Compulsion – Why Can’t I Control Myself?

Aum Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya

Haribol

So in the last few weeks we’ve dealt with—a couple of the topics that we dealt with, one was Karma, Fate and Destiny was the last one that we talked about, then prior to that was Reincarnation – how we got this body. So we’re, in these two talks, one of the things that was a focus was how everything happens to us, that things that we experience in our life are the direct result, they happen to us because of actions that we have taken in the past, acts that we are engaged in right now and of course, actions that we will undertake in the future. This is the only reason that things happen to us and we experience different things. And so that’s a pretty daunting thought. Most people feel sort of like a little bit out of control, in the sense that we wish things were this way, or we wish things were that way, or I hope something like this could happen, or I hope something like that, without recognizing the role that we are playing in everything by our very conscious choices and actions. And so, learning how to make good decisions, how to undertake good actions, they produce highly desirable outcomes.

So, in that process there’s a little bit of a cycle. It’s like a karmic sort of chain of events, and we did touch on it in the last talk. But fundamentally, we have desires; our desires then drive or determine actions that we will take; and those actions that we take, they affect our state of consciousness; and our state of consciousness produces the desires; which then again lead to action. So you’ve got this circle, and understanding this makes it very clear that if we want to have a high quality of life, then we have to intercede somewhere in this cycle and take over, take the driver’s wheel and determine outcomes. So that’s a little framework for tonight’s talk on Compulsion, why can’t I control myself?

So this is, of course, a question that people that experience different forms of addiction will ask themselves, “Why can’t I control myself?” But it’s not just people that have, manifest forms of addiction but practically everybody, they—we look back at our choices and where we went with things, and it was like, “Why couldn’t I control myself?”

But when we normally ask that question we’re not very analytical, like, when I ask the question, “Why can’t I control myself?” what do I normally think is that “I”? And what do I mean by “myself”, “I can’t control myself”? What are we talking about when we say that? We just say these things, and we impulsively act on stuff without really thinking very much or very clearly about it.

So if you look at it very carefully you’ll—and you analyze that statement, “Why can’t I control myself?” what we’re basically talking about is, “Why can’t I control my mind?” Because it’s—at the end of the day, it’s the mind that’s driving everything, at least in this, in the subject that we’re talking about now, it’s the mind that’s—So when I say, “Why can’t I control myself?” it’s actually—what I really mean is, “Why can’t I control my mind?”

And it’s really important to actually begin in our life to make that distinction, because if I live thinking that I am my mind, then it’s sort of like, okay, well, then who’s going to control things? If I am my mind, and my mind’s on a spinner, and I feel like I’m compelled to just always follow it, then who is going to control things? It’s almost like I need someone outside of myself to control me.

I mean this is one of the things that we teach children—or I certainly hope we’re still teaching children—is the idea of delayed gratification. Just because you want something right now doesn’t mean you have to get it. In fact, sometimes it’s better to wait a little bit. One of the things I felt was really important to teach my kids growing up is, you’re not the centre of the universe. Just because you want something, it doesn’t mean everything has to stop, and we just follow that. No. You have to learn that you’re part of a little community group here, called a family, and your desires that are manifesting in your mind may not be the highest priority for everyone, so sometimes you’re going to have to take a ticket and stand in line and wait for your number to be called. And yes, we will get to you, but your wishes and your tantrums aren’t going to drive what happens. And so this idea, that it’s kind of like the parent, in the case of a child, has to be the one outside of them to begin to direct and control so that they learn self-control, and they learn to make good choices and to behave in a socialized way.

So if I understand that “I” am not my mind, then I can seek to control it, because it’s actually separate from me. This was like a really crucial point in the seminars that I do in prisons, for people to check themselves and to consider the situation. You don’t have to impulsively follow all of the urges of the mind and all of the emotions that manifest. You don’t have to. You actually have a choice. You can actually step back like an adult should do with a child, and go, “No, no, we’re not doing that now. You’re gonna have to wait. We’ll get to it shortly. Something else is going on that’s very important. We need to take care of that, and then we’ll do it.” We have to learn to do that to ourself, to regulate emotion and to exercise some control and direction over desire.

