Video 96

The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna read by Swami Atmajnanananda (05/6/22)

your words are like nectar bringing life to squirt souls they are praised by poets and removal sin they are ambitious to hear wonderful and exalted those who spread these words throughout the world are truly giving souls welcome everyone we have a special guest today pranaji from dakshineshwar sri sather mutt the chinese or a senior nun who has been there since 1976 i believe i think so she joined in 1976 and that she's been to our center many times from the very beginning some of you will remember that she spoke under the tent and the early days before we had her building and everything and so she's agreed to help me out and we're not sure how we're going to do it exactly i'll put in a few words yeah inspired when she feels inspired so we're on the chapter the last visit the case show can they hear us from a distance it's okay okay only now we don't see we don't see swamiji that'll be tough that's okay so if you remember the chapter is the last visit to keisha it's page 324 but uh we've actually finished that visit uh takwo's visit to chandrasen and he left there and he's going to the house of joy joy gophel uh was one of the very senior brahmos homage deputies there there were different classes of devotees he is one of those who was very devoted to srama krishna and takur also loved him very much taco went to his house several times and he visited induction ishwar on various occasions also we have all different classes of devotees for the brahmasaj some of them were very much inspired by sramakrishna and keshav of course especially and video krishna goswami and others but this joy gopal he also i don't know how old he was but probably quite elderly at the time at least for for the standards of india at that time so we're starting now on his way to dakshin ishwar from keshap's cottage srirami krishna stopped at jai gopal sen's house it was about seven o'clock in the evening in the drawing room joycopo's relatives and neighbors had gathered but kunta joy gopal's brother said to the master sir we are worldly people please give us some advice master do your duty to the world after knowing god with one hand hold to the lotus feet of the lord and with the other do your work now i may prompt with a few questions myself yeah because here this is the taqwar is very often asked this question and sometimes he says first realize god then live in the world which is way up there sometimes he'll say possible yeah sometimes he'll say here after knowing god then live in the world do your worldly duty sometimes he says after attending devotion to god why does he give three different answers what's the difference in which one should we follow swamiji said the opposite he said take care of the means and the end will come automatically and taker says go straight to the goal and how can it be we both have opposite approaches apparently um so then what do we do do your duty to the world after knowing god and i think what he means is that you should concentrate on the goal you should concentrate on trying to realize god and give that more importance to than the things that you do in the world i i think just to keep the aim in mind not that people can do it how can you just tell someone to yeah realize god first and then do your duties yeah but he's just um emphasizing the the aim so that people don't lose sight of it that what is there so get established in the ideal somehow first yeah no i think if because we see if we have no idea and we just and we live in the world and doing our duties first of all after things won't be our duties there'll be things that are just our desires yes and people keep busy with everything and then they say oh they have no no time left for meditation so just to keep the focus on the ideal i think that's why he says it okay do your duty to the world after knowing god with one hand hold to the lotus feet of the lord and with the other do your work then very often he'll add until the time comes when you can hold on to god with both hands yeah now remember this is to the brahmos also his advice is a little bit different depending on the people that he's talking to then we get another big question is the world unreal yeah and the term that's used here is mithya we we have uh generally three or four different terms that are used that this world is unreal uh we have this four huh four different terms that are used all slightly different meanings taqwa usually doesn't use this term mithya unless it's part of the question or unless he's quoting what the gyanis believe and generally he liked this anitya idea the transitory this is this is the question is the world unreal because they hear this they hear this from the gyanies as shankaracharya's idea this is shankaracharya's ideal really uh if we if we go through the upanishads yeah so this is a famous statement that uh brahman alone is real the world is unreal and the jiva is another than none other than roman this is this is a famous statement uh it's found in one of his treatises you don't remember which one but won't say that okay now he's going to give a very interesting answer he says master yes it is unreal as long as one has not realized god the ignorant man forgets god and speaks always of i in mind he sinks down and down entangled in maya deluded by lust and gold maya robs him of his knowledge to such an extent that he cannot find the way of