How best can a person endeavoring to make progress on path of Bhakti make decisions on practical aspects of life like what profession to choose, which place to live in, which car/house to buy etc ?
No one should be carried away by the false ego of the bodily concept of life. One should not falsely think himself independent of the laws of material nature or free to act. He is already under strict material laws. But, as soon as he acts in Krsna consciousness, he is liberated, free from the material perplexities. One should note very carefully that one who is not active in Krsna consciousness is losing himself in the material whirlpool, in the ocean of birth and death. No conditioned soul actually knows what is to be done and what is not to be done, but a person who acts in Krsna consciousness is free to act because everything is prompted by Krsna from within and confirmed by the spiritual master. (Purport BG 18.58)
In the above lines SP writes about 2 categories of people - conditioned people & people who act in Krsna consciousness.
Regarding persons acting in KC, SP says - he is liberated, free from the material perplexities. everything is prompted by Krsna from within and confirmed by the spiritual master.
So the dilemma given in the question is never faced by a Krsna conscious person. This also means that if a person faces such a dilemma then it is due to not acting in KC or acting prompted by material conditioning. Regarding such persons SP writes - He is already under strict material laws.
Being under strict material laws the decisions that are to be made by conditioned persons are largely pre-programmed by the material nature. The extreme extent of this can be seen in case of animals/plants. The decisions/ activities that can to be made/performed by a tiger is limited by the particular body, mind & impulses awarded to the tiger by material nature. Further through the modes of goodness, passion & ignorance material nature dictates the when & how the tiger acts.
Similarly if a person is devoid of Krsna consciousness then although in the highest leadership position of a nation the person will be materially conditioned regarding whom SP writes - No conditioned soul actually knows what is to be done and what is not to be done. Krsna says in BG 3.27 - The bewildered spirit soul, under the influence of the three modes of material nature, thinks himself to be the doer of activities, which are in actuality carried out by nature. Therefore the acts performed by such a person is actually performed by the material nature. Hence it is the material nature only that provides i) them with the means of mass destruction ii) that dictates the targets iii) that decides the launch timings and iv) that finalizes extent of damage to life & environment. Even when a conditioned mind is spoilt for choices on e-commerce websites there are none made in reality.
SP in the above lines the gives solution to the question - But, as soon as he acts in Krsna consciousness, he is liberated, free from the material perplexities. Thus the solution is - to act in Krsna consciousness. But how can a person who is conditioned by material nature or who is still conditioned by material nature despite long/short history of performing devotional activities act in Krsna consciousness ?
The purport to previous verse i.e., BG 18.57 throws light on this aspect in which SP writes about what constitutes acts in Krsna consciousness. The same can be listed as below.
- When one acts in Krsna consciousness, he does not act as the master of the world. (In what consciousness a person cannot act in KC)
- Just like a servant, one should act fully under the direction of the Supreme Lord. A servant has no individual independence. He acts only on the order of the master. (What acts to perform to act in KC)
- A servant acting on behalf of the supreme master has no affection for profit and loss. He simply discharges his duty faithfully in terms of the order of the Lord. (What not to act for to act in KC)
- The Sanskrit word mat-parah is very important in this verse. It indicates that one has no goal in life save and except acting in Krsna consciousness just to satisfy Krsna. (What to act for to act in KC)
- And, while working in that way, one should think of Krsna only: "I have been appointed to discharge this particular duty by Krsna." (What drives one to act in KC)
- While acting in such a way, one naturally has to think of Krsna. This is perfect Krsna consciousness. (what is the consequence of performing such an act in KC)
- One should, however, note that, after doing something whimsically, he should not offer the result to the Supreme Lord. That sort of duty is not in the devotional service of Krsna consciousness. (what excludes from acts in KC)
- But, as soon as he acts in Krsna consciousness, he is liberated, free from the material perplexities. (The immediate result of when one acts in KC)
Each of the eight aspects listed above is worth deliberating upon because it is the key to unlock the shackles of material bondage. (To be continued)
Note: All words in italics are directly from Bhaktivedanta purports.
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