And so the process of self-realization is really critical. A real critical part of it is this discovery that I’m not the mind. My mind can be on a rager, it can be running all over the place, I don’t have to follow it instantly. I can exercise control. As soon as a person discovers that, it’s like wow! This is actually really empowering, because I can now begin to regulate my emotions, I can exercise some control of my desires. I don’t have to be a victim to my mind and all the crazy stuff that can go on there. I don’t have to follow it. I can actually begin to step back from that, just being able to step back and go, that’s not me, that’s my mind flipping out, that’s my mind just being out of control. I don’t have to chase it. I can actually take a few breaths and maybe chant a little bit and calm down and think about, “What should I do about this situation?” rather than just impulsively acting on all the crazy crap that’s produced in this ocean. It’s just like this boiling cauldron, just spitting out, pphew, pphew, all these—it’s like hot porridge in the morning, or the hot mud pools of Rotorua, you know, this, bloomph, and this burning hot piece of mud goes flying by. You got to dodge it.

So some of the ways that we experience, or we can experience, the fact that we and our minds are different is this idea of struggling to focus. When you’re younger, in school, and it’s kind of like you got to do some homework or you’re taking an exam or something, then you’ve got to, “No, no, come on, come on, come on…” and you’ve got to bring your mind into focus to get something done, to accomplish something.

At other times people can have an experience of their mind, and they can say, “Oh, my mind’s driving me nuts.” Hey, that’s a wonderful opportunity, right there, when I say that: “my mind,” meaning it’s my possession, it’s not me. My mind is driving me nuts. That’s like wow, that’s an amazing realization. And the more we can come to grips with that and experience that reality, the better quality of life we are going to have.

In addiction circles it’s become common, over the last probably two decades, to refer to addiction as a disease. And while from a yogic perspective that is incorrect, it actually serves a wonderful purpose, because most people are caught up living in the world of the mind, and whatever comes to the forefront, whatever desires, whatever where it’s going, and we just feel compelled to follow. But if we accept the idea—and I’m not saying it’s a correct idea, but I think it’s a relatively good idea to accept that addiction is like a disease, then it’s sort of like, okay, if I’ve got a body, and I get infected by something, if I have a disease, I know that disease is not me, it’s something that’s infecting me, and it’s sort of separate, and I can do something about treating the disease. And so for people that are really caught up in the realm of considering the mind to be themself and just following it, the idea—presenting things in that framework can be enormously helpful, because it sort of like separates me from the “disease,” which is the addiction.

And of course, the way we frame things is of such importance. Like it’s actually never good to say, “I am an addict,” because actually you’re not. You’re an eternal spiritual being. You may be afflicted by an addiction, which is a better framework to consider things, because when you say, “I am afflicted by addiction,” or, “I suffer from addiction,” that’s—the “I” is different than the addiction. But if you say, “I am an addict,” it means you are the addiction, and that that’s not helpful. That is not helpful, that framework of thinking.

And so the yogis were really focused on making this separation and understanding. The foundation of yogic understanding was that you are an eternal spiritual being, and you are covered by two coverings. One covering is the gross physical body. It’s called the sthula sarira. Sarira means body. And you have a second covering, which is called the linga sarira, the subtle body, and it’s comprised of the mind, the intelligence, the false ego. But you have these two coverings, and neither of them are you.

When you begin to identify the body as the self and the mind as the self, this is the foundation for all suffering and for all unhappiness. When a person has come to some platform of self-realization then, even though their body may be put through all kinds of difficulties and painful conditions, they don’t suffer, because they see clearly the distinction between themself and the gross physical covering.

