This is such an important subject that needs to be shared even though there is not good quality video with this talk.

Love, as a subject to be explored, is definitely challenging for many of us and the lack of a meaningful conversation about love and a meaningful definition of love is terribly sad.

How do we define love? Many dictionary definitions center around it being “an intense feeling of attraction and deep affection.” What is called falling in love often produces an intense kind excitement and anticipation and hope for something fantastic that's going to result from this relationship/experience. But we are only talking about an emotional and physiological response, and this is not love. It doesn't last.

What happens then when we no longer feel that response? When I'm no longer in love with you or I have “fallen out of love”, when I'm no longer having that physiological and mental response? Well, I am no longer in love. Therefore, I should leave you and I should look for someone else who gives me that experience.

This is not love, it is lust. If you make me feel good, I love you. If you no longer make me feel good, I'm sorry, I just don't love you anymore. Lust meant intense personal desire and it's all about me and what I am feeling. “What’s in it for me?” It’s about taking as opposed to giving.

The characteristic of love is to give.

Love means willing “the good” of others. To love someone is to will “the good” for that person; to work toward what will bring that person in the direction of “the good”. Real love is truly a spiritual experience.

In this series, we previously learned that everything that happens to me is caused by my own actions - my past actions, my current actions and my future acts. My desires determine my actions, which in turn affect my consciousness, which then determines my desires. It is a cycle, and breaking that cycle is critically important if I want to experience peace and happiness. So losing control of myself because of compulsive behavior is disastrous for me.

The most important thing to deal with compulsion is to cultivate the appreciation that I am an eternal spiritual being temporarily covered by a material body and the mind.

The ancient texts I quoted in this talk:

One must deliver themself with the help of one’s mind, and not degrade themself. The mind is the friend of the conditioned soul, and his enemy as well. - Bhagavad-gītā 6.5

For one who has conquered the mind, the mind is the best of friends; but for one who has failed to do so, his mind will remain the greatest enemy. - Bhagavad-gītā 6.6

This uncontrolled mind is the greatest enemy of the living entity. If one neglects it or gives it a chance, it will grow more and more powerful and will become victorious. Although it is not factual, it is very strong. It covers the constitutional position of the self/atma. Bhāgavata Purāṇa 5.11.17

A hierarchy of control:

The individual is the passenger in the chariot of the material body, and intelligence is the driver. Mind is the driving instrument, and the senses are the horses. The self is thus the enjoyer or sufferer in the association of the mind and senses. So it is understood by great thinkers. Kaṭha Upaniṣad 1.3.3-4

The working senses are superior to dull matter; mind is higher than the senses; intelligence is still higher than the mind; and he [the soul] is even higher than the intelligence. - Bhagavad-gītā 3.42

The cause of compulsive behavior:

Arjuna said: O descendant of Vṛṣṇi, by what is one impelled to sinful acts, even unwillingly, as if engaged by force? - Bhagavad-gītā 3.36

Lord Kṛṣṇa said: It is lust only, Arjuna, which is born of contact with the material modes of passion and later transformed into wrath, and which is the all-devouring, sinful enemy of this world. - Bhagavad-gītā 3.37

Thus, a man’s pure consciousness is covered by his eternal enemy in the form of lust, which is never satisfied and which burns like fire. - Bhagavad-gītā 3.39

The senses, the mind and the intelligence are the sitting places of this lust, which veils the real knowledge of the living entity and bewilders him. - Bhagavad-gītā 3.40

Thus knowing oneself to be transcendental to material senses, mind and intelligence, one should control the lower self by the higher self and thus - by spiritual strength - conquer this insatiable enemy known as lust. - Bhagavad-gītā 3.43

How we lose control:

While contemplating the objects of the senses, a person develops attachment for them, and from such attachment lust develops, and from lust anger arises. - Bhagavad-gītā 2.62

From anger, delusion arises, and from delusion bewilderment of memory. When memory is bewildered, intelligence is lost, and when intelligence is lost, one falls down again into the material pool. - Bhagavad-gītā 2.63

