19810603 The Yoga of Intelligence

The following is a class given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on June 3^rd, 1981 at Murāri Sevak Farm, in Mulberry, Tennessee.

Jayapatākā Swami: Devotional service is a refining process, purification of the consciousness,

apareyam itas tv anyāṁ
prakṛtiṁ viddhi me parām
jīva-bhūtāṁ mahā-bāho
yayedaṁ dhāryate jagat
[Bg.7.5]

The living entity is beyond the mind, beyond the gross body. So, Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, he describes this purification with the processing of sugarcane. You know, the processing of sugarcane, you saw it a sugarcane begins from the seed or a piece of sugarcane. You plant the sugarcane, and it grows into a plant. And then when it’s flowering stage comes, you cut it down and you squeeze it and you get out the sugarcane juice. And that juice is further refined.

So, the seed of the sugarcane that is described as the seed of faith, to hear from the authorities authorized by Kṛṣṇa to associate with devotees that require some minimum little faith, that little faith, at least enough faith to cause one to hear and associate with devotees, that is like the seed of the sugarcane. The plant itself is like the sugarcane tree. Excuse me, the sugarcane plant or tree is like the association with devotees. Just like there is so many sugarcane plants in the field, associating with each other. Then that is further refined by actual practice of devotional service under the guidance of spiritual master. That is known as anartha-nivṛtti bhajana. That means clearing away the impediments,

ādau śraddhā tataḥ sādhu-
saṅgo ’tha bhajana-kriyā
tato ’nartha-nivṛttiḥ syāt
tato niṣṭhā rucis tataḥ
[Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.4.15]

The purification. Just like when you squeeze the sugarcane, you get the juice but in that juice there is all kinds of impurities. One of those like pieces of sugarcane husk, the husk of the plant, dirt, so many things. So what? That juice has to be purified. So that juice is purified by putting it on the fire. When you heat up the sugarcane juice, then it starts to foam. Just like when you put butter on the fire. Must have all put butter on the fire. Somebody must have put. But it foams up in the beginning and then so many impurities come. So, in the same way, this sugarcane juice, when you put it on the fire, it starts to foam. And as the foam comes up and then it is taken off with a ladle and thrown. It is taken off and thrown away. Just like a purīs type of ladle with the holes in it, they use that.

Of course, the dogs, they always come and eat that. They get very intoxicated eating the foam from the sugarcane juice, you see, like that all the things which the devotees throw away, karma, jñāna, mukti, all these things. There are others scrounging around to always think that they are very valuable. They do not see that what is actually there in the pot being cooked, that is what is really valuable. But they are satisfied with the foam. They are like dogs in the sense that they are taking the remnants and missing the actual essence. So finally, at a certain point, no more foam comes, and then it just starts to boil and boil more and more. And so, it gets thicker and thicker. Finally, what happens? At a certain point, it becomes practically zero or five or ten percent only water.

So, what happens when you put your scoop in it and lift it up in the air? Then instead of just the sugar juice dripping off, as it drips off, it hardens because it cools in the air. And a toffee string will blow in the wind. Then you know that now it is solidified. Now it has become sugar syrup or molasses syrup atleast gur syrup. It is stable. So that is just like the niṣṭhā, fixed devotional service. When it is fixed in devotional service, the impurities, the basic impurities, have already come out, the gross impurities. Of course. Still, devotional can be further and more, even highly refined.

As you can see, as one is going on, the product is becoming sweeter and sweeter. So, what they do is then they take that devotional… devotional syrup (laughter) that sugar juice, and they take it out of the frying pan and put it into clay or some wooden receptacles, and they begin. At this point, they want to crystallize it. They want to crystallize it and make it into gur. Now, it is this syrup. Gur means crystal molasses. It is like a brown sugar with the molasses mixed in it. That is Gur. I do not know what in English you call it, jaggery? So, it does not by itself crystallize, won’t crystallize... It can just sit there as a syrup, like a maple or something. It would not crystallize on its own. So, what the farmer has to do is to take his wooden spoon, take a little bit on the side of the pot, and start to rub it very fast in the air.