So now I’m gonna—I’ve got actually quite a few verses. I’ll try and get through it really quickly, and we won’t deal with everything in any detail, but it’s actually really good to hear. And just as a reminder I will be posting the talk on Facebook and on my website and YouTube channel, and I will have the verses up there also when I do the editing. And so if you want to go back and revisit any of this stuff and pause it and think about it, you might find it to be very helpful.

So with this understanding that the mind is not the self we have these directions:

“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]

That’s amazing! Your mind, not only does it state that it can be your enemy, it will also state that it can be your greatest enemy:

“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]

So this is wow, this is heavy duty. This is like amazing. And everybody needs to hear this. Everybody needs to learn this, the younger the better; because it opens the doorway to an opportunity for a really good and healthy life, a productive and spiritual life. And understanding this point is really critical.

I’m going to read a verse from another text. It’s called the Bhagavat Purana, very ancient text:

“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]

So when it says here—I’ll just clarify one point: when it says the mind is not factual, it’s speaking from a very big spiritual perspective, in that the nature of this world is that it is constantly changing and passing, whereas the eternal spiritual being is constant and eternal. And even though the mind is part of the material energy and constantly fluctuating and changing, it can actually overpower the spiritual being, and cause great havoc and harm.

This is like, whoa, this is really serious stuff!

So one of the points that becomes established in the yoga processes is that there is such a thing as what I will call a hierarchy of control, because what we’re talking about is exercising control over the mind and desires and emotions, making really, really, good choices. So what is this hierarchy of control that we can look to? And I’ll read a verse that’s actually from the Katha Upanishad, and they liken the body to a chariot and the spiritual being as like the driver of the chariot.

“The individual is the passenger in the chariot of the material body, and the intelligence is the driver. The 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]

So this is a really good example.

It’s kind of like, we live a in a time and it—unlike anything that’s ever happened in the history of humanity, through the power of advertising and the use of psychological manipulation, where they have learned how to stimulate desire and cause people to act and buy things they don’t even want or need, because they will develop the idea that this is really important, it’s going to bring me happiness. And so in this time in which we live, having a good understanding is really important.

So here the horses are like the senses, the smell, taste, touch (right?), the organs of experience, hearing… And so advertising, they offer stimulation to the horses, and the horses want to start chasing the stimulation. And they describe that there are reins, right? The horse has a rein that goes back to the driver. The rein is likened to the mind, that the mind actually can control the senses, and the mind can be controlled by a higher faculty, called the intelligence, or the buddhi.

We sometimes experience this when we’re losing control in our life, we’re in a massive argument, and there’s just—it’s going really crazy, and then you go to say something or do something, and that little voice goes, “Don’t say it. Don’t say it. Don’t do that,” and you go, “Yaaahh!” and you just do it anyway. Right? But it’s almost like—it’s not like we just do stuff. We all have that faculty where there’s a warning, “Don’t say that. Don’t do that,” but we don’t rationally think about it. We just comply with the urges and the passions of the mind and everything, and we just say and do things that make everything worse, never make it better. So there is that driver holding the reins, which is the mind, and that’s the intelligence. And the need to really help cultivate that faculty and to learn how to use it more is really, really important. The body is like the chariot, and you, the spiritual being, are the passenger, and this whole thing is just running; and for most people it’s completely out of control.

So referencing now the Bhagavad-gita:

“The working senses are superior to dull matter…” [Bhagavad-gītā 3.42]

Dull matter is like this, okay? [picking up a glass] This is dull matter. My working senses are superior to that. I look at it. It looks interesting. I smell it. Oooh, smells okay. Give it a, mmm [swallowing drink] Yeah, that’s really good. So my working senses can control and manipulate dull matter.

“…the mind is higher than the senses [Looks at glass again: “Nah, you’re too fat. You don’t need all that sugar”]; intelligence is still higher than the mind, and he [the soul] is even higher than the intelligence” [Bhagavad-gītā 3.42]

So this was understood to be, what I will call like the hierarchy of control, that you don’t have to be a victim of your mind and just be surrendering to it all the time and just following it because there’s urges. You need to think a little bit, and question, “Is this really going to make my life better?” I might get a bit of a rush out of this particular thing right now, but the cost of that rush could be jail. It could be a shattered relationship, it could be the loss of a large amount of money, it could be a lot of things.