As a boat on the water is swept away by a strong wind, even one of the senses on which the mind focuses can carry away a man's intelligence. - Bhagavad-gītā 2.67

All the senses have been under the control of the mind since time immemorial, and the mind himself never comes under the sway of any other. He is stronger than the strongest, and his godlike power is fearsome. Therefore, anyone who can bring the mind under control becomes the master of all the senses. - Bhāgavata Purāṇa 11.23.47

The solution:

Therefore, O mighty-armed, one whose senses are restrained from their objects is certainly of steady intelligence. - Bhagavad-gītā 2.68

One who restrains the senses and organs of action, but whose mind dwells on sense objects, certainly deludes himself and is called a pretender. - Bhagavad-gītā 3.6

A person who is not disturbed by the incessant flow of desires—that enter like rivers into the ocean which is ever being filled but is always still—can alone achieve peace, and not the man who strives to satisfy such desires. - Bhagavad-gītā 2.70

One who is not in transcendental consciousness can have neither a controlled mind nor steady intelligence, without which there is no possibility of peace. And how can there be any happiness without peace? - Bhagavad-gītā 2.66

One who can control his senses by practicing the regulated principles of freedom can obtain the complete mercy of the Lord and thus become free from all attachment and aversion. - Bhagavad-gītā 2.64

Most people are intrigued by the question “what does the future holds for me?” Hence the popularity of horoscopes, tarot and psychic readings, palmistry, etc. This is because many are focused on what it is they may consider as “good” but are often blind to the “bad” that may also be coming.

Wherever we find ourselves at any given time in our life, it is the “effect” or result of our previous desires, choices and actions. Therefore, focusing on wanting to know the future can make us oblivious to the opportunity that the present offers. And that is to literally “create” our future by consciously choosing courses of action that produce great outcomes.

There is a rather naïve idea that freedom means being able to do anything you want, whenever you want to, and having the money and power to do that. This idea is blind to the very real repercussions that my choices and actions will have. Every action produces a karmic reaction, so we must “pay” for our deeds. This chain of action and reaction binds the living being to material existence. As you sow, so shall ye reap.

The texts I quote in this talk:

…. for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. - Galatians 6:7

Whatever state of being one remembers when he quits his body, that state he will attain without fail. - Bhagavad-gītā 8.6

The intricacies of action are very hard to understand. Therefore one should know properly what action is, what forbidden action is, and what inaction is. - Bhagavad-gītā 4.17

One who sees inaction in action, and action in inaction, is intelligent among men, and he is in the transcendental position, although engaged in all sorts of activities. - Bhagavad-gītā 4.18

Abandoning all attachment to the results of his activities, ever satisfied and independent, he performs no fruitive action, although engaged in all kinds of undertakings. - Bhagavad-gītā 4.20

Such a man of understanding acts with mind and intelligence perfectly controlled, gives up all sense of proprietorship over his possessions and acts only for the bare necessities of life. Thus working, he is not affected by sinful reactions. - Bhagavad-gītā 4.21

He who is satisfied with gain which comes of its own accord, who is free from duality and does not envy, who is steady both in success and failure, is never entangled, although performing actions. - Bhagavad-gītā 4.22

One is understood to be in full knowledge whose every act is devoid of desire for sense gratification. He is said by sages to be a worker whose fruitive action is burned up by the fire of perfect knowledge. - Bhagavad-gītā 4.19

All these performers who know the meaning of sacrifice become cleansed of sinful reaction, and, having tasted the nectar of the remnants of such sacrifice, they go to the supreme eternal atmosphere. - Bhagavad-gītā 4.30

O best of the Kuru dynasty, without sacrifice one can never live happily on this planet or in this life: what then of the next? - Bhagavad-gītā 4.31

The living entity is exactly like a dog, who, overcome with hunger, goes from door to door for some food. According to his destiny, he sometimes receives punishment and is driven out and at other times receives a little food to eat. Similarly, the living entity, being influenced by so many desires, wanders in different species of life according to destiny. Sometimes he is high, and sometimes he is low. Sometimes he goes to the heavenly planets, sometimes to hell, sometimes to the middle planets, and so on. - Bhāgavata Purāṇa 4.29.30-31

Before giving up this present body, if one is able to tolerate the urges of the material senses and check the force of desire and anger, he is a yogī and is happy in this world. - Bhagavad-gītā 5.23

This is a continuation from the previous theme we explored in the Bhagavad Gita series, that you are not your body. Here we examine what is often called reincarnation, or more correctly, the transmigration of the spirit soul.