It keeps rubbing it so fast that it cools very quickly and rubbing and rubbing forms some crystals, and those crystals are the seed. I mean, even when we practice devotional service, everything is going nice. Still, one needs the mercy of the spiritual master. With just that little seed of mercy, that special mercy. He just takes that little one crystal that he made, and he puts it in, and the whole thing… stirs it and it all crystallizes, just completely turns into like sugar granules. But it is got kind of molasses syrup a little bit mixed up with it, brown sugar with a little molasses mix. So, that now his devotion has become further refined. So, in turn that syrup can be turned into gur candy, which is further heated and then stretched and made it into gur candy.

But from there what you can do is you can purify, take out the molasses and you just have the sugar. So, that is become even more sweet. From the sugar, then one can turn it into sugar candy by dissolving it again and then crystallizing it, having it form crystals on a string to make sugar candy, which is the most sweet of all the sugar products, cure for jaundice and other things. So just in this way one gets attached, gets ecstatic love for God and ultimately gets pure love for God, for Kṛṣṇa. So, in the same way as the sugar is getting gradually more and more concentrated in its sweetness, the devotional service becomes more and more concentrated, apareyam itas tv anyāṁ, prakṛtiṁ viddhi me parām [Bg. 7.5], This is all beyond the material nature’s control. This is part of the spiritual nature.

This whole refining process is taking one completely beyond the control of this material nature. So, the devotee never thinks he is doing enough. Even Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, She thinks that She is not a very good devotee, is not able to do much for Kṛṣṇa’s service, what to speak of anyone else? So, the devotee is always trying to make that devotional service more and more free from impurities, more and more concentrated. And you know, the taste becomes more and more subtle. Sugarcane juice to gur, then to crystal gur, crystal molasses, brown sugar to the white sugar, to the white sugar candy. It becomes more and more subtle, more and more intense, more and more solidified. So, we should similarly take our devotional service and make it more and more purified, more and more intense. So, this is not a very difficult process. It is not a very difficult process, but one can hasten the progress by desire.

You know how when Kṛṣṇa was reported by all the cowherd boys that He was stealing, that He was eating mud. And then Mother Yaśodā called Kṛṣṇa that, “You have been eating mud?” And He said, “No, I have not been eating any mud.” And then Balarāma said, “Yes, He is been eating mud. I also saw.” And then Kṛṣṇa said, “You can look in My mouth, they are all lying. I have not been eating any mud.” Mother Yaśodā, “Even brother Rāma is saying He is eating mud.” So then of course she opened up His mouth to look. Looking in, then she saw all the whole universe and the creation, so many millions of universes. And there she saw the one universe that we are in. And within that universe she saw a planet Earth and within the planet Earth she saw that there she was looking inside Kṛṣṇa’s mouth. She saw how everything was encompassed within Kṛṣṇa. And she became overwhelmed by this sight and could not believe what she was seeing. Suddenly Kṛṣṇa again spread His yogamāyā and put her into the motherly mood.

So, then Mother Yaśodā, of course, one time she wanted to tie Kṛṣṇa. As Kṛṣṇa was being naughty, she wanted to tie Him to a mortar and pestle. It is very hard to catch Kṛṣṇa, with great endeavour, finally, she caught Kṛṣṇa, she was sweating. And then she wanted to tie Kṛṣṇa with the rope. So, when she tried to tie Kṛṣṇa and wrapped the rope around Kṛṣṇa, it would always come out two fingers short.

No matter how hard she tries, she did bring more and more ropes and more and then try to tie a round and it would always come out two fingers short. Does anyone know why it was two fingers short? (a devotee answers) Yes, what you say is all true, but two fingers, one finger for one thing and one finger for another thing. What it takes is two – two things are necessary. (laughter). No one knows that one. (devotees answer one by one) And? Devotion. Love and devotion. That is one, the other? The one thing is the devotee’s love. Love, devotion. And the other thing is Kṛṣṇa’s will. Kṛṣṇa has to agree to be tied up. (laughter) His will and the devotee’s love and His will combine. Then He can be tied up.

