Hearing & acceptance and rejection

[theist]

The mind's job is to accept and reject. The idea comes to the mind, maybe from a TV ad, that a new red sports car will bring happiness. Once confronted with the proposition the mind will then either accept the idea or reject it.

 

Say it accepts it. Then one may acquire such a car but after a time it becomes clear that one is not satisfied. Then the mind will reject the idea of a red sports car instead accepting the idea that a blue one will bring happiness.

 

This is simply what they mind does. it can be easily swayed and this is why it is the central target of advertising.

 

This same function of the mind is employed when we read/hear the words of Krishna or His devotees. Immediately the mind feels it has to accept or reject what is heard.

 

This is a very dangerous position actually because we conditioned souls are attempting to hear the words of God through a mind which is filled already with nothing but misconceptions and false desires.

 

This puts us in the position of either accepting what we think we hear or rejecting what we hear when actually the chances are very good we are not really hearing properly what was said.

 

In either case the good instruction will not take hold because it was not properly received.

 

If we think of ourselves as very intelligent or high level philosophers then the mind will feel compelled to formulate a hasty opinion either rejecting what was heard or accepting what we think we heard on the spot and then build a philosophical structure around the misconception to protect it from being challenged and dismantled.

 

This is how even after so many decades people are still arguing over how the parampara passes from one soul to another.

 

The only way past this wall separating us from trancendence is to learn to hear correctly. This takes honesty on our part to admit that are minds are so faulty that the chances are great that we did not hear properly the words of guru and pray for Krishna within our hearts to implant within us, by His grace, the proper understanding of what He is saying as the external guru.

 

We must abandon all faith in the mind and place that faith on Krishna instead. To the degree that is done enlightenment will follow.

[theist]

TRANSLATION Bg 10.11

Out of compassion for them, I, dwelling in their hearts, destroy with the shining lamp of knowledge the darkness born of ignorance.

PURPORT

When Lord Caitanya was in Benares promulgating the chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare, thousands of people were following Him. Prakāśānanda, a very influential and learned scholar in Benares at that time, derided Lord Caitanya for being a sentimentalist. Sometimes philosophers criticize the devotees because they think that most of the devotees are in the darkness of ignorance and are philosophically naive sentimentalists. Actually that is not the fact. There are very, very learned scholars who have put forward the philosophy of devotion, but even if a devotee does not take advantage of their literatures or of his spiritual master, if he is sincere in his devotional service he is helped by Kṛṣṇa Himself within his heart. So the sincere devotee engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness cannot be without knowledge. The only qualification is that one carry out devotional service in full Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

The modern philosophers think that without discriminating one cannot have pure knowledge. For them this answer is given by the Supreme Lord: those who are engaged in pure devotional service, even though they be without sufficient education and even without sufficient knowledge of the Vedic principles, are still helped by the Supreme God, as stated in this verse.

The Lord tells Arjuna that basically there is no possibility of understanding the Supreme Truth, the Absolute Truth, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, simply by speculating, for the Supreme Truth is so great that it is not possible to understand Him or to achieve Him simply by making a mental effort. Man can go on speculating for several millions of years, and if he is not devoted, if he is not a lover of the Supreme Truth, he will never understand Kṛṣṇa or the Supreme Truth. Only by devotional service is the Supreme Truth, Kṛṣṇa, pleased, and by His inconceivable energy He can reveal Himself to the heart of the pure devotee. The pure devotee always has Kṛṣṇa within his heart; therefore he is just like the sun that dissipates the darkness of ignorance. This is the special mercy rendered to the pure devotee by Kṛṣṇa.

Due to the contamination of material association, through many, many millions of births, one's heart is always covered with the dust of materialism, but when one engages in devotional service and constantly chants Hare Kṛṣṇa, the dust quickly clears, and one is elevated to the platform of pure knowledge. The ultimate goal of Viṣṇu can be attained only by this chant and by devotional service, and not by mental speculation or argument. The pure devotee does not have to worry about the necessities of life; he need not be anxious because when he removes the darkness from his heart, everything is provided automatically by the Supreme Lord, for He is pleased by the loving devotional service of the devotee. This is the essence of the Gītā's teachings. By studying Bhagavad-gītā, one can become a completely surrendered soul to the Supreme Lord and engage himself in pure devotional service. As the Lord takes charge, one becomes completely free from all kinds of materialistic endeavors.