There are many misconceptions surrounding this topic. It is not uncommon that someone may ask “you mean I can become a dog?” And of course, the answer is, no, you do not BECOME a dog, but it is possible to enter into that type of a body and falsely assume that external identity.

The Bhagavad Gita speaks of how over lifetimes, the spirit soul can cycle through a myriad of bodies. And even within our current lifetime we cycle through a baby’s body, then a child’s, a teenager’s, and an adult’s, a middle-aged, and eventually and old aged body. Looking at things objectively and considering the constant turn-over of all the material particles that make up a body, within a maximum of 5 years it is like a constant process of recycling bodies.

But how does this really happen and what are the drivers?

The following are verses I quote in the talk:

Never was there a time when I did not exist, nor you, nor all these kings; nor in the future shall any of us cease to be. - Bhagavad-gītā 2.12

As the embodied soul continuously passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. A sober person is not bewildered by such a change. - Bhagavad-gītā 2.13

As a person puts on new garments, giving up old ones, the soul similarly accepts new material bodies, giving up the old and useless ones. - Bhagavad-gītā 2.22

Whatever state of being one remembers when he quits his body, that state he will attain without fail. - Bhagavad-gītā 8.6

The living entity in the material world carries his different conceptions of life from one body to another as the air carries aromas. - Bhagavad-gītā 15.8

The caterpillar transports itself from one leaf to another by capturing one leaf before giving up the other. Similarly, according to his previous work, the living entity must capture another body before giving up the one he has. This is because the mind is the reservoir of all kinds of desires. - Bhāgavata Purāṇa 4.29.76-77

The living entity, thus taking another gross body, obtains a certain type of ear, tongue, and nose and sense of touch, which are grouped about the mind. He thus enjoys a particular set of sense objects. - Bhagavad-gītā 15.9

When the living entity passes from the present body to the next body, which is created by his own karma, he becomes absorbed in the pleasurable and painful sensations of the new body and completely forgets the experience of the previous body. This total forgetfulness of one’s previous material identity, which comes about for one reason or another, is called death. - Bhāgavata Purāṇa 11.22.39

If you would like to dig a little deeper into this subject the following links to other talks on a variety of platforms may be helpful. The 3 topics of these talks are: Reincarnation the ins and the Outs; Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People? – Understanding Reincarnation; and Purpose, Reincarnation, and Suffering – an online Q&A session.

FaceBook

https://fb.watch/e4x6q3mrVG/ https://fb.watch/e4xc0Ba1Jx/ https://fb.watch/e4xeTC1zKr/

YouTube

https://youtu.be/x1OJKpFutb0 https://youtu.be/Nmg3HiQ0Yw4 https://youtu.be/WmIbSEMS5gM

Acharyadas.com

https://acharyadas.com/reincarnation-the-ins-and-the-outs/ https://acharyadas.com/why-do-bad-things-happen-to-good-people-understanding-reincarnation/ https://acharyadas.com/purpose-reincarnation-and-suffering-an-online-qa-session/

Spotify - podcast

https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/acharya-das/episodes/182-Reincarnation--the-Ins-and-the-Outs-e1gju35

https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/acharya-das/episodes/150-Why-Do-Bad-Things-Happen-to-Good-People-e1giggf

https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/acharya-das/episodes/177-Purpose--Reincarnation--and-Suffering---an-online-QA-session-e1gjsmn

This is a talk at Mantra Night about how Transcendental Sound provides refuge and shelter from all the turmoil and troubles that are part of material life. But more wonderful than this is how it can awaken us to the most extraordinary experience of spiritual love where the soul once again is united in love with the Supreme Soul.