escape though such a way and exists is only ego [Music] so people suffer only because of their egos now this this is always a big question with uh this takarazi contradicting shankaracharya he claims to turn him upside down a little bit but if we think about it then before one realizes god one takes that attitude that the world is unreal now suramar krishna he's explaining from his own point of view i don't think it contradicts shankaracharya because shankaracharya is saying also at the time of see taka makes that distinction between a siddhanta final final conclusion and sadhana and the attitude we take at the time of spiritual practice he says at the time of spiritual practice that we also have to do this in 1880 and look at this world as unreal he's not talking about it in that sense here now he's saying that uh yes if when we look at this world just as some material thing that the source of our enjoyment and their pleasure and everything then there's something hollow about it there's it has no truth no basis nothing nothing to hold on to nothing substantial he's using it in that sense but the big difference is after the realization so this is what takwo says as long as one does not realize god so when one realizes god one sees that the world is real now i think the main difference is that and taku explains it nicely that there'll be two classes of of realized souls those who keep the ego of of knowledge and those who keep the ego of devotion those who keep the ego of devotion will see everything is a manifestation of the divine those who keep the ego of knowledge may still have this this idea this world is is dreamlike afterwards uh we have our sarvang in the upanishad so we have to we have to put them side by side the the world is unreal but this world is is nothing but ramen itself yeah so uh but as long as we see the world and that world meaning name and form is unreal for chakra giardia afterwards for swami krishna he still sees the divine mother shining beneath everything everything and you know there's a long section explaining this will explain what taka really means he said yes it is unreal as long as one has not realized god see normally we think if we're yanis that once we realize god then we know that the world is unreal before the realization of god we take the world this to be real it seems opposite right now we all think yeah the world is 100 real yeah yeah but he says before the realization of god this it is unreal so i think what he means is that uh it's just something hollow it's something empty it's something that won't fulfill us hmm okay then through ignorance man forgets god and speaks always of eye and mind so this is admaya there's an eye and mine and he sings down and down and tangled in maya diluted by lusting gold my robs him of his knowledge to such an extent that he cannot find the way of escape though such a way exists now this is one of takur's techniques this will be introducing a song so he's he's taking a line from the song and then he'll sing the song it's a very nice way of teaching technique then he says listen to a song when such delusion veils the world through mahamaya's spell that brahma is bereft of sense and vishnu loses consciousness what hope is left for men now he's going to talk a little bit then he'll finish the song and then we'll get that that line you all know from your experience how impermanent the world is so this was talk was main criteria for real or unreal that when he says the world is unreal impermanent he doesn't mean it's a it's a imaginary or delusion or some mental projection or something not that type of idealistic approach so you all know from your experience how impermanent the world is look at it this way how many people have come into the world and again passed away people are born and they die this moment the world is and the next it is not it is impermanent those who think to be your very own will not exist for you when you close your eyes in death again you see people who have no immediate relatives and yet for the sake of a grandson they will not go to benares to lead a holy life oh what will come of my haru then they argue then he'll he'll continue with the song the narrow channel first is made and there the trap is set but open though the passage lies the fish once safely through the gate does not come out again this is a type of fish trap that they hit yet even though a way leads forth encased within its own cocoon the worm remains to die so this is uh where he says that we though a way exists to get out of this that we don't find a way to escape because of maya this kind of world is illusory and impermanent so this is his distinction if we can see this world now as a manifestation of the divine then we can say it's real if we if we see it just as some material object something for our pleasure and enjoyment and everything then it's completely transitory and it doesn't have that that level of reality to it so this kind of world is illusory and impermanent but all things are are made of this vibration attraction and and and uh repulsion so what what could how could possibly exist without something vibra that makes it vibrate and so so that that's a a proof that there's there's a that the world is divine this is it's not it's not a material uh simply material but anyway we get stuck in attachment yeah yeah and a lot of it is also just as an attitude with this the creation of the divine mother that comes from from this uh she gives