00:04 – Namaste Balakhilya das! I’m very glad to see you here. And thank you very much that you kindly agreed to answer our questions. Our viewers have many different questions. I’ll read them a little bit later if you’d be so kind to answer them. And before that I’d like to offer you this garland as an appreciation for your coming here.
– Thank you very much, Rasala das. Thank you. Namaste. And it’s very nice that you invited me here. And I’m happy that our viewers have some questions that they would like answered.
00:45 – Yes. I would like to start our conversation with the first question. The first question that was sent to us is: “How can I know about my mission, about my predestination in this Earth life?”
– Yes, that’s a relevant question. Because everybody has this Earth life and we need to know what to do. So we, being the students of the Vedic knowledge, actually learn that we are spirit souls, we are not our material bodies. And therefore we have an eternal destination, an eternal occupation that we should use this present life in fulfilling.
Many people think, “Oh, I was put on this Earth for a particular reason. I have this particular material mission to fulfill.” According to one’s karma, maybe they have certain predestined activities that they will be engaged in. Maybe they have predestined abilities, interests, etc., which will guide them in their material activities.
But understanding that we are spirit soul, we have to go beyond these limitations and these influences because our eternal mission is to develop our spiritual relationship with the Supreme Lord. And out of that relationship, which will ultimately come to be based on love, we render service to the Supreme Lord.
So everything we do in this life should be connected somehow with our service to God: our pleasing God, our doing the will of God, etc. And we are in these material bodies, now in the human form. We are on this one planet known as Earth. And therefore we can dovetail everything we do in our life with our relationship of service to God.
03:16 – Thank you very much. And our next viewer asks: “Why don’t we remember our past lives? I think that remembrance of our past life would help not to make at least some of our mistakes in this present life.”
– We forget that there is a perfect system in place here. We accept that God has arranged things as they should be. Uniquely enough, we, in our human forms and our desires to be number one, to be the controller and the person who makes the rules and arranges things, always seem to find fault with God’s plan, God’s arrangement. “Oh, it would be better if I could remember my past lives! Oh, I wouldn’t make the mistakes I made then now!”
But the reality is: we learn many things in this life through making mistakes and we make the same mistakes again and again. Who in this lifetime has not made the same mistake more than once? See. Theoretically – yes, I should learn from my mistakes and once I make that mistake, I do not do it again. But the reality is: we do it again, and again, and again. So this would not serve or solve our problem.
And also there is another reason why we don’t remember our past lives. We are the spirit souls who come from the spiritual world into the material world with the explicit purpose of enjoying independent of God. We want to be the Number One, the Enjoyer, the Master, the Lord.
So the material world is created by the Supreme Lord to give us a place to try to fulfill that fantasy. The reality of the world is: it’s not a place where we, the spirit soul, can enjoy. So to make it possible for us to experience some happiness, some pleasure here, we have to be put under illusion. We have to be put under a veil of forgetfulness of who we are, of what our real life’s activities should be, what our eternal position is, etc. We have to forget that if we want to be the Number One Enjoyer.
The material world is actually a place of misery as declared by the Supreme Lord Himself in Bhagavad Gita. He says – from the highest planet to the lowest planet, all are places of misery, of repeated birth and death. That’s the way the world is designed. That’s the way it is.
But we do not want it to be like that. We want to see it as a place of pleasure for us. So therefore we are very quick to forget the pain, very quick. So as we transfer from one lifetime to the next, one body to the next, each time we take a new birth we start with a clean slate of remembrance. “Ohh,” we look at the world with rose-colored glasses. “Oh, this is going to be fun! I’m going to have a good time here. There is so much facility for enjoyment. There are many opportunities where I can be Number One, I can be the Master!”
This starts at birth. This starts with the little baby and continues throughout our life. If we could remember the reality of our past life or unlimited lives and all the suffering, all the births and the diseases, old age, the death, the broken relationships, the difficulties, the emotional stress, and all the things that go with everybody’s life… If we could remember of all of this, it would be very difficult for us to enjoy in this life. It would be very difficult to have an optimistic view of this life.
An example is: if there is some big tragedy in this life, many times it destroys our enjoying mood for the rest of our life. I met a lady one time. At that point at that time she was, I think, 28 years old. And she had seen her parents murdered in front of her when she was 5 years old. And from that point and till I talked to her when she was 28, she had struggled with this. And it was very difficult for her to have a fun life, to see life as, “Oh, this is a nice place to be.” She had all kind of mental problems, psychic conditions, etc. Struggling.
