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Intellect

Happiness depends entirely on you, as the world is a creation of the mind. Your thoughts determine your feelings. God gave humans intellect for happiness, not for abuse through unnatural or unethical behavior. Patañjali described problematic thoughts, or kliṣṭa vṛttis, as those opposing spiritual law and ethics, which inevitably cause trouble. Any thought emanating from consciousness eventually returns to the individual. Therefore, one must use intellect to discern actions and their consequences before acting. Impressions from the senses create thoughts, which lead to feelings and then physical action. Non-problematic, or akliṣṭa, thoughts support self-protection and development. Ultimately, there is no one else to blame for your state.

"Any kind of thought or thinking which is against our spiritual path... those vṛttis will one day cause us troubles."

"Any vṛttis, meaning any thought which goes out from the human consciousness... will sooner or later come back to the person."

Filming location: Strilky, Czech Republic

Whether you are happy or unhappy depends entirely on you. Manu matra jagata—the world is made out of the mind. How you think is how you will feel. Of course, God has given humans a beautiful intellect, and this intellect is meant for our happiness. We should not abuse our intellect; we should only use it. If we abuse our intellect, it means we will behave unnaturally, beyond human morals and ethical principles. Then, of course, there will be problems. Maharishi Patañjali spoke about vṛttis in his Yoga Sūtras. He speaks extensively about vṛttis, and I believe the first and best psychologist, the father of psychology, is Maharṣi Patañjali. Patañjali spoke of kliṣṭa and akliṣṭa vṛttis. Kliṣṭa vṛttis are those which cause kliṣṭās, or problems. So any kind of thought or thinking which is against our spiritual path, against the law, against ethics, against your spiritual sādhanā, or against the whole world—those vṛttis will one day cause us troubles. Paramahansa Yogananda said that any vṛttis, meaning any thought which goes out from the human consciousness, mind, or brain, will sooner or later come back to the person. Does it matter in this world or in the astral world? Therefore, a human has a beautiful and powerful tool, and that is the intellect. God Kṛṣṇa said to Arjuna, "Before doing the karma, you should know the form of the karma." It means you should not just act; you should know what you are doing. Then your Viveka will tell you what kind of fruits your actions will bring. And then your very fine Viveka will tell you not to do it. There are four Karmendriyas and four Jñānendriyas. Through these jñāna-indriyas, whatever we receive from the outer world creates vṛttis. Śabda, rūpa, rasa, gandha, and sparśa—these are the five indriyas. Now, when you receive from the external world, God gave you the intellect to use. In German, they say, "And now God gave you the intellect to use." Animals cannot use this. Animals know by nature, and they will not act against nature. Those animals which God made vegetarian will not eat meat. That means they are more clever than humans. But we humans are abusing our intellect, and that is why troubles come. So first come the vṛttis. Then come the feelings, and then we act physically. And then it is too late, whether you do it physically or mentally. Those vṛttis, kleśas, will create the kleśas. Akliṣṭa vṛttis are those which support us to protect and develop ourselves. Therefore, if you are happy or unhappy, that depends on you. There is no one to blame—neither God, nor your parents, nor your friends, nor your master. Only and only you. How will you think? It is nice to see you, and we will have a nice weekend together.

This text is transcribed and grammar corrected by AI. If in doubt what was actually said in the recording, use the transcript to double click the desired cue. This will position the recording in most cases just before the sentence is uttered.

The text contains hyperlinks in bold to three authoritative books on yoga, written by humans, to clarify the context of the lecture:

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