a birth to this universe like her own child and everything yeah so a lot of it is what what talk we're saying and this is very very much uh a distinctive aspect of his teaching is that it depends on our mental attitude he he puts that way ahead of any objective type of truth because he doesn't really believe that the truth is found in any type of doctrine or anything like that swamiji also makes that statement that it's just in realization the truth of something is the thing itself though what the real nature of the world what the real nature of roman is and brahman is what roman is it our experience will always be partial until it's the ultimate experience and then it's indescribable so this is that catch 22. but this is this is this is why we know that famous statement that's wrong with the energy made at the end of his life yeah that he was a great gyani and a great follower of shankaracharya but this was really tako's idea that we we can see this world not only as real but as something that uh that we can get take joy in and he's going to talk about that in a little bit so now it's it's something to to trap us through our attachments and our desires and everything but if we know how to live in the world then it's a martyr of joy yes so there's another way that he's using this real and unreal it's really brilliant the way he explains all of it one simple question is the world then under now it's interesting is the world unreal it was just not that not that the brahmos believed that they also didn't believe that they weren't gyani's that way shankaracharya type of ghani's in fact takur for some reason always called them huktas he said you're not dry guineas you're about this because they would sing they had their devotion but it was an impersonal type of devotion they were something in between impersonal but with all qualities that they would praise that they would praise all those qualities yes so a little bit like uh western religions especially god the father must have been influenced by christianity yeah yeah of course yeah a neighbor why sir should one hold the god with one hand and to the world with the other okay so he's intelligent okay yeah and uh this is what the keshav used to say they talk well yes you're telling us to do this but one day you'll sting us that means that means that yeah you're you're telling us but what you're really saying is that you're gonna have to give up the world and hold on to god with both hands and he said no no no i'm not doing anything like that but it'll happen eventually so he says why sir should one hold a god with one hand and to the world with the other why should one even stretch out one's hand to hold to the world if it is impermanent now this if this is a young man asking the question or a young woman asking the question with great sincerity then tucker would say yes you're right then renounce everything but this is probably something a little bit out of curiosity and a little bit more intellectual type of question master the world is not impermanent if one lives there after knowing god so this is that that same thing that after we realized god of course it's impermanent in one sense but uh again he uses these terms in in two different senses especially bastu philosophically it can mean the some something has some uh substance to it in a philosophical sense but the other way it means that something has substance to it and in terms of something really to hold on to that can give meaning to our lives so this is the sense that if one lives after knowing god then this world can be meaningful this world we can get great joy we can see the divine and everything then he says listen to another song prasad song oh mind you do not know how to farm fallow lies the field of your life if you would only worked it well how rich a harvest you might reap hedge it about with kali's name if you would keep your harvest safe this is the established hedge of all for death himself cannot come near it did you listen to the song hedge it about with kali's name if you would keep your harvest safe then he says surrender yourself to god and you will achieve everything and again he repeats that line this is the status hedge of all for death himself cannot come near it what is this hedge what do we have to because we have to protect ourselves a little bit how do we do that [Music] living in the world because we all live in the world you know that don't think we talk about uh renouncing the world renouncing the world wherever we go to renounce the world we also live in the world but it's a little little different we we have a different type of hedge taco says one is out in the middle of the field and the others has a ford that they can hide in and everything so didi what do you say what is this hedge he says kali's name but it has to be more than that this devotional attitude i don't never remember reading this well he said yeah so this is this it's a rampage song he said hedge it about with kali's name if you would keep your harvest safe this is the stava's hedge of all verdette themselves cannot come near it i think it means basically having a spiritual attitude yeah it means practicing surrender practicing sharon nagati the reliance on god and having that is the ultimate goal in life but in in tantra also it's a real the name of god is a real power it does protect i mean it does prevent uh all kinds of dangers yes it's a real power that those who and i i we have many devotees that will