What if we could remember all these tragedies from all of our lifetimes? We would be at complete mess. So it’s been arranged, “Ok, you want to be the Enjoyer – you have to be in illusion to have the full optimistic view of enjoyment. And it will be arranged so you forget your last life and the one before that, and the one before that, etc.”
And for those few people who do remember their last life, it disturbs their life a lot. They never really feel like this life is their real life. They keep remembering their past life and, “That’s who I really am. I’m not this present identity that I have now. I’m still that person in my past life.” And they’re always struggling with that and trying to live two lives at the same time. It’s not easy. So, again, to help us enjoy, we forget.
09:58 – What does it mean: “God” or “Supreme?”
– What does it mean: “God” or “Supreme?” Actually, the word “God” is a title. It means a position, a post, just like the word “king” is a title. The title “God” indicates a certain position or a post. Now, a person occupies the position of king and therefore he is known as “the king.” And he is accepted as the number one person in the kingdom. So the Supreme Person is known as “God,” is accepted as Number One, the Number One Person of all. He has that position. But these nomenclatures indicate a personality. They indicate an actual person. A king is a person. The Supreme Lord is a person. So the Supreme Lord is the Supreme Person. You and I are people. I’m an individual person. You are an individual person. The Supreme Lord is an individual person but He is the Supreme Person. He is the Number One Personality of all. And that’s why the most correct way to address the personality in this position is – the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Head God, the Number One God, the Number One Controller, the Number One Master, the Number One Enjoyer.
All of us are mini gods. We all have the same qualities of God. He is the Controller. We have a little bit of the ability to control ourselves, see. He is the Enjoyer. We have a little bit of ability to enjoy, etc. So He is the Supreme God and we are mini gods. But we are not equal. And therefore we have our position in relation to the Supreme. Just like in a government: there is a king and then there are many subordinate heads of different departments. They have their duties, they have their abilities, they have their powers delegated by the king. But they all are under the jurisdiction of and control of the king. They are subordinate to the king. So we are eternally subordinate to the Supreme Person who is known as the “Adi Purusha.” “Adi” means “First,” “Purusha” means “Lord” or “Enjoyer.”
12:52 –The next 3 questions are about meditation. “What are the practical results of meditation?”
– That depends on the meditation. All meditations are not equal. There are many different types of meditation. They will produce different results. But we are practicing and teaching mantra meditation. And so I’ll answer the question from the view point of what are the benefits of mantra meditation. What changes will take place in a person who practices mantra meditation?
The mantras are spiritual sounds, transcendental sounds, they have spiritual powers, spiritual potency. Therefore they have the ability to change us, to actually purify us. And the purification removes the material contamination in our consciousness, in our minds, in our hearts. These illusions that I referred to previously: “I’m the Lord,” “I’m Number One,” “I’m very special.” These are illusions that need to be removed. So when one chants the mantras, these gradually are removed.
The illusion “I’m just material body” is a very big illusion. This is the illusion under which we all operate. It’s not true. I’m not the material body. I’m the person inside the body. So I need to have that illusion diminished and ultimately removed or replaced with the truth of who I really am. By chanting the mantras, that begins to gradually take place. The actual self-realization of the soul begins to unfold.
Now, along the way as side effects, the mind will become more calm, the mind will become more peaceful, the various anxieties I may have will diminish and ultimately can go away. My desires can change, I can lose so much attachment and desire for the things of this world which actually are not good for us. I’m purified of these obstacles, these contaminations. And therefore my life becomes much easier; many difficulties disappear from my life.
Everything is positive. There is no negative to mantra meditation. So we have seen this take place in innumerable people. We experienced it ourselves and hope that others can have the same experience also because it is so beneficial to the individual and to those around that person.
16:15 – The next viewer is asking: “What changes one can expect after starting chanting of mantras? Some people may afraid of some bad effects of meditation or something.”
– I have just basically answered that question. But there is no need to be afraid of any ill effect or bad effect. Impossible; it will not happen. These mantras were brought to us by the Supreme Lord Himself, Lord Gauranga, 500 years ago. He said, “This is the most beneficial thing you can do.” He gave it to us as the best help. He, being our every well wisher, wants us to have this benefit in our life.
Will the Supreme Lord Himself, Who is our most dear Father, Who loves us unconditionally, give us a process that would be bad, that would somehow have some negative effect? Impossible. No, there are only positive effects. Do not worry, have no doubt. There is no ill effect from chanting these mantras as prescribed by the Supreme Lord and His representatives. And, of course, they should be chanted in the way that they are given.
