Sharanagati

(continues from the previous Friday) 

Question of Harilila: If emotion is function of the mind, does the soul also have emotions, I mean, real soul? And are they spiritual emotions, or what?

Tirtha Maharaj: Good question. Sometimes we think that certain objects, certain things exist only on the material platform. Like Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita: bhumir apo ’nalo vayuh/ kham mano buddhir eva ca/ ahankara itiyam me/ bhinna prakrtir astadha – “Earth, water, fire, wind and ether plus the mind, the intellect and the egotism are the eight elements that constitute the material world.”[1]

So, you might think that the mind is a material component of the creation and it doesn’t exist in the spiritual sky. But then that spiritual sky is like tarator[2] without cucumbers – empty. If there is no willpower, if there are no thoughts, and if there are no feelings in the spiritual world, because mind is not there, if these are the functions of the mind, if it’s only material, if it doesn’t exist in the spiritual sky – then this is too boring for me. Would you be satisfied with a blank tarator? No! It’s called a different name – airyan[3].

Therefore thoughts, feelings and willpower must exist on the spiritual plane also. We can say that there is spiritual mind. That spiritual mind belongs to the soul. It’s a reflection of the soul, just like the consciousness is a reflection of the soul; it is like a sign of the soul. Wherever there is consciousness, there is a soul. And wherever is your desire, there is your thought, there is your meditation. And where is your meditation, there is your mind, and where is your mind, there is your action, and where is your action, there is your reaction. Therefore I believe that there is a spiritual mind that will help us to be connected emotionally to the Supreme, that will give us a chance to use our divine, spiritual willpower in the most proper manner and that will help us to use our thoughts in connection with the Supreme. And it is like a friend.

Because everything is provided by Krishna, even the cosmic principle. Mind is not only limited to the human beings, that we have individual minds, but there is a universal mind, that is a cosmic universal principle, and that is manifested by one special aspect of Krishna in the process of creation. The members of the chatur-vyuha: Vasudeva, Sankarshana, Pradyumna and Aniruddha, they represent this cosmic elements of cosmic mind, cosmic intellect and cosmic egotism, and then this is distributed to the human beings, through them, by them. So, mind exists on the individual platform, it exists on the cosmic platform and it exists on the divine platform.

Where is Krishna’s willpower? Where are God’s thoughts? And where are His feelings? He is not a brainless guy. He is full of willpower. If we agreed that time is only a blink of the eyelash of the Supreme Lord Krishna, we should remember this, don’t forget. He has unlimited capacities, the very insignificant fragment of His willpower is enough to create this whole unlimited material universe. And the majority of His willpower is directed to the completely different object. Sometimes you think that we humans, we search for God. Other times, if we understand a little bit more the merciful aspect of the Supreme, we understand that He is searching for us. But actually He is searching for so many other things also. His willpower is not limited only to guide you back home, back to Godhead. He wants to achieve so many other objectives. He uses His willpower to achieve something.

The thoughts – what about His thoughts? There is a saying: “Like father, like son.” If human beings are the sons and daughters of the Supreme Lord, then we have the same qualities, similar. Or we can say that He’s got same qualities as we. So, if our thoughts are running here and there, up and down, our thoughts are like a tempest, then His thoughts are also running up and down. He is thinking of something. Just imagine, God is thinking of something! This is the real secret. And this is what we have to understand: what is He thinking of? I cannot enter into more details now, but I think some of you have some idea what Krishna is thinking of. Because what is happening on the material sphere? The boys always think of the girls, and the girls always think of the boys, right. This is what is going on in the material world, but this is also a reflection of the supreme reality. Little distorted here and there, but nevertheless this is a reflection. So, Krishna is a boy… and this much about His thoughts.

And the feelings, His feelings, the feelings of God – you cannot imagine. He’s got somebody in His heart, and those who reside in His heart are the pure lovers, pure devotees. So, our God has mind. That means mind exists in the spiritual sky also, but in a very spiritual way, very mystic way.

Question: I’d like to ask whether the psyche influencing the mind, or the other way round?

Tirtha Maharaj: We are full of fears sometimes. And for most of the times, there is no reason to fear, but with our thoughts we can create this object of fear. This is again a function of the uncontrolled mind. But if we focus our attention on the Supreme Lord, is there any chance for fear? No. It is said for those who surrender fully, who are under full protection of the Supreme Lord, there is no fear. “Don’t be afraid” Krishna says in the Gita to Arjuna: “Don’t be afraid. I will take care. I will protect you. Just do what I tell you and don’t be afraid.“ This is a question of trust. If you trust the divine word, then you will be safe.

But people have big problems with their psyche: and an even bigger problem is that sometimes they mix the psyche with the spiritual. Which is not – one is one and the other is the other. So, we should not mix the psychic platform of our life – like the mind platform – and the spiritual platform. These are two different levels. This is very important. Remember that.

But returning to the previous topic, this is the real search. If we can find the willpower of the Supreme, if we can imagine His thoughts, and if we can identify His feelings – that is the real mystic search. And for that it is the best not to speak too much, but to take a spiritual experience. So, chant a little bit more.

[1] Bhagavad Gita 7.4

[2] Special Bulgarian cold soup prepared mainly by yoghurt and cucumber

[3] Special Bulgarian drink made of yoghurt and water