahaprabhu says, kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ, that one should always chant the holy name of Krishna. And Haridasa Thakura was the emblem of that verse,

tṛṇād api su-nīcena
taror iva sahiṣṇunā
amāninā māna-dena
kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ

He was the example. Very good. Yes?

Devotee: Maharaja, you said that we have to do service, serve Krishna all the time. So, how we, the persons who need to work to maintain the body and the body of the family, how we can relate this to the service of Krishna? So, how we can do a very good service all the time?

Giriraj Swami: Very good question. He is saying, “We have to work, we have to maintain the body, we have to maintain the family. How can we serve Krishna all the time?”

Well, Srila Prabhupada said that we do as much as we need to keep the body and soul together so that we can serve Krishna. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura elaborates on the same point, and he says that the functions that we must execute in relation to the body, such as earning one’s livelihood, bathing, dressing, and so on, are not considered to be deviations from pure devotional service because we have to do them, otherwise we cannot live in the body. And then, if we don’t live in the body, then how will we engage in devotional service in this lifetime?

But we should not excessively indulge in earning money, collecting material objects of enjoyment, and pampering the body. We should do as much as required, and we should be in the consciousness that, “I am doing this to serve Krishna, I am keeping my body and soul together so that I can serve Krishna.” And then, while we are working, we will think, “Well, ultimately, I am doing this so I can keep the body and soul together to chant Hare Krishna, and whenever I have the chance, I will use it to chant Hare Krishna.” Sometimes people get so exhausted with their material efforts to maintain their families that when they come home at night, they don’t feel up to chanting, they just want to relax, watch something, or do something else, which can be understood, but that is not really the mood we should have. The mood should be that, “I am working because I have to keep the body and soul together, I am responsible for my family members, I have to keep their bodies and souls together as well, but the real goal of the whole enterprise is to chant the holy name, to serve Krishna and become Krishna conscious.” So, if you have that consciousness and you actually use whatever time is available to chant and hear and serve Krishna, then that effort to keep the body and soul together is not outside of Krishna consciousness, it is not a deviation from the principle of pure devotional service.

Do you understand? Your English has improved a lot it seems, yes. It is good. Any other questions or comments? Yes?

Devotee: Maharaja, [Unintelligible 01:02:39]?

Giriraj Swami: Brahma Samhita Prabhu has asked a very intelligent question. First, he said that Hiraṇyakaśipu did severe austerities to restrain the senses. So severe that even the sages could not do such austerities, but he didn’t get the result mentioned in this verse of becoming free from material association. And on the other hand, sometimes we see devotees try to restrain the senses but it is artificial and, in the end, they get frustrated and bewildered and it doesn’t really seem to help them in their Krishna consciousness. And he said it seems that without the mercy of a devotee, that effort cannot really bring the desired result.

Well, what is mentioned here, dhāraṇābhiś ca kilbiṣān and pratyāhāreṇa saṁsargān, that by restraining the senses, one becomes free from material association, is part of the gradual process to ultimately fix the mind on the Lord. Now, Hiraṇyakaśipu engaged in austerities not as part of a procedure to fix the mind on the Lord in devotional service, but his was part of a procedure to gain domination over the universe and ultimately, kill the Lord. So, because his consciousness was not to serve the Lord and please the Lord, he didn’t get the result mentioned here, of becoming free from material association. But what you said is also true of a devotee who tries to practice pratyāhāra and restrain the senses, because that is really not part of bhakti-yoga. So, what you said could be true.

The Eleventh Canto, there is a verse in the Eleventh Canto that says that the cultivation of jnana and vairāgya may be somewhat helpful in the beginning. In other words, in the beginning, one may have to practice restraint of the senses at least to the point that one can follow the basic rules and regulations; no eating meat, fish, or eggs, no gambling, no intoxication, no illicit sex. But the cultivation of jnana and vairāgya are not accepted as items of bhakti-yoga, they are not in the list of the sixty-four items of bhakti-yoga. And at the end of this list in Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, Srila Rupa Gosvami deals with certain items that he omitted from the list, that some people might think should be included in the list. And he does deal with this question of jnana and vairāgya, the separate cultivation of renunciation or knowledge. Of course, we want knowledge of Krishna, but here he is talking about that knowledge of Brahman, just matter and spirit. And he says, Rupa Gosvami says that the nature of bhakti is soft. That by performance of bhakti-yoga and the essential processes of bhakti-yoga are hearing and chanting, by hearing and chanting about Krishna, the result is that the heart becomes soft. And by the performance of artificial austerities or the cultivation of impersonal knowledge, the heart can become hard, which is the exact opposite of bhakti. And therefore, the separate cultivation of jnana and vairāgya are not part of bhakti, but rather when one actually advances in devotion to Krishna, janayaty āśu jñānaṁ vairāgyaṁ jñānaṁ ca yad ahaitukam, one will get knowledge and detachment, causeless, ahaituki, causeless knowledge and detachment from whatever is not favorable to Krishna consciousness will follow.