17:51 – What do I have to think about while chanting mantras? How can I distract my attention from side thoughts? A lot of things are going on here and my mind thinks about different material stuff all the time.
– Yes, that’s true. Everybody’s mind is fully engaged in material thoughts. But when we come to this meditation and chant these mantras, the recommendation is that we focus our mind on the sound, the sound of the mantra. The mind needs an engagement. The mind needs somewhere to go. So we listen closely to the sound, engage the hearing process in listening to the sound. We focus our mind on the sound. We pay attention to the sound. And this is the engagement for the mind.
The mind drifts away – you bring it back to the sound. Remember, you are a spirit soul, you are not the mind. So when you observe that your mind is going away to another place, thinking of another thing – you bring it back to the sound. You, the spirit soul. And by doing this you actually now are involved more and more in this transcendental sound.
If you cannot control your mind completely (and none of us can, really, it’s very difficult), do not worry, the mantras still work. They still have their effect, they still have their potency. But the more we can train our mind, the better it is. But it is not a frustrating thing. Don’t become frustrated. Do not give up, “Oh, I can’t do it. I can’t focus on this sound!” Just gently bring the mind to the sound as you can and when you can. And do not worry – the mantras have their effect. You are getting great benefit.
20:06 – Is it true that if I chant mantra silently, it will have more effect than chanting out loud?
– No, it is not true. It is actually the opposite of being true. Again, we are following the directions of the instructions of Lord Gauranga. These instructions have come to us through our line of perfect teachers known as our “disciplic succession,” or “parampara.” And the great saint Haridas Thakur, who was known as the supreme authority on the chanting of the Holy names, and Lord Gauranga Himself declared that. They both have told us that the most potency and the most beneficial for a oneself and other people as well is to chant the mantras out loud. And the more people that congregate together and chant the mantras together, the more the potency. Again, this is the arrangement. This is the system.
So we do not subscribe to this idea that if you chant the mantras silently, there will be more potency. No, this is not correct.
21:24 – One person asks: “Is it possible to make spiritual progress without chanting maha-mantra?”
– First, let me just add one thing to the last question…which I can’t remember… Anyway. We will go to this next question.
21:47 – Out loud chanting and silent chanting.
– No, I know, but… Oh! I know what it was. Here is another point about the difference between chanting silently and chanting out loud.
When you chant silently, there is more likelihood that your mind will drift around more. You are sitting there chanting silently and the mind just drifts from one place to another place, more difficult to control the mind. When you chant out loud and focus on that external sound, it keeps the mind centered and focused more. Even when you are chanting out loud very softly and you notice that the mind begins to drift, if you increase the volume of your chanting, you’ll know it brings the mind back. Just like if you want to get some person’s attention, you may raise your voice a little bit, “Hey! Come here!” See. Oh, they listen, they come. So it grabs our attention more when we chant out loud.
Now, the next question was, again?
23:00 – It is about: “Is it possible to make spiritual progress without chanting mantras?”
– Mantras or maha-mantra?
23:07 – Maha-mantra.
– Yes, it is, of course. Spiritual progress means actually coming closer in your loving relationship with the Supreme Lord. That’s what spiritual progress means. It’s not some geographical thing. You are climbing some ladder or, you know, whatever our minds may envision spiritual progress is. It is a strengthening of the relationship between the individual soul and the Supreme Soul.
Now, as with all relationships, the more you follow the guidance of the person who you’re trying to develop the relationship with, the more you please the person that you’re developing the relationship with, the more you do their will, etc. And the closer the relationship becomes. The more rebellious we are, the further away we are in that relationship.
So we have been given various activities by the Supreme Lord Himself that please Him that actually purify us, that bring us closer to Him. Chanting – is the first. Actually, the first is hearing. First, we hear. So just hearing about the Lord, His activities, His past times, His world, etc., etc., this will help us in our progress. Hearing. And chanting. Yes, we should chant. Chant the mantras. And there are many mantras. We should also chant the Lord’s glories. We hear the Lord’s glories in scriptures, from the words of the spiritual master, etc., and then we repeat those, we chant those. That is also going to very much increase the relationship.
But as far as chanting goes, the maha-mantra is the supreme mantra. “Maha” means “great,” “mantra” means “mind deliverer.” Of all mantras, the maha-mantra is the number one mantra. And it is the mantra recommended for this Kali Yuga, which is the age we live in now.