not leave the house will not go out or anything without saying durga durga so those who take the name of durga shiva himself with this trident will stand there protecting them we had one devotee uh i don't know if you know soon and what's her name soon and then no okay anyhow they got mugged one day they went they went out and somebody uh i don't think hurt them or anything but actually you know the cost of them and took their money and everything so she said to me how is it possible that it happened i took the name of durga before i left the house so i said perhaps otherwise you would have been killed or something still anyhow this is a question of faith there's a story about a disciple of the holy mother i i don't know where i read this but he uh he used to go for his bath in the ganga every day and on that ghat there was a tantric sadiq and he attracted that young man and engaged him in conversation every day and and uh finally the the young man was very bright you know he was a tantric wanted to attract him to to serve him so he he said i i shall initiate you the the young man said uh i'm already initiated so i don't want to take initiation from you but the the tantric said oh who has initiated you he he didn't want to say holy mother he said oh a woman a woman never mind then you take initiation from me again he refused he said if you don't take initiation from me then within three days you will die [Music] and uh the young man then he he went back to his place and he was really worried he said this this fellow is powerful and he can he can really hurt me so um he uh he uh in the first day nothing happened second day also nothing happened he thought oh nonsense the third the third the third night he was in under his mosquito net in the in his bed and uh he felt some uneasy feeling as though some someone is entering his room but he didn't see anybody then he he began to think this is the third day and that tantric was very powerful so he must be sending some something maybe maybe he's really trying to kill me he started doing jabba as as fervently as he could um uh concentrating on holy mother and doing jabba and um and as he did dapper that that force that was he felt was coming towards him started receding and and if he stopped the force again would come towards him so that he spent the whole night like that in in terror and and fervently doing jabba and finally in the morning that that force seemed to recede and he and he didn't feel it again so he he then uh went running to holy mother he holly mother was still living there and and he went running to buck with her to to meet her and she was standing in the doorway as though waiting for him and and as soon as she saw him he came close she said never do that again you got away with it you should have gone to her before she got away with it this time yeah yeah she told swamiji when trump was in kashmir protected him all that time when trauma swamiji was in kashmir and he he got cursed by the person and he said yes baba we we have to honor these things also there are people with powers that can do things so japan is that hedge yes [Music] okay there it is okay yes it is a strong hedge indeed if you but realize god you won't see the world as unsubstantial okay so now we're getting this let's do all of us do is uh see the world there's something of value [Music] at the time of spiritual practice we're trying to break that attachment to the world and then let longing to enjoy the world and everything so we're told to try to see it is empty and hollow this is you know the two songs that indeed he referred to that uh first this this world is uh uh the framework of delusion of illusion that ron persaud song and then the other one is a mansion of mirth this this is exactly what taqwa means juan is on the way up at the the time of doing our spiritual practice we try to look upon this world as uh to emphasize uh this is one spiritual path that we emphasize how much suffering there is in the world yes so we break that attachment and realize there's something permanent to cling to and then afterwards this world can be a mansion of earth i don't know when that happens but so if you but realize god you won't see the world as unsubstantial he who has realized god knows that god himself has become the world and all living beings now this is something that shankaritariya he won't put it this way because he's always worried about preserving the purity of brahman that brahman can't change and can't become anything so sometimes i mentioned last time probably we explained this in terms of the shakti is the really the power of brahman that is uh manifesting as the universe remains bromine that is unchanged but these are distinctions we use just just so we can uh as if as if the brahman needs us to protect him to preserve the purity of brahman so otherwise you know brahman can't change ramen can't do any of these things but taqwa very often use that language in brahmin itself that becomes the universe or the divine mother herself if he says the divine mother herself has become all this then we know it's that shakti aspect is there but he didn't care because ultimately they're one and the same divine mother in brahman that was one of his great teachings that shaktin brahmin are non-different so he could speak of it in terms of brahman or shakti didn't make any difference so he would realize god knows that god himself has become the world and all living beings when you feed