(H H Kadamba Kanana Swami, Cape Town, South Africa, 29th June 2012) Lecture: Ranchors Gita
We can try to engage the gross material energy in the service of Krishna. However, the gross material energy in itself is perplexing by nature. It is always difficult to work with the gross material energy because it’s unreliable – anything can happen at any moment. That’s just the nature of the gross material energy. One can try a more subtle approach. One can try and absorb the mind, engage the mind in connection to Krishna. We cannot fix the mind but we can keep the mind engaged, and that works, for example: we can sing for a while, we can hear for a while, we can watch a movie. In different ways we can keep the mind engaged in a lot of varieties, and then you can go for a japa walk, then draw some devotional paintings or drawings.
Partha Sarathi, my disciple (as you may know) has now become an artist and is now doing a painting a day, because he is very fast in whatever he does…The last painting I got was of a devotee lying flat on the floor in front of another devotee, and I had a feeling when he sent it to me that:
‘Well maybe he’s the one of the floor and I’m the one who isn’t, possibly.’
It was nice, a drawing of offering obeisance’s. So in this way we can somehow or other stay engaged and keep the mind connected to Krishna! So it’s not that we have to just fix that mind on Krishna and keep it there. No, that would be very painful and not possible. The mind goes here and there but just engage it in various ways! No problem, so that is the art, to somehow or other keeps that mind engaged. Although it’s restless, then all right change the activity but engage the mind in another way. Read for a while – tired now, no problem then put on some music. Tired of that, all right then try something else, or maybe go to the Temple. It’s not difficult since Krishna Consciousness in that way allows for the change in mind, and that is yoga. Yoga simply means to bring Krishna in, in whatever we do.
If you cannot fix your mind on Krishna, or if cannot engage in yoga, and if you cannot do this regular practise, or follow the regulations, then that’s the next thing. If you cannot follow some sort of discipline (because we are not used to discipline. We didn’t grow up with that much discipline since disciplining the mind is very difficult and disciplining the senses is also very difficult – kind of not used to that) so then what do you do? Well then just work, because working is something that controls our mind and senses and is very powerful.
As soon as we are working with the material energy and that absorbs us and forces us to do so many things and that that time flies by and suddenly the mind and the senses have been controlled! Like that so that is why through working for Krishna…So Krishna is giving different options. If we cannot fix the mind then at least work or do something for Krishna, something practical. Then Krishna is very liberal, Krishna even says in the next verse:
‘If even you are unable to work for me, then control your mind, and work without attachment to the fruitive actions.’
All right so then just be detached. If you cannot be Krishna Conscious, then at least be detached from the material world, and that is already a step down, that’s outside of Krishna Consciousness, but it’s a step on the way. So all right at least be detached instead of being totally attached to the world, but that of course is not an option for us! From this verse we are not going to take advantage of this clause, so forget it, since then you are going off in the woods, postponing and not reaching the destination. So for us that’s is not an options since that is where it stops, because Krishna has to remain in the centre of our activities!