So, certainly, we should chant the maha-mantra, if we choose to do so. Notice, I say: “If we choose to do so.” No one can make anyone do anything. But this is the mantra prescribed specifically by Lord Gauranga for the Kali Yuga. This is the mantra He chanted. This is the mantra He taught other people. So being the followers of Lord Gauranga, it’s only natural that we chant the maha-mantra, only natural.
But, again, if someone has some aversion to this (they, for whatever reason, find that they can’t chant this mantra), then chant other mantras that are given by Lord Gauranga like Haribol Nitai Gaur or Gauranga Nitai Gaur, or Gopala Govinda Rama Madana Mohana. They are very, very wonderful mantras. But the maha-mantra is also number one of all mantras.
26:40 – Is it possible to use these mantras if I‘m engaged in other yoga processes?
– Yes, of course. And a lot of people are engaged in various yoga processes. The main activity of “the modern day yogi” is hatha yoga. Why? Because we are more interested in the body than the spiritual purity of the soul. So hatha yoga is so popular around the world. Very good, amazing benefits for the body, and it also helps to control the mind to some degree, improves one’s health and so on. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t chant the mantras. Or you are engaged in some other yoga, you know, maybe you have other processes and techniques that you use. But you can still chant the mantras. The mantras are purifying, no matter who chants them and where.
So there is certainly no restriction, “Oh, you do some other yoga – you can’t chant these mantras.” No, everybody can chant these mantras, no matter what you do.
28:00 – What can you say about the sound “Om?”
– The sound “Om” is transcendental sound. It is a very popular mantra among the “popular” yogas on the planet today. And those who actually understand and have very, very clear vision see that Om is the Supreme Person Himself in that sound. And that the maha-mantra and the mantra Om are the same.
However we, who are developing our personal relationships with the Personality of Godhead, are more attracted oftentimes to the personal names of God like Krishna, Rama, Govinda, Gopala, Gauranga, Chaitanya – these personal names. They remind us of a Person. They remind us of the Supreme Person. We are attracted to that. This is what we like to do. This is what is also recommended. However throughout various Vedic mantras, the Pranava, or Omkara sound vibration, will be found. And we also have various mantras that we regularly chant that include the mantra Om: Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya, or Nama Om Vishnu, etc.
Now, the person who…or, let’s say, the yogi, the practitioner, the transcendentalist who does not accept this ultimate Absolute Truth to be a Person is very attracted to the sound Om. Because Om does not actually bring to mind a personality. It’s like a void, it’s like an energy, or it’s like an all encompassing vibration, etc. It’s said that Om is the sound of the Universe, etc.
It’s very attractive to what we call impersonalists – people who do not see the ultimate Absolute Truth as a Person but as an impersonal force, or a light, a void, etc. So they use this mantra Om a lot because they are not really comfortable with names of the Personality of Godhead like Krishna, for instance, or Rama. Not so comfortable. But Om… “Oh!” It opens up unlimited avenues to them, the eternal, and so on like this. So it’s very attractive among the impersonalists.
31:14 – What is the difference between saying “Hi” and saying “Haribol?”
– What is the difference between saying “Hi” and “Haribol?” Completely different. “Hi,” “Hello,” etc., these are material sound vibrations. Your friend comes up and you say, “Hello!” This is nice, it’s friendly, it’s cordial. But it’s material sound vibration. When your friend comes up and you say “Haribol!” – that is completely different now. Now they are in the presence of transcendental sound and they, the spirit soul, receive spiritual benefit. So actually you’ve helped them spiritually. Whereas when you say “Hi,” you don’t help them spiritually at all.
So, again, we try to operate as much as possible on the spiritual level that helps people spiritually. If I can greet somebody with “Haribol!” and help them spiritually, then that’s what I do. And saying “Hi!” I understand they are going like, “Oh, Hi! How are you?” But I don’t really help them spiritually. So there is more I could do for them by saying “Haribol!”
32:42 – And the next question is: “How can my everyday life activities be a part of my spiritual life?”
– This is the science of bhakti yoga. How to make it so everything we do in our life is a part of our spiritual life. And a spiritual life is a life that’s done in service to God. So in our bhakti yoga process we learn this art. This art of living in such a way that what seem like mundane material activities actually are spiritual. This is a great science.