So, Yaśodā was showing the love when Kṛṣṇa finally gave His will that she was able to tie Him up. Of course, so we have to have the desire, the desire, even a little spark may be there can be fanned. By fanning it becomes and more and becomes a fire. Of course, the desire that Yaśodā had to serve Kṛṣṇa was so great that the great sages, they are praying that, “What is the use of all these type of regulatory principles, giving charity, meditating, on the forefathers – offering oblations, bathing in the sacred rivers, doing all type of sacrifices. All these things I give up. I want to know that what? How is it? What is the practice, quality that Nanda and Yaśodā have that Kṛṣṇa is crawling in their backyard on His knees just like an ordinary child?”

This desire of Mother Yaśodā to serve Kṛṣṇa is so great. Still Kṛṣṇa is independent. He does not have to be tied up. He allows Himself to be tied up because of devotee’s love. So, the devotee’s love and Kṛṣṇa’s will, these two things have to be there to tie up Kṛṣṇa in the heart. Everyone is utilizing their energy for something. But if their energy is used to tie up Kṛṣṇa in the heart, once one has Kṛṣṇa there, then that heart becomes completely purified and can no longer be the residence for Māyā. We have to prepare our heart. So maybe there is some questions. Just have some questions and answers.

Question: (Inaudible)

Jayapatākā Swami: That is, that is the real process. That is the vehicle. Desire is the fuel. You have the vehicle. But if there is no desire, it does not go anywhere. In the proportion to the desire, that is how fast your vehicle is moving, that is the acceleration. I did say in terms of volts and amps. I don’t know but myself, I do not know. No one else does either. Is not it the volts to give the push and the watts? (laughter) Castor oil, fuel so atleast if that at least whether it is low or high octane. But if it is singular, then whatever fuel is there, it is one pointed.

Question: So, how to make our desire very strong?

Jayapatākā Swami: How to make the desire very strong? That is the whole process of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, trying to make our desire very strong. The sign that whether we are advancing is how strong is our desire. The stronger our desire is for Kṛṣṇa, then the least, the more that we are becoming detached from illusion, from Māyā. So that process is there, sādhana-bhakti. So, what we have to. As I mentioned that in the beginning, we practice devotional service according to rules and regulations. It may even appear like an artificial imposition. It is not an artificial imposition. It is just that our mind, our consciousness is polluted. Devotional service attraction to Kṛṣṇa is spontaneously there within us but we are so contaminated. Just like if your vehicle is sitting idle for a long time, it may not self-start. You may have to push it once it is going a little bit, then takes off, this is more or less our state that our battery is down.

So, we need that push so our intelligence, it is able to tell us that this is Kṛṣṇa and this is Māyā. I should accept everything favorable to Kṛṣṇa and reject everything unfavorable. The system of practicing devotional service is there, so, we follow that. Even sometimes it seems difficult to get up in the morning for maṅgala-ārati or to listen to the Bhāgavatam class or to do our service and rather do something else. But we know that by doing this service that will purify us. Then as we become more purified, we start to develop a taste. And as this taste increases and we become more and more attached, gradually devotional service takes on a spontaneity. And that spontaneity should be further kindled. So, it becomes completely rāga-bhakti or spontaneous devotional service. Then from there the sailing becomes even easier. Then we have to watch out for things like aparādha. I already discussed about aparādhas in Atlanta.

So here we can discuss about weeds that surround the farm. You know, elephants that are there. There is the mad elephant offense that tears down the garden. One puts a proper barrier fencing around this devotional creeper, then the mad elephant as to committing an offense to a Vaiṣṇava cannot break in. Then the next thing to worry about, like Mahāprabhu said that,

‘niṣiddhācāra’, ‘kuṭīnāṭī’, ‘jīva-hiṁsana’
‘lābha’, ‘pūjā’, ‘pratiṣṭhādi’ yata upaśākhā-gaṇa

prathamei upaśākhāra karaye chedana
tabe mūla-śākhā bāḍi’ yāya vṛndāvana

[Cc. Madhya 19.159 & 161]

