Vedanta Psychology - Suhotra Maharaja Archives

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controlled, not the mind. This idea that the mind is going to stop and go away, that’snot going to happen. It’s a matter of what is the mind doing in its constant, I thinkthey use the word, inner dialogue. That the mind is constantly babbling on and onand on about something. So the idea is that this then must be properly connected.So basically in this study, this whole study Suhotra Maharaja is basing this on twopurports that Srila Prabhupada gives, and then five points within that that break itdown. Everything else in the book then is an elaboration or expansion on this. Sothese purports is the 3.26.31 and 3.28.7. So in the first one:Since mind is a product of the mode of goodness, if it is fixed upon the Lord of themind, Aniruddha, then the mind can be changed to Kåñëa consciousness. It is statedby Narottama däsa Öhäkura that we always have desires. Desire cannot be stopped.But if we transfer our desires to please the Supreme Personality of Godhead, that isthe perfection of life. As soon as the desire is transferred to lording it over materialnature, it becomes contaminated by matter.So that’s 3.26.31. The second one is:The essential point is that the mind, which is contaminated by material attraction,has to be bridled and concentrated on the Supreme Personality of Godhead.That’s 3.28.7. So now these five points that we gain from this, then one:1. The essential substance of the mind is the mode of goodness, which is theenergy of Lord Aniruddha, who is the localized Supersoul feature of theSupreme Personality of Godhead.So now in these then we have heard this, this is not new, it’s philosophy and we’llthat it that that’s philosophy. What’s that got to do with psychology? But we have tounderstand, psychology in the modern sense is considered as a separate subjectsimply because modern psychologists can’t tell the difference between the soul andthe mind. Because psyche means the soul in Greek, it doesn’t mean the mind. Butpeople think the mind is myself, and so that’s why then it becomes a subject as such,and we’ll think, oh, it’s something different. If I really want to understand psychologyI have to go to these modern psychologists, but actually we have much more.So here then in breaking this down is this element of the mind is coming from themode of goodness, the essential substance is the mode of goodness, it’s veryimportant. Because mode of goodness is what is maintaining this world. Passioncreates, ignorance destroys, goodness maintains. So the essential point of the mindis maintenance, because it’s the mind that maintains our material existence. Becauseof the mind we are in the material world. If the mind changes its focus, we are not inthe material world any more, we are in the spiritual world. This is the point of if it’sbrought in line, ok, that will come up.But on the mode of goodness it’s the energy of Aniruddha who is the Supersoul.It’s the Supersoul who is taking care of everything. The environment has beencreated by Sankarsana, the attractiveness to that environment is Pradyumna, so the
whole establishment or whole identity that we have here is then based uponignorance. Because sambandha in the material world represents ignorance. In thespiritual world the sat-potency, which represents relationship, is eternality. But hereit’s temporary, so it’s ignorance, it’s just a reflection. So this identity with ignorancethen this is your basis. But it’s that basis is being maintained by the mode ofgoodness, or Supersoul is there and sanctioning the desires that the living entity has.So we can see in this whole clue here, transferring the desires to the Lord thatgets us out of material consciousness. It is not something else. And bridled means it’ssimply brought in line, it’s controlled, it’s directed. It doesn’t say, it’s stopped. Itdoesn’t say, take the mind and stick it in a box, and then put that in a bucket withcement and then dump it into the Hudson River. It doesn’t say that. It says that it’sbridled. Horses do a lot, they are very active, but they work well when they arebridled, because they are directed. It doesn’t say, stopped. Because the mind isgoing, just say, this has to stop. No, it has to be redirected. This is the problem. Thisis why we suffer, because we try to stop it, rather than redirect it. Because you can’tstop it.Devotee (1): Questions now or at the end?Maharaja: Any time. Just as long as it’s relevant to the point.Devotee (1): Yes, in the analogy of the horse, there is the understanding that youalso have to first break the horse before you can actually put the thing on and makeit happen. So how does that…?Maharaja: Breaking. That breaking is actually, is that understood the point? Meansif we are going to bridle a horse, you have a wild horse, if you want to bridle it, thenthe English term is you have to break it, which means that it has to give up the ideaof it’s wild, but now that it’s a horse under someone’s control. Basically that justdefined it there. It is just that we accept that the mind is a real thing that we workwith and it’s not us. Basically as soon as that’s done, then it’s something we can dealwith very straight-forward, and at the same time, we can deal with it withoutourselves becoming implicated.The difficulty is the more we identify with the mind, then the more we have atendency to be unable to analyze it and work with it. Because as soon as we analyzeit desire and attachment comes up, as soon as that comes up we think that is us, assoon as that’s us then we are distracted. So in other words, we become bridled, themind bridles the consciousness and drives it where it wants, when it should be theother way round.So this whole introduction that Maharaja is giving, here he is giving the foundationof the work, but is basically giving the whole idea that we are not the mind but themind is real. And our whole existence is based actually simply on our mind, nothingelse. It’s not something else that keeps us in the material world. The body doesn’tkeep us here. We have to do a lot of work to actually stay in the body. Means youhave to breath, you have to drink water, eat food, you have to stay out of the way of
Page 1: Vedanta PsychologyFebruary 12, 2009
Page 5 and 6: Means it’s like night is the lack
Page 7 and 8: get married, so what are we dealing
Page 9 and 10: have to be married, but being happy
Page 11 and 12: In the same way it’s said here, t
Page 13 and 14: February 13, 2009Maharaja: Then yes
Page 15 and 16: So this is the connecting point her
Page 17 and 18: Just as we see in the more specific
Page 19 and 20: verse 17 then he brings out this po
Page 21 and 22: Now the problem comes, then when it
Page 23 and 24: And then the next verse:My dear son
Page 25 and 26: that understanding. Because you hav
Page 27 and 28: February 16, 2009Maharaja: So then
Page 29 and 30: So that’s the reality. The illusi