So with that understanding we now just examine the nature of compulsive behaviour. Okay? We’re good with where we’ve been so far?

Arjuna, this was the great warrior prince that was speaking with Lord Krishna:

“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]

This is a very intelligent question. What is it that impels us to engage in what is categorized here as sinful acts, acts which cause harm to ourself and to others, fundamentally. What is it that drags us? The word impel is the opposite to propel. Propel means to like push. Impel is like you’re getting sucked in, this powerful force that just sucks us in. What is this force?

“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

So, this is just like wow! This term lust, this is the English translation of, the Sanskrit word is kāma. Not karma, K A R M A, but K long ĀM A, kāma. Kāma, yes, it does manifest as sexual urge, but that’s not the only thing. It is intense selfishness, intense self-centredness, where it’s—I become overwhelmed with some desire to do something, and all I can think about is that desire, and I’m going to completely surrender to it, and take great risk, and just do whatever it’s pulling me to do. And it is this self-centred desire, kama, also translated as lust, which is considered the all-devouring enemy of mankind.

And again I’ll just reference the prison situation. You know, I asked the guys, “When you commit a criminal act, do you recognize that there is a victim?” And the answer is, “No.” When somebody goes to hold up a dairy, and there’s some little Indian man in there or something, and somebody comes and grabs them around the throat and terrorizes them, it’s not like you’re seeing that person’s terror, and what it’s doing to them, and how they’re going to have sleepless nights. You don’t see it. All you can think about is what you’re after, the money, the cigarettes, the liquor, whatever it is, that’s all you’re focused on, and you’re just trying to fulfill that desire.

This also happens in many varieties of sexual assault and the most horrible acts of, you know, with minors, with paedophilia and everything, and in—Psychologically, when a person that has been—is given over to these types of actions, criminal actions, one of the ways that they begin to change is when they can begin to identify and empathize with the suffering of their victim. Because that’s not even on the horizon. People aren’t even thinking about that.

When some guy comes home, and he’s been out drinking with his friends, and his wife’s going like, “I cooked dinner for you, and you’re meant to be home to help with…” something in the house or whatever, and you go, “Oh, shut up,” Boof [mimes punching], you know, domestic violence. There’s no recognition of a victim. It’s just this rage and this compulsion, where it’s all about me and what I’m feeling. There’s just no recognition of a victim whatsoever. And so, when we think about it in these terms, you can see how pernicious is this tendency towards intense selfishness and self-centeredness.

So, continuing from what we just read:

“Thus, a man’s pure consciousness [meaning the consciousness of the soul itself] 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]

So, there is a way out, there is a doorway, there is a pathway leading away from this evilness and unhappiness and this bitterness, and we have to take it. The higher self, it’s described, has to now take charge over the lower self and “by spiritual strength”—this spiritual strength comes from the realization that I am an eternal spiritual being. The more we contemplate that, the more we engage in the meditation process, so that becomes something that every day increases in strength, our understanding and appreciation increases, then one is able to conquer over this great enemy, this intense selfishness, which has got nothing to do with the spirit soul, is just a product of the mind and the desires.

So what is the method by which we lose control? How does that happen? What’s—is there a mechanism? So it’s described also in the Bhagavad Gita:

“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]

So I mean, this is the whole system of—the driver for consumerism and advertising: get you to look at it, smell it, touch it, taste it, contemplate on it, think about it. When you go away, then another ad comes reminding you, and the more that you contemplate on it, the more you are going to be overcome by self-centred, or selfish, desire. That just automatically happens. And the natural outcome of self-centred life is anger, because two things are going to happen. If you desire something and cannot get it you will feel frustrated and horribly (excuse me) pissed off; or if you get what it is that you think that you want, and after a while it doesn’t turn out to be such a great thing after all, then the tendency is also to get horribly upset and to be just grumpy and angry about stuff. And you will know that people that live a life that’s really driven by this, they have this side to them that’s constantly angry.