First of all, it is necessary to cut the weeds. Then the main devotional keeper will go up to Vṛndāvana. What happens is that we use our desire for devotional service. Our desire to go to Kṛṣṇa that is growing and growing like a creeper going right out of this material world.

brahmāṇḍa bhramite kona bhāgyavān jīva
guru-kṛṣṇa-prasāde pāya bhakti-latā-bīja

mālī hañā kare sei bīja āropaṇa
śravaṇa-kīrtana-jale karaye secana

upajiyā bāḍe latā ‘brahmāṇḍa’ bhedi’ yāya
‘virajā’, ‘brahma-loka’ bhedi’ ‘para-vyoma’ pāya

tabe yāya tad-upari ‘goloka-vṛndāvana’
‘kṛṣṇa-caraṇa’-kalpa-vṛkṣe kare ārohaṇa

[Cc. Madhya 19.151–154]

The devotional creeper. It grows, grows out of the fourteen planetary systems, breaks through the universal covering, going by the Virajā River into the impersonal ocean of white light. And going beyond that till finally it reaches the Vaikuṇṭha planets of Nārāyaṇa. And then tabe yāya tad-upari ‘goloka-vṛndāvana’, then it goes beyond that upto ‘kṛṣṇa-caraṇa’-kalpa-vṛkṣe kare ārohaṇa, and it takes shelter of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet. So, this devotional desire, this creeper is growing and growing right out of the universe. And why? Because mālī hañā kare sei bīja āropaṇa, śravaṇa-kīrtana-jale karaye secana, the devotee, he is giving the water of what? Hearing and chanting.

So, what happens when it gives the water is that water falls all around the plant that other desires may also come up and so these desires get watered, they get that water. And so, they start to grow as weeds or competitor plants. So, what happens if you have nice garden, but all other type of plants grows weeds? Then the original fruit or vegetable plant, the nourishment is stolen from them. So, it does not produce the fruit nicely, does not grow properly, can even be stunted or smothered depending on the extent of the weeds. So, in the same way, someone may be practicing very nicely devotional service, putting lots of water, putting lots of irrigation, chanting, serving. But without being very careful gardener, he has allowed other desires to come and actually they are taking the nourishment. What type of desire? ‘niṣiddhācāra’, ‘kuṭīnāṭī’, ‘jīva-hiṁsana’, ‘niṣiddhācāra’, you know what is the meaning of niṣiddhācāra? Anyone knows, niṣiddhācāra? Forbidden ācāra, activities, breaking the regular principles of doing unauthorized activities, getting attached to this type of activity.

That is the weed kuṭīnāṭī. Anyone know this meaning? kuṭīnāṭī? That means devious, envious, nitpicky, backbiting type of activity where one is always fault finding or trying to obstruct other people’s service. Or there is so many ways procrastinating. It is all kuṭīnāṭī. It means not straightforward in so many different ways. Devious, political, kuṭīnāṭī. So, that is another weed grows into an actual personality trait. A weed of devotion against the devotion. jīva-hiṁsana means… Anyone knows jīva-hiṁsana? That is an easy one. Jīva means living entity. Yes, to commit violence against the living entities. To commit violence against the living entities. That is of two kinds, Prabhupāda said not to try to give them Kṛṣṇa consciousness is also violence, if one has Kṛṣṇa consciousness or to be cruel, eating animal flesh or hurting, then kuṭīnāṭī, jīva-hiṁsana, pūjā, lābha.

First is lābha. Lābha, anyone would like to say for lābha? Profit! lābha means profit, motive. Seeing… when one starts to see material acquisition as gaining something, then when he loses that he is lamenting that profit more brings in a whole hankering and lamentation and fearing, that whole syndrome. So, this profit – seeing material things as a personal profit or hankering for it, this type of fruitive desires like sometimes you devise, “Have been serving for two years. What have I got out of it? Could have been in dental school.” This is all. What profit? He does not see that two years, he probably was saved from being a worm in someone’s tooth in his next birth. Doesn’t see that!

yaṁ yaṁ vāpi smaran bhāvaṁ
tyajaty ante kalevaram
taṁ tam evaiti kaunteya
sadā tad-bhāva-bhāvitaḥ
[Bg. 8.6.]