Page 31 and 32: the activities of the verb, but at
Page 33 and 34: as the center, it’s Krsna is the
Page 35 and 36: house is for Krsna, therefore invit
Page 37 and 38: us, it’s not really about the bri
Page 39 and 40: That’s the whole idea, to give up
Page 41 and 42: You talk about what a great pot it
Page 43 and 44: So what happens is here in engaging
Page 45 and 46: technically it’s not bhakti, beca
Page 47 and 48: them. So how much does Krsna accept
Page 49 and 50: efficient cause, what’s the other
Page 51 and 52: interaction is actually the interac
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That’s why justice has to be deal
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So that’s why therefore the Vedas
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So that’s the thing, from habit,
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it. Means mother Yasoda and them th
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in another. They may work on their
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connection to Krsna, 1000 people th
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So we want to do the same thing wit
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Means the person doesn’t know any
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there is nothing else. That’s rea
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control of this hell? Satan. So the
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to be able to take these things. It
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Like sometimes, there was one lette
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If there is a need, if it will help
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preaching, so therefore I should lo
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Maharaja: That’s the whole…, yo
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therefore no Krsna conscious conten
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Just like, if you are sitting in th
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the material world is not still hav
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much then it’s progressive connec
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method in connection Krsna, then yo
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We are doing a fire yajna, it’s a
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Devotee (2): Yes, in one sense, bec
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No, we’ll have to end here. If yo
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they are substandard tastes. If you
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Are you talking about first base? A
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So the element of surrender, sacrif
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Devotee (1): Then therefore I have
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So in this, so this is the techniqu
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through. But for that to have happe
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Maharaja: Yes, you see Krsna, becau
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Maharaja: So this it’s called, Ma
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simple, it is only that much. The K
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even talks doesn’t mean it’s an
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So now we have re-identified oursel
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Maharaja: No, formula you can find.
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that the jiva-sakti in the pure sta
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understanding that there is no tran
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So here then we have a discussion,
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angels, how big are these angels? T
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enjoying that interaction, the visa
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Devotee (2): Maharaja, throughout t
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Maharaja: They get benefit in that
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good, but in a normal terminology i
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we are considered we have situated
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So once you expand the masculine an
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for over a hundred years, and it wo
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Maharaja: He is smart. He is smart.
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of the things. Otherwise if you are
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you are materially stuck. You incre
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difficult to apply. So you really h
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Devotee (3): Well, that’s what th
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having done that there is no ksatri
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Does this starting to make some sen
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So I can’t handle that, so we don
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Devotee (2): Thank you, Maharaja. A
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void area exist here, or the place
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When you go into his office, make a
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clothes, I live in this part of tow
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Because everything is there in the
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that you can use it, those are the
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Devotee (3): Especially young peopl
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Maharaja: Is monogamy an innovation
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you could say four things. One is t
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Maharaja: Was that a good choice?De
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going to interact, I am going to do
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So we can see, structure becomes th
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Prabhupada considered if they take
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Devotee (2): Still a judge or a per
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what’s the essential element of t
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that’s why they make these things
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Maharaja: Yes, but we shouldn’t b
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Vedanta Psychology - Suhotra Maharaja Archives

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