I have to maintain my body in so many different ways. I have to keep it clean. I have to have all kinds of dental hygiene. I have to take exercise. I have to keep it physically fit. I have to, you know, wear clothes – all kinds of maintenance things with the body. But if I’m using that body in God’s service, then that’s part of my service. And, of course, eating is so necessary. Our eating and our drinking. Absolute requirement. You don’t eat and you don’t drink – you don’t stay in your body very long.
So in the science of bhakti yoga we learn how to offer all the food that we take into our bodies. We offer it to God before we eat it. Vegetarian food stuffs, by the way. No meat, no fish, no eggs. God says, “Offer your food stuffs to me.” But He will not accept meat, fish, or eggs. So therefore the person who is truly spiritually following God’s desires and instructions is a vegetarian automatically. The devotee of God is automatically vegetarian.
And along with that comes all kind of health benefits, ecological benefits, economic benefits – all the things that are so beneficial by a person adopting a vegetarian lifestyle are automatically present in a life of a devotee of the Supreme Lord because he is doing this as an offering to God.
So basically everything. Our work. In general we have to work to maintain ourselves. It’s a part of material life. In Bhagavad Gita Lord Krishna says, “Everybody has to work.” Everybody has to work. That’s the way it’s designed. But the devotee of bhakti yoga actually understands and learns how he can work in God’s service. So the fruit of his labor… he uses that fruit in God’s service.
The fruit of most labor is a paycheck. So you take that paycheck. You use what you need to maintain your body, your situation, whatever it is, your family, whatever it is. Everybody’s got many situations to maintain. And then you use some of that money in direct service to God. Then your work is connected. Everything you do is connected and therefore you go through your daily life and you make spiritual progress as a result.
So those who come to us and learn this science, they know how to do this. It’s not difficult. May sound complicated right now. It’s not difficult. Your consciousness changes, you start understanding how to do this. Your intelligence is awakened. You understand, you have the intelligence to see how I can do this, this, this, this and make it all a part of my spiritual life.
37:10 – The next question is: “How can we know the will of the Supreme?”
– Yes, this is important. If we are told “You should do the will of God,” then the next question is obvious, “How do I know what He wants me to do?”
He reveals His desires to us in 3 basic ways: in the Vedic scriptures (the first way). And when I say Vedic scriptures, I mean authorized Vedic scriptures, not just anything that has the label “Veda” on it. There are so many so-called Vedic scriptures that are not authorized. They got all kinds of incorrect information in them; they’ve been changed and altered. We are not talking about that. We are talking about pure bona fide authorized scriptures that come down through a line of perfect teachers. So when I refer to the Vedas, this is what I’m referring to.
So in the Vedic scriptures, for instance, Bhagavad Gita or Srimad Bhagavatam, it is clearly indicated there what God wants us to do. So many instructions, so many guidelines, so many do’s, so many don’ts. He wants us to do this. Lord Gauranga came and He told us: “You should do this.” What the Lord said, we should do. This is what He wants us to do.
The spiritual master guides us, directs us in our life. Philosophically, practically – all kinds of guidance. This is God’s will. This is what He wants us to do.
And ultimately in our hearts there is an expansion of God known as the paramatma, the Lord in the heart. And He will also guide us. And He will confirm this truth that we receive from scripture and from the spiritual master. He will confirm: this is true. You should do this. You should follow this.
So if we’re sincere about doing the will of God, it is not hard to know what He wants us to do. If we don’t want to know the God’s will, we will always say, “I do not know what He wants me to do. I’m not sure. Yes, you say this but I do not know.” See, we’ll be filled with doubt, and skepticism, and reluctance, and all of this. And therefore we’ll have our excuse. But if we are sincere, we’ll know.
39:44 – Another person is asking: “Why did the soul come into the material world from spiritual world?”
– Yeah, that’s always a question. We come into the material world from the spiritual world because we made a big mistake. You see, as I mentioned earlier on, we are parts and parcels of the Supreme Soul, little sparks of God. So we have the same qualities as God Himself, but in minute quantity. So all the characteristics of God are also present within ourselves.
So God is Number One. So we also have that tendency to be number one. He is the Supreme Enjoyer. We also have that tendency. He is the Master, He is the Lord. We also have that; little bits of that, etc. We also have an eternal free will as given by God Himself. We also have a little minute independence to exercise that will. There is no such thing as having a free will, if we have no ability to use it.