your child now it's going to give you some practical advice when you feed your child you should feel that you are feeding god this is exactly the advice that swami sardananda gave to mrs oliver once mrs oliver had um a grandchild who was very sick tell them who she is [Laughter] an american lady who was disciple of swami vivekananda and uh she she was a tremendous support to swamiji and and all of his all um all of his uh um project in india as well as in the west and um uh so this mrs holy bull uh also uh uh uh uh was very close to swami sheridan yes uh uh when swami saradananda was in america and uh he knew very well mrs oliver's con condition what what her situation was the granddaughter was very sick and the daughter was also unable to take care of the child so mrs ollybull had to look after this grandchild and a sick child also and a sick daughter and she uh complained to swami sardananda in the letter then you see this is my situation and i i don't have any time to meditate i uh um there's i i can't attend your classes also which which i would love to attend but i'm not able to come out at all and swami's heart ananda wrote to her very stiffly well you you must think of your grandchild as your chosen ideal when you feed that child think that you are feeding your chosen ideal and um and if you think that this is any any different this discipline is any different than your meditation then you do not understand sri amir krishna she became a very a very highly evolved swamiji had so much such a high opinion so much faith in her she was the one that uh he would really uh very very rarely what he has other people's opinion about things but he didn't always follow it but he really he used to call her mata yeah yeah and and he described her as a saint yeah i said if there if if it grew there there was a saint was mrs o'igo yeah so she was very helpful in the formation of bellarmith and other things and you know a wonderful person saint sarah and the support to all of swamiji's disciples and all tucker's devotees yeah there were so many of these women of this country that uh and england of course with sister nivedita who played a very special role in the movement josephine mcleod and uh sarah bo several of them sister christine really did tremendous work was so helpful they they picked up swamiji's ideal far more than any of the men in this country who were the who were the men that followed swamiji and did did any work in this country were there any not one that could compare yeah but these women seem to have been born for that yeah yeah they're born to be the instruments yeah they they caught that spirit somehow this beautiful statement by josephine macleod that when i first heard swamiji say something i said to myself yes that's true. and every other thing that i heard him say i said yes that's true she had that as good some scholars i guess that she could appreciate appreciate swamiji [Music] then we made the meet sisters also that for the work in california yeah there were so many played an important role so when you feed your child you should feel that you were feeding god this means that samsara this means it turned into a worldly then into a divine family connect everything with the divine then it changes the way we live in the world there's no longer a source of bondage and source of of joy and realization many many people who are devotees they name their children after sram krishna and swamiji and and uh and holy mother you know they give names for that purpose so that they can think of them that way you should look on your father and mother as veritable manifestations of god and the manifestation of god and the divine mother and serve them as such if a man enters the world after realizing god he does not generally keep a physical relations with his wife both of them are devotees they love to talk only of god and pass their time in spiritual conversation they serve other devotees of god for they know that god alone has become all living beings and knowing this they devote their lives to the service of others neighbor but sir such a husband and wife are not to be found anywhere yeah this is uh one thing that we always uh i especially i wonder about these things that takur some of his teachings are so high that we wonder how how many people can really follow these things to that extent but he he came to give a very high idea this uh if unless we have a very high ideal then we won't be able to aspire to something we have to keep going higher and higher and higher the we we had a one of the lay brothers who lived in our trabuco center gurdas he used to have a sign on his door he had a little studio there that said if you want to jump over the uh if you want to joke jump over the fence try to jump over the moon so that means they have a high ideal if we don't realize that ideal will will still be way better than other people so swamiji had two interesting statements one never give people an ideal too high for them and two never lower the ideal now they seem to be a little contradictory but not really it means that if there's some people like takur what good will do if he tells them hold on to god with with both hands he has to give them an idea suitable to them but it's not lowering the idea because it's a step on the way so swamiji didn't want to compromise with truth but at the same time it doesn't do any good to tell the people that yeah you know i keep referring to swami putin because i'm reading