It happens in relationships, relationships that are not actually loving relationships but are intensely sexual, you’ll see that in those relationships there’s also high levels of anger and people screaming at each other. And then you go to the cycle of makeup sex and get lost in that realm again, and then next minute there’s some major thing going down, and people are screaming at each other and throwing things. Those things are inseparable. It’s like in movies they want to have plenty of sexual enticement, but, “Oh, let’s not have any violence.” I’m sorry, it’s inseparable. When something is intensely self-centred and selfish the only response that will automatically manifest going forward is anger. And these great yogis knew this for thousands of years.

“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]

And now I’ll just read another verse. Is this okay? You guys like this, or what? Is it kind of far out? I mean this is like this, wwoow, this is heavy duty. This is hardcore reality that really challenges the way the entire world is living.

“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]

I mean an out-of-control mind, particularly when it’s manifesting intense selfishness and anger, is so destructive, so destructive. I mean people can get so crazy, just to hurt someone, they’re even prepared, themselves, to die— “But I got them!” It’s just like, what insanity is that, that you can cause destruction.

Like when people start smashing up their house because they’re having some petty argument over some bull crap, something that’s not even important, and they can just smash up everything in the house. It’s like okay, that’s really, really intelligent! Why don’t we just put all the money in a pile on the floor and set the fire to it and roast some marshmallows. It’s just like, that’s so dumb. I mean give me a break! That’s ridiculous. But when one allows the mind to rampage and doesn’t exercise control it is fearsome, fearful, where things can go.

So looking at the solution:

“Therefore, O mighty-armed, one…”

—meaning Arjuna, the warrior prince—

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

One who learns not to just give in always to the urges of the senses in the mind, one who can actually decide on courses of action and regulate their life, is going to be a person of steady intelligence.

And I’ll just make a side point: there is another verse in the Bhagavad-gita, when we talk about restraining the senses, we’re not talking about some artificial endeavour. There is a verse that states:

“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]

—meaning—and you see this sometimes with religious figures, or so-called spiritual figures, who put on the airs of being holy or saintly or whatever, and then they’ve got all kinds of evil stuff going on in the back room. And the point is you can pretend. You can, in certain environments, show some control, but if your mind is always in the gutter, if your mind is always there on all the crappy stuff, it doesn’t matter the fact that you’re not manifesting it externally. It will manifest. You cannot be a pretender. There is a need for real spiritual realization and to live a real spiritual life.

So I mean we’re taught right now—what’s the Nike…? “Just do it.” Just do what? Whatever you want, just do it. The message is the—long time ago there was a commercial on Pizza Hut I think it was or, yeah, Pizza Hut: “Let yourself go to Pizza Hut.” It’s like you’re driving down the road, and you get a whiff [Mimes sniffing and instantly pulling the car into Pizza Hut] —just because you got some stimulation, the fact, the idea that you must give in. We are taught to be like this. We are taught to constantly surrender to desire, and there are desires stimulated and placed in our mind, and then when we just follow, we become enslaved, just handing over hard-earned money for stuff that’s not really necessarily in our interest.

And so they talked about living a life where you learn to tolerate the urges, that urges might arise in the mind but you don’t have to chase it. You can actually learn to tolerate it, and go, “Okay, maybe later. But is it important? Is it really going to make a difference in my life? Should I be doing this? Is it going to produce a wonderful outcome?”

“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]

This is diametrically opposite to all the messaging that we’re getting. There may be a myriad of desires in your mind, but if you want to be peaceful and happy, learning to regulate that, learning to be tolerant of that… It’s not like you’re freaked out, and you’re running away, “Oh, don’t do that. It’s bad.” No, it’s there. It will come into my mind, but I don’t have to act on it. If I can tolerate these incessant flow of desires there is a possibility of becoming very peaceful and of course, happy.