The Bhagavad Gita Is perhaps the most famous of all the Vedic texts. It is comprised of 700 verses and addresses the most foundational principles of real spiritual life. This will be the beginning of a new series titled Bhagavad Gita Wisdom. Each talk we will address one or two important spiritual principles an exam in their application to all of us even in these current times.

In this first talk we examine the absolutely fascinating back story to how the Bhagavad Gita came about and the most foundational spiritual principle to a genuine spiritual life, the question of mind, body, and soul.

The verses which I quoted in this talk are as follows:

Now I am confused about my duty and have lost all composure because of miserly weakness. In this condition I am asking You to tell me for certain what is best for me. Now I am Your disciple, and a soul surrendered unto You. Please instruct me. Bhagavad-gītā 2.7

Having spoken thus, Arjuna, chastiser of enemies, told Kṛṣṇa, "Govinda, I shall not fight," and fell silent. Bhagavad-gītā 2.9

Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa said: While speaking learned words, you are mourning for what is not worthy of grief. Those who are wise lament neither for the living nor for the dead. Bhagavad-gītā 2.11

Know that which pervades the entire body is indestructible. No one is able to destroy the imperishable soul. Bhagavad-gītā 2.17

For the soul there is never birth nor death. Nor, having once been, does he ever cease to be. He is unborn, eternal, ever-existing, undying and primeval. He is not slain when the body is slain. Bhagavad-gītā 2.20

The soul can never be cut into pieces by any weapon, nor can he be burned by fire, nor moistened by water, nor withered by the wind. Bhagavad-gītā 2.23

This individual soul is unbreakable and insoluble, and can be neither burned nor dried. He is everlasting, all-pervading, unchangeable, immovable and eternally the same. Bhagavad-gītā 2.24

Some look on the soul as amazing, some describe him as amazing, and some hear of him as amazing, while others, even after hearing about him, cannot understand him at all. Bhagavad-gītā 2.29

O descendant of Bharata, in the body is eternal and can never be slain. Therefore you need not grieve for any creature. Bhagavad-gītā 2.30

One must deliver himself with the help of his mind, and not degrade himself. The mind is the friend of the conditioned soul, and his enemy as well. Bhagavad-gītā 6.5

We tend to be unaware of the invisible yet powerful forces which shape our lives and cause us to make decisions and take action which can contribute to our unhappiness and suffering.

The ancient yoga texts of India dealt with these topics in a wonderful and instructive way which we can all benefit from. In this talk I touch on Time, the Law of Karma, Maya (the great illusory energy) and in some detail, the three modes of material nature or the three gunas.

The texts I quoted were:

Both by rising and by setting, the sun decreases the duration of life of everyone, except one who utilizes the time by discussing topics of the all-good Supreme Soul. - Bhāgavata Purāṇa 2.3.17

Material nature consists of three modes -- goodness, passion and ignorance. When the eternal living entity comes in contact with nature, O mighty-armed Arjuna, he becomes conditioned by these modes. - Bhagavad-gītā 14.5

O sinless one, the mode of goodness, being purer than the others, is illuminating, and it frees one from all sinful reactions. Those situated in that mode become conditioned by a sense of happiness and knowledge. - Bhagavad-gītā 14.6

The mode of passion is born of unlimited desires and longings, O son of Kuntī, and because of this the embodied living entity is bound to material fruitive actions. - Bhagavad-gītā 14.7

O son of Bharata, know that the mode of darkness, born of ignorance, is the delusion of all embodied living entities. The results of this mode are madness, indolence and sleep, which bind the conditioned soul. - Bhagavad-gītā 14.8

There is a saying that “The eyes are the window to the soul”. This alludes to the reality that there is a clear distinction between the physical body and “you” the eternal spiritual being.