Maybe dying on operating on someone’s tooth. Who knows he may become a worm in the cabin. Who knows what he is gonna think of at the time of death? By serving even for a short time, he never loses. For that he is guaranteed at least a better birth. How can he start thinking what have I got out of this? That is because what happened is desires have overcome his intelligence and he is trying to see by material lust. Then he starts to see everything in terms of selfish profit. Then he forgets what is his real profit for material, lābha. Material profit, lābha and pūjā.

Pūjā is an easy one. Worship. What type of worship could be a weed? Personal. To want to personally be worshipped. Just like sometimes, someone may want to be a great name in lights or something. For this desire to be worshipped materially, that is another weed one has to be careful of. Then pratiṣṭhādi, there is many more, these are just six examples.

But pratiṣṭha, Anyone knows what pratiṣṭha is? Anyone know what pratiṣṭha means? pratiṣṭha means desire for position, power as pratiṣṭha. Even devotees, they may hanker for some type of position or some kind of. Of course, responsibility for devotional service is alright, that is very nice to want more and more responsibility. But if it gets to the point where one actually starts to envy, “Oh, that person has got a position or a nice office or he gets the Mahā plate or something like that, whatever it may be that comes into pratiṣṭha. Ambition, personal ambition, which is not devotional, which is desire for some material conception of position, power. So, and there is so many others like this. We. So, we have to watch out for these, the desires may come in our mind, but we are not this mind.

apareyam itas tv anyāṁ
prakṛtiṁ viddhi me parām
jīva-bhūtāṁ mahā-bāho
yayedaṁ dhāryate jagat
[Bg. 7.5.]

We already said we are beyond the eight material elements, including the mind. So, when the mind comes up with some ideas, just like looking in your tape library, so many ideas are recorded there on the tapes. So, in our mind we have so many desires and so many impressions and so many recollections that are there from so many births. Why only this birth? So, then something comes up in our mind and we think, “Oh, I have to immediately do something about.” No, that is just automatic recall coming up. The thing one should just like clear it out again, let it go on. If it is not going to help us devotionally, spiritually, then we should reject it. An ordinary person, whatever he thinks, he immediately identifies. He thinks that, “I am my thoughts.” So, idea comes, “Oh, I should see him, this movie or I should go to this place, or I should meet with this person.” Whatever. Something comes up immediately he thinks, oh, I have to do that. Because he is identifying so strongly with his mind. To advance spiritually, one realizes the mind is just like a library of so many impressions, so many experiences. So, we transcend the mind. The mind, just like the rivers are going in the ocean, so many thoughts are coming in our mind. You see, but the mind that should, the intelligence, that should remain steady. Just like the ocean is calm even though so many rivers are coming into it. So, in the same way so many thoughts may come up, we just allow them to go their way. We do not chase after them. “Oh, I thought this. Yes, what about that?” As soon as we latch onto something, maybe I should do that. Then automatically already it starts.

From contemplation comes attachment. From attachment comes lust. From lust comes anger. From anger comes illusion. From illusion comes falldown. Now the picture comes in our mind. We imagine that I can enjoy it. Then when we think about it more and more, we get attached to it. Then we become lusty for it, must enjoy. Then when we do not get it or there is some delay, then we become angry. We become illusioned. Then we fall down, forget. So, they are near the… so we should learn this secret of not identifying with our mind. That is what can protect us. Otherwise, if every idea our mind comes up with, if we start to think, “Oh, this desire came up in our mind. I have to do something. Then what happens is we become always completely attacked.” So, we have to learn how to allow it to go by, by bringing in again Hare Kṛṣṇa, bringing in another thought.

It is a thought that plagues us. Then we have to know how to counteract it with appropriate philosophy or appropriate thought of Kṛṣṇa. Knowing that even negatively, to think about something for too long will create an attachment. [Aside: You going, do not go without a cookie.] So, we can increase our desire by chanting and hearing. That is the watering that will automatically increase. Then we just have to see that these other weeds do not come. And the seeds of the weeds are there. Even we have given up the desire. “I do not want sense gratification. I want to advance spiritually.” But still we have to always keep our heart flooded. Because in the heart there is so many seeds of desire. So, if the heart is always flooded, just like if you always keep a field flooded, then the grass cannot sprout.