So we have a little independence to use our free will. So at some point, and do not try to understand this or know when it was, it’s not logical, but at some point we decide: we want to exercise our independence and be number one, be the master, be the lord, be the enjoyer. There is no facility in the spiritual world for me to execute that desire, because there is already Number One Person there. God fulfills all those positions exclusively in the spiritual world. So to give me a place where I can come and try to fulfill my fantasies, He creates the material world. And we come into the material world with this agenda, “I’m going to be the Lord.”
And that’s the game we play as long as we are here. Until we realize, “This game doesn’t work. I’m not the Lord. Somehow something is wrong.” Then we begin to question who we really are and what our real position is, “What should I really do with my life?” And then God puts us in contact with this knowledge through the spiritual master, through the scriptures, etc. And we begin to relearn the truth, you see, reestablish that lost relationship, become rehabilitated. And when we do this to completion, we go back to the spiritual world.
42:34 – And the last question is: “Most of the people think that they will be happy if their most cherished desires will come true. And there are a lot of techniques on the Internet and other sources of how we can fulfill our material desires. It also includes some stages of meditation, concentration, contemplation and so on. What do you think, is it possible to fulfill our desires with the help of meditation, concentration and so on?”
– Yes, this is part of the big illusion that I’ll be happy if I can fulfill all my desires. But the reality is: often we fulfill our desires and it doesn’t make us happy. The world is full of people who have had many, many of their desires, their goals in life, their dreams fulfilled and they are not happy.
There’s this huge illusion all over the planet, “If I win the lottery, I’ll be happy.” Every lottery in every country is very prosperous because people have this idea: “If I buy this ticket and this is the winning ticket and I win this jackpot, I’ll be happy.” And there is always again and again a winner, another winner, and another winner, but they are not happy people. In fact if you look at the history of the winners, many of them say they wish that they’d never won. Their lives are worse than they have ever been, “Oh, it was my desire to win the lottery. I won the lottery. Then I fulfilled all kinds of other desires with the money from the lottery. And I’m still miserable…”
So none of these things work because we are spirit soul, we are not the material bodies. Material desires, no matter how great they are and how fulfilled they may be, don’t make the soul happy.
So can you fulfill these desires through meditation or some meditation techniques, or concentration techniques and so on? May help. All kinds of different little tricks can be employed to increase your power, your ability to get what you want.
The world has been full of those people since time immemorial. All the false lords, the kings, the conquerors – all these people, they employed their techniques to get what they want in vast kingdoms: many subjects, many slaves, unlimited sex life, etc., etc. There was one meditation or another, one technique or another. They got it and they were not happy. They’re gone. They’ve disappeared. Now they are in some other body, they don’t even remember all their successes and who they were, all the enjoyment they had, so-called enjoyment. It doesn’t work. See, so it’s all illusion.
We do not promote any of this. We say, “Do not do this meditation that we teach for these material games. If you do this meditation and you get some material results, you do. But that’s not what we’re teaching. We are teaching, “Do this and develop love for God.” This is what will make you happy. And along the way if your health improves, or your relationships improve, or you know, your financial situation improves, what? So what? If it does – great. If it doesn’t – great. It doesn’t matter. It has nothing to do with you and your spiritual happiness.
46:30 – And what would you like to wish to our viewers at the end?
– I would like to wish our viewers and everybody the best spiritually. We care about people’s material wellbeing: we wish you health, we wish you harmony in your life, material happiness. But we most of all wish you spiritual happiness. This is the most crucial. And if you are spiritually happy, you will be happy. If you are materially happy, you will not be really happy. So we wish happiness to everyone. If you are spiritually healthy, you are healthy. Your body may not be healthy, but you are healthy. Spiritual health is true wealth.
So we wish you the best in all endeavors. But remember, those endeavors which may be very, very beneficial for you materially may not be beneficial for you spiritually. You should consider this. And those endeavors which will be beneficial for you spiritually may not be the best for you materially. So one has to choose. We can’t have it all. That’s a fact – we can’t have it all.
But I can tell you the real gem, the real precious gift, the real achievement in life is spiritual happiness.
So we thank you very much for taking the time to listen to these answers to these questions that some of you have sent in. I know there are unlimited questions that people can ask. But really the answers are all the same: develop your love for God, develop your spiritual life. Put time and energy in spiritual development. And don’t spend your whole life in your material pursuits. Thank you very much and Haribol!
48:48 – Thank you very much, Balakhilya das. Hope to see you again soon!
– Thank you very much, Rasala das, for helping me!
48:55 – Namaste! Thank you!
– Namaste and Haribol!