The ancient yogic teachings rejects the idea that “I have a soul” in favor of the truth that “I am the soul.” As such I have an eternal and spiritual nature, but when residing within a material form (the body) that nature becomes both covered and distorted. In this talk we examine that nature.

Some of the verses I either quoted or referenced:

O son of Bharata, as the sun alone illuminates all this universe, so does the living entity, one within the body, illuminate the entire body by consciousness. Bhagavad-gītā 13.34

For the soul there is neither birth nor death at any time. He has not come into being, does not come into being, and will not come into being. He is unborn, eternal, ever-existing and primeval. He is not slain when the body is slain. Bhagavad-gītā 2.20

The soul within the body is self-luminous and is distinct from the visible gross body and invisible subtle body. It remains as the fixed basis of changing bodily existence, just as the ethereal sky is the unchanging background of material transformation. Therefore the soul is endless and without material comparison. Bhāgavata Purāṇa 12.5.8

One who is enlightened in self-realization, although living within the material body, sees himself as transcendental to the body, just as one who has arisen from a dream gives up identification with the dream body. Bhāgavata Purāṇa 11.11.8

The ātma/self is atomic in size and can be perceived by perfect intelligence. This atomic soul is floating in the five kinds of air (prāṇa, apāna, vyāna, samāna and udāna), is situated within the heart, and spreads its influence all over the body of the embodied living entities. When the ātma is purified from the contamination of the five kinds of material air, its spiritual influence is exhibited. - Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 3.1.9

As long as a living entity is not completely self-realized -- as long as one is not independent of the misconception of identifying with one’s body, which is nothing but a reflection of the original body and senses -- one cannot be relieved of the conception of duality, which is epitomized by the duality between man and woman. Thus there is every chance that one will fall down because one’s intelligence is bewildered. Bhāgavata Purāṇa 7.12.10

As tiny sparks fly from a fire, so all the individual souls have come from the Supreme. - Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad, 2.2.20

This is the truth: As sparks of similar form spring forth by the thousands from a strongly blazing fire, so from the Absolute Truth are produced the various living beings, O gentle one, and there also do they go. - Mundaka Upanishad 2:1:1

By chance, two birds have made a nest together in the same tree. The two birds are friends and are of a similar nature. One of them, however, is eating the fruits of the tree, whereas the other, who does not eat the fruits, is in a superior position due to His potency.

The bird who does not eat the fruits of the tree is the Supreme Soul, who by His omniscience perfectly understands His own position and that of the conditioned living entity, represented by the eating bird. That living entity, on the other hand, does not understand himself or the Lord. He is covered by ignorance and is thus called eternally conditioned, whereas the Personality of Godhead, being full of perfect knowledge, is eternally liberated. – Bhāgavata Purāṇa 11.11.6-7

The same jīva is eternal and is for eternity and without a beginning joined to the Supreme Lord by the tie of an eternal kinship. He is transcendental spiritual potency. - Śrī Brahma-saṁhitā 5.21

Thus mistaking the temporary for the eternal, my body for my self, and sources of misery for sources of happiness, I have tried to take pleasure in material dualities. Covered in this way by ignorance, I could not recognize You as the real object of my love. Bhāgavata Purāṇa 10.40.25

I was asked to speak on the real purpose of yoga and meditation in Melbourne, Australia, and address some common misconceptions.

Many people simply see yoga as a form of physical exercise that has wonderful health benefits, and meditation as something to deal with stress and increase peacefulness. But this ancient system was for something infinitely more rewarding and extraordinary – self-realization and God-realization – which when experienced, blesses one with great blissful joy, profound wisdom and the experience of perfect spiritual love.

When considering this topic there is a need to define both “Success” and “Meaningful.”

We mostly don’t think very deeply about the important things in our lives. For instance, we can mistake “desirable” for “favorable.” Just because we desire something it does not mean it is going to end up being favorable. Look at the reality of many relationships and marriages. They were all desirable at one point but half of them end up in failure and are even labeled as bad marriages or relationships and therefore unfavorable in hindsight.

We take a deeper look at what really constitutes “successful” and “meaningful.”