So, you have made a very profound point, that the practice of pratyāhāra, artificially restraining the senses, is not favorable for devotional service, it is not part of devotional service. One could say it is a deviation from devotional service, other than on that basic point of just following the basic rules and regulations that are automatically included in the practice of bhakti-yoga. Very good point. Hare Krishna. Yes?

Devotee: [Unintelligible 01:10:45]. We sometimes see somebody can be perfectly healthy but they could be crazy. So, these three elements also affect the mental state, or mental state is actually separate from these three elements?

Giriraj Swami: Very good question. Rasikendra Prabhu says that someone might be physically healthy, but mentally crazy. So, on the logic that when the three elements are in harmony, someone is healthy, so does it mean that there is something else wrong, or do these three elements also affect the mind?

Well, they do affect the mind, and if one is crazy, it means there is a disturbance in these three elements. In Āyurveda, and this is what I heard from my Vaidya who is a very traditional Vaidya coming in a line and treated Krishna’s grandson Samba, but according to him, in Āyurveda, they don’t treat the body but they treat the person. And the person includes the body, the mind, and the soul; the physical level, the emotional level, and the spiritual level. So, it could be that there is some derangement that causes craziness. And it so happened that when Chaitanya Mahaprabhu became mad with love for Krishna, his students thought that there was some derangement in his dosas, so they rubbed Vishnu oil on his head to restore the proper function of the dosas. So yes, Āyurveda deals with the mind as well. And in proper Āyurveda, they also deal with the soul.

In my own case, not to prolong the class too long or digress, but when I was in India, I noticed some very contradictory conditions in my physical self and I was confused. This was the first time I had been away for so long, almost three months, and in India where conditions are very different and can be quite challenging. So, I noticed that I was so weak that just climbing up this flight of stairs, I really had to struggle, much more than I ever did in these years before I went to India. I had really become weak. But at the same time, in kirtan, I would dance much more than I would usually dance in the kirtans here. So, in another sense, it seemed I had more energy. So, I was confused by these apparently contradictory symptoms. So, I asked my Vaidya, and he said that because of being in India my spiritual energy increased, but because of getting sick, my physical energy decreased. So he recognized the distinction between physical energy and spiritual energy.

And then I told him another thing, that when I was in Mayapur, I became quite ill, I had a fever, not that high, it was about say 101.5 but I did have a fever and it wasn’t coming down, and I had a lot of congestion and I had diarrhea and I had no appetite. That was the main thing, I had no appetite. I just couldn’t eat; I didn’t want to. They would try to force me and I had no taste for anything. But finally, I recovered enough to travel again. And on the way from Mayapur to Calcutta, I stopped at Santipur, Advaita Acharya’s place. And in Santipur, they gave me a leaf cup of mahā-prasāda. And somehow, I finished all that mahā-prasāda. It was the first full meal I had. It wasn’t a lot but rice, dal, vegetables, everything. But I was still struggling but I noted that. Then, as arranged, I met His Holiness Radhanath Swami in Calcutta, and we visited some holy places, associated with Srila Prabhupada in Calcutta, which he hadn’t visited before, and some I also hadn’t visited. And then it was such that he had to catch his flight around two in the afternoon. So I thought, Well, I will come with him to the airport.

So, at the airport, they brought a big meal for him made with a lot of ghee. And it turns out a lot of it was Radha-Govinda’s mahā-prasāda from the Calcutta temple. So I thought, Well, I will honor it. And I just ate a huge plate of prasāda and I just felt so much better. And I thought, Maybe my body lacked ghee, which isn’t even really on my diet. I think my quota was one teaspoon per day. And maybe it was because it was Radha-Govinda’s mahā-prasāda but, my strength and energy took a quantum leap. [laughter] And then I went to Jagannatha Puri. Even then it was sort of touch and go after that, but when I got to Jagannatha Puri, we were eating Jagannatha mahā-prasāda every day, and I could eat it, I could eat it. So, I asked my Vaidya, “What happened?” And again, he said that mahā-prasāda has special potency and, these devotional practices; going on pilgrimage, seeing the deities, they have potency. And he said that the Caraka-saṁhitā, which is the main scripture that he follows, that most Vaidyas follow, it recommends these activities. So, I guess we are coming back to this point that Āyurveda treats the body, mind, and soul. It includes all three. Yes, so if someone is physically healthy but mentally crazy, it does suggest there is some disturbance in the three dosas. That could be treated by Āyurveda.

All right. So, thank you very much. Oh, just on a lighter note, if you want to call it that, once, His Holiness Jayapataka Swami said that we get three kinds of devotees who join in ISKCON. Some are sincere but incompetent, and some are competent but insincere, and some are competent and sincere but crazy, [laughter] and these are basically what we get.

Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!

Gaura premānande Hari Haribol!