that book and he has this long section where he says don't tell it doesn't do any good to tell people to give up all desires he said they'll walk out of the room they won't listen to you he said let them fulfill their desires with some discrimination and observe how much joy is really in it how much they're gaining from it how much bondage comes from it gradually they'll they'll see that there's some joy in transcending all of these desires so this uh this question such a husband and wife are not to be found anywhere it's it's true that it's a rare thing because this is high very high ideal but if people are intelligent they can learn vicariously by seeing observing other people we have to have at least one or two who can follow this idea yeah so tucker says yes they can be found though they may be very rare so if if they can be found even if it's rare that means that it's possible do we have a swamiji used to make a very interesting statement he said you judge an apple tree by the best apple on it it may have lots of apples that are a little rotten or fall and everything but the real quality of the tree is by the best apple that tells us you know is it the ideal that's the best one so this is how we judge something not by all the people who fail but if one or two can realize that high ideal then we know that this is a real ideal and the others suggest they haven't ripened the same way that the the best apples of ripen but we we don't criticize the ideal because very few people can realize it we understand it's the nature of an ideal so they can be found though they are very rare worldly people could not recognize them so this is the other thing that these people who realize this very high ideal very often they remain hidden they don't care to be seen by others and others people are not capable of appreciating them or understanding them they don't think that they're dull boring people or whatever in order to lead such a life both husband and wife must be spiritual it is possible to lead such a life if both of them have tasted the bliss of god now this is that other cases it's only after god realization or only even even a little list they can experience if they if they meditate if they do jump or regularly it will get some some joy from them yes god's special grace is necessary to create such a couple otherwise there will always be misunderstanding between them in that case the one has to leave the other i know why talk was saying this to the brahmos i'm not sure but life becomes very miserable if a husband and wife did not agree well because then brahma was didn't care for renunciation so they didn't they really didn't accept the idea of sunday no sanyasa and their tradition and everything yeah and they criticized a little bit they saw this emphasis on the renunciation everybody criticized taqwa for that even the devotees who came their parents always hated that their children are going to renounce the world and everything yeah even today we know that very few parents want to hear their kids talk about renunciation i always find it very interesting that they can be great devotees but god forbid a child his son or daughter should renounce the world and become sadhu but there are exceptions of course their exceptions but very hard for people to appreciate the ideal of renunciation and uh this is with taco's main teaching this is why we don't have huge not where these other groups will come and you'll see millions of people flocking to them and that we're never going to be popular that way because of this emphasis on renunciation you know holy mother was was once told that mother everybody says that uh tucker is the main teaching there is many paths as many faiths so many past and she said yes people say that but to me it seemed like his main teaching was renunciation to renounce everything for god this is the one thing worth having to give up everything not that everybody leaves the householder life but householders also have to practice mental renunciation now you remember another nice incident in the legislative and then when he went to chennai madras in those days and he used to speak at a small gathering sometimes very few people would come and somebody once said that the swamiji all you talk about is renunciation how do you expect people to come we're householders and everything and he said what can i do this is this is all that i learned from krishna this was the main thing that we learned from him so how can i dilute that message and yeah people people get whatever they can from these teachings we we read these things over and over again some things sink in and some things we put into practice some things we just stand in awe of and think well no this is such a beautiful idea we appreciate it but everybody can put these into things into practice in their own limited way so life becomes very miserable if husband and wife do not agree the wife will say to her husband day and night why did my father marry me to such a person [Laughter] i can't get enough to eat or to feed my children i haven't closed enough to cover my body or to give to my children i haven't received a single piece of jewelry from you how happy you have made me ah you keep your eyes closed and what are the name of god now do give up all these crazy ideas actually it's usually the other way around it's usually the women who are the spiritual ones and then the husband who says why can't we go on vacation and have a good time you want to