In Bengal, we grow lots of rice, cannot grow rice, at least irrigated rice on this type of slopy land, grow some type of rice. But the regular rice paddies. First of all, you have to what they call puddle the soil it makes into a mud. Then you plant seedlings in it and you keep always three to six inches of water. What that does is if it dries out, then the soil will crack. If the soil cracks, then the water will no longer stay. It will go through the cracks, down to the subsoil. But as long as it is mud, then it holds the water. Depending, depending on the clay content, it can hold it up to fifteen days. Our Māyāpur is a little bit sandy, so it holds it for a week. So, every week you have to keep putting water.

Sometimes you have to go and mix it up a little bit either by hand. They have instruments also to do that. So, by doing this, no grass also comes in the field. Because the grass seeds, they cannot. As long as the water is there, they cannot sprout. But as soon as the water would dry and then immediately grass come out. There is so much fertilizer there for the rice, so much manure, cow dung, chicken dung, whatever we get. So, in the same way, if we keep our heart always flooded with chanting, with devotional hearing of the words of the spiritual master and the Vaiṣṇavas serving, then our heart is filled with this water of devotion. Therefore, the seeds cannot sprout. But as soon as we allow that water to dry up, then the soil gets cracked, seeds sprout, grass starts coming.

Then we have to immediately reirrigate and then pull out all those weeds again. And that is more strenuous than just always keeping it flooded right from the beginning, the first thing that the local farmers taught me was the best weeding is a timely weeding. Just after ploughing about like seven days after somebody said there is a particular time just when it is very small. That time, if you go through with your instruments, then you upturn all the little baby weeds, and then they dry in the sun, and it is very easy. Once they get big, then it is very hard. The point is, don’t let the weeds grow too long, get them out before they can start, or best yet, just keep the field flooded so they do not even sprout. So then where water is there, the rice plant is growing, the devotional keeper is going to grow.

We just have to see what weeds are coming up, Pull out those weeds. Cut the weeds. Any other questions? Right. If you keep flooded long enough, they do not want to sprout. Yes. It even mentions that in the scripture. You keep it flooded long enough; they will fully rot ofcourse then you do not want too also. Still, you do not empty the water out. But anyways, it is a comfort to know that the seeds have themselves rotted. Bhakta Bill, yes.

Bhakta Bill: You said that the intelligence is connected with the soul. Yes, that is a new concept.

Jayapatākā Swami: Because the quality of the soul is intelligence. Jīva is by nature intelligent, cognizant, cit-śakti. Cognizance means intelligence. So that intelligence, if it is used in serving the material nature then it becomes contaminated. And what happens is it simply drags the soul but that same intelligence, if it is used in the service of the living entity or the spirit and that intelligence can engage the mind and the senses in the spiritual activities then that liberates us from this material. So, the nature of the soul is to be active, cognizant, aware, intelligent. So, another name for Kṛṣṇa consciousness is called buddhi-yoga, the Yoga of intelligence. Prabhupāda wrote a whole book in Bengali called Buddhi-yoga, Yoga of Intelligence. There is a chapter in the Bhagavad-gītā also buddhi-yoga, I believe.

Bhakta Bill: Then the mind eventually follows the intelligence. Eventually these seeds are still there.

Jayapatākā Swami: You see, this mind gets completely... at the time of pure Kṛṣṇa consciousness, there you get spiritual intelligence, at that time you get a new mind. This mind you can, it is practically hopeless. This one gets purified but at the ultimate issue then it is replaced by a completely pure mind. Even the great ācāryas who are at the stage of bhāva which means they still have not got pure prema. Bhāva means ecstatic love and prema means pure love. It is revealed that even in their mind, material thoughts, or desires may come. But they do not have any attraction for those. But someone who has achieved kṛṣṇa-prema. These thoughts won’t even come in their mind. So, they no longer have material mind. Their mind is completely spiritual.