“One who is not in transcendental consciousness…”

Transcendental consciousness means the awareness that I am a spiritual being. This body is not me. The mind is not me. These are material coverings. I am a spiritual being.

“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]

There can’t. It’s not even a possibility; but we’re not encouraged to strive for peacefulness. They want us agitated and constantly hungry, desiring, so that you can be deprived of your hard-earned money. That’s all.

“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]

I mean that’s just like a massive point. Spiritual practice requires that there is a regulation in our life of how we will live, what type of things we are going to dwell on, what type of things we’ll pay attention to as they come through our mind. We’re actually in charge of determining what is the content of our mind. That is our job, to decide what it is that we’re going to be thinking about, what we’re going to be focused on. It’s not—and when a person engages in this process, through what’s called sadhana, this spiritual practice, yes, it requires some regulation of our life, but it’s described that these are regulative principles of freedom.

When you’re enslaved by desire and emotions and an out-of-control mind you’re not free. Even if you have the money or the capacity to fulfill every single desire, you’re not free. You’re a victim. You’re a slave of those desires; and for every act that you perform there is a karmic reaction that you must accept, you are not free of. Big ideas.

In circles of dealing with addiction they try to teach what’s called consequential thinking. Right? Consequential thinking. It’s kind of like, okay, if I do this, what’s going to be the outcome? Well, if I take a puff of this right now, it’s going to blow my mind, and that’s going to be awesome. Okay, let’s not stop there—then what happens? Well, I do crazy stuff, and I take risks, and I start coming down, and I desire more, and I don’t have the money, so I should engage in some degraded activity or criminal activity to get more money. I become willing to sacrifice healthy relationships and responsibilities just to feed the habit. And then what happens? I keep doing this, and where do I end up? I end up 50, 60 years old living on the street.

I have had personal friends, amazing, a wonderful woman that I knew, that would just, they sell themselves, just to get money to feed a habit. One woman said to us one time that if she starts smoking again (right?), she said, “I would even sell my children,” and that’s just like, when I heard that it’s like my hair stood on end, that you would be prepared to do this.

But when a person engages in consequential thinking, and you follow things all the way to the end, and you go, that’s what this choice is about, that’s where it goes. Is that what you want? And when people develop consequential thinking strongly enough it can help them to resist and live a healthier, cleaner life; but it’s not a permanent answer. The permanent answer is self-realization, to realize that I am an eternal spiritual being, that this body and mind is not who I am.

When you think you are the mind, you cannot control “yourself,” because you’re just floating in this world of desire, and you’re just constantly revisiting it and thinking about it, and it burns hotter and hotter and hotter, and then you become compelled to act on it. In self-realization, I’m able to actually step back from the mind and from desires. When I cultivate a practice and understanding of my true spiritual nature, this becomes the permanent solution to these horrible kinds of problems.

So that was probably a bit deeper than most people would be ready for, but it’s the truth, and it’s what makes a difference. So, hearing spiritual knowledge is really important and revisiting it and contemplating on it; but it is the practice of meditation, of engaging in this chanting process that is so completely transformative it can bring you to the level of full realization of your spiritual being and who you are as a spiritual person apart from this body and mind, which are just temporary things that we’re hanging out in.

These are just—this is just a temporary home where I’m living. Death will come. I will leave this thing. Spending my life dedicating my life, the time in this body, to just trying to fulfill its urges and everything is just—that’s stupid. That’s highly unproductive from a spiritual perspective; and nothing will be more transformative than this chanting process. So we’ll chant a little bit, and then if you have questions we can do that.

Was this a bit too heavy, or should I lighten up or what? Huh? No? Okay.

I might do the same mantra that Ian did, Gopala Govinda Rama Madana Mohana, and I might also do the mahamantra.