sit here all the time devotee there are such obstacles certainly besides the children may be disobedient there's no end of difficulties now sir what is the way so this is that question upaiki this is a question that comes up all of the time and takur he answers it uh with a consistent list but sometimes changing the order he has this is very standard things we know that that generally he gives so much emphasis to holy company that most of the time that'll be the first thing that he says keep holy company because it's easiest and the most natural and and we need that living example other times they'll say prayer or other japan everybody will give different answers but most of the time they'll say the holy company master it is extremely difficult to practice spiritual discipline and at the same time lead a householder's life there are many handicaps disease grief poverty misunderstanding with one's wife now remember he's just talking to the men here and disobedient stupid and stubborn children i don't have to give you a list of them but still there is a way out one should pray to god going now and then into solitude and make efforts to realize him now uh in the list that we find when we see holy company is first generally he says if you can't get holy company then practice solitude and he this is this is the one that's emphasized probably most often after holy company here for some reason he's mentioning it first to go into solitude he he meant this very literally this wasn't something that and not that many people can do it but he really wanted people he would tell them even get a separate little place have a little house or a room or a hut someplace where you can go and you won't be bothered by the family or worldly worries or anything and dive deep it's a solitude means to dug deep into spiritual practice not just to be it away from the family but to to really be very serious about spiritual practice some people of course can do it at home people who live alone and they they're practicing solitude all the time but uh it it it can't be wasted that substitute they're not really solid to just living alone but we have to do that so he says pray to god going now and then into solitude and make efforts to realize him as much as taco talks about grace he always talked about we have to strive we have to work very hard we have to put forth effort this is another question that so many people have the this dilemma how much is is our own effort and how much is god's grace now this neighbor will ask the question it's always in the back of everybody's mind does this mean we have to renounce the world so neighbor must one leave home then master no not all together whenever you have leisure go into solitude for a day or two yes sometimes he'll say six months six weeks three weeks two days whatever you can manage but he didn't mind if people did it for you know really a long stretch if they're capable of it not not everybody is capable of even spending a day in solitude it depends on the mind at that time don't have relations with the outside world and don't hold conversation with worldly people on worldly affairs you must live either in solitude or in the company of holy men so these are the two things neighbor how can one recognize a holy man master he who has surrendered his body mind and innermost self to god is surely a holy man he was renounced lust in gold is surely a holy man he is a holy man who does not regard women with the eyes of a worldly person he never forgets to look upon a woman as his mother and to offer her his worship if he happens to be near her now we always have to remember that uh tucker is talking to men here all of these things apply equally and holy mother when she spoke to the women deputies she would tell them equally to women as to men that it sounds like taqwa doesn't care about the women but they're not present this was this was something in the just the custom of the day that when they had these public gatherings that it would just be the men there the women would be in their own quarters and taco would always go and meet with them generally he would take his meal with them they would serve food and and he would give them teachings the very sad thing is that we don't have a record because am that's the one time that em wouldn't be present taco would go by himself so we don't have a record of all the things he said to the women the advice that he told them we assume that it was the same that he would tell the women to be careful about keeping the company of men and the same same things that but we we don't read about it so we could sometimes get the impression oh didn't he care about women we have to understand the customs of the day and everything so the holy man constantly thinks of god and does not indulge in any talk except about spiritual things furthermore he serves all beings knowing that god resides in everybody's heart these in general are the signs of a holy man in the in gita we we find that phrase that engage in the welfare of all beings we use this this uh generally refers to the gyani for some reason but for any holy person that they'll have the sympathy for others and there's one feeling of oneness with others this of course we see in swamiji's life more than anything that the feeling of uh oneness with everyone in sympathy and love for everyone if we want to find the sign of a holy man we look at swamiji and that tremendous heart is neighbor must want to always live in solitude master haven't you seen the trees on the footpath along a street they are fenced around as long as they are very young otherwise cattle destroy them we were reading the other day this only again buddhist that he was saying what a power of observation srirama krishna had that every little thing he saw uh it would turn into some spiritual example an illustration and a lot of it was with the farmers in the field and bringing water to the field and everything but this is another example we go and we see that cows coming and eating some plant it's not protected what do we we don't draw any spiritual conclusion but he comes up with a beautiful illustration haven't you seen the trees on the footpath along the street they are fenced around as long as they are very young otherwise cattle destroy them but there's no longer any need of fences when their trunks grow thick and strong then they won't break even if an elephant is tied to them so that means that we really develop some type of spiritual strength the problem problem is when we uh think too highly of our spiritual attainment and think that we're beyond these things we don't worry about temptations and getting mixed up with the world and everything then we have this pride that comes then we let ourselves in for some fall or something so this was when we reach the point that the elephant can be tied that means really god realization or absolute dependence on god a very high spiritual state for us we're still in the state of being hedged around we have to protect ourselves from the different environments and influence of worldly people and other things just so there will be no need for you to worry and fear if you make your mind as strong as a thick tree trunk first of all see sometimes you'll say perfect realize god now we say make the mind strong that sometimes uh develop devotion for god it just means we have to read some state of spiritual attainment and advancement at least first of all try to acquire discrimination discrimination we have to know what to do and what not to do what's helpful what's not helpful didn't care too much for this philosophical discrimination it was always his practical discrimination with the helpful and spiritual life what will get us attached what will free us that type of discrimination break the jackfruit open only after you have rubbed your hands with oil then the sticky milk won't smear them so taco says oil of devotion neighbor okay now another good question what is discrimination master discrimination is the reasoning by which one knows that god alone is real and all else is unreal okay now classic definition this is the classic definition but again what does he mean by unreal real means eternal and unreal means impermanent the passing show that nothing will last that nothing will will have permanent value for us the things we enjoy that they'll be gone so this idea of impermanent he who has acquired discrimination knows that god is the only substance capital s and all else is non-existent with the awakening of the spirit of discrimination a man wants to know god so this discrimination we we can't have that longing for the real until we learn that that there is something that there is a difference between that which is impermanent unless we know that something is imperfect and permanent that something will will lead to suffering in this world unless we have a clear understanding of that we won't long to get out of it so the discrimination then we have to realize that there is something that there is something that would help can help us transcend all of this there's something real permanent to hold on to and it's our own self and god's running within with the awakening of the spirit of discrimination a man wants to know god on the contrary if a man loves the unreal such things as creature comforts name fame and wealth so in permanent things then he doesn't want to know god who is of the very nature of reality through discrimination between the real and the unreal one seeks to know god listen to a song come let us go for a walk or mind to kali the wish fulfilling tree and there beneath it gather the four fruits of life of your two wives this passion and worldliness bring only this passion bring along dispassion only on your way to the tree and ask her son discrimination about the truth by turning the mind within oneself one acquires discrimination and through discrimination one thinks of truth yeah we have to be introspective we have to think a little deeply about things then the mind feels the desire to go for a walk to kali the wish fulfilling tree breaching that tree that is to say going near to god you can without any effort gather four fruits namely yes after realizing god one can also get if one so desires which are necessary for leading the worldly life okay then we can stop any final words anyhow we're very happy that puerto rico would join us she just came in from india so she has a little jet lag and a little bit of allergy and a little thought problem but uh she will be speaking uh a week from sunday 15th yeah yeah so everyone is welcome it'll be live streaming but uh please come you can meet her in person uh if you come to the center that uh on the 15th so we will close [Music] we bow our heads before srama krishna who was stainless of infinite nature whose heart melts in sympathy for his devotees who is an embodiment of the divine and the supreme lord and ever worthy of our worship [Music] peace peace peace