CHAPTER 2, TEXT 54: Arjuna said: O Kṛṣṇa, what are the symptoms of one whose consciousness is thus merged in transcendence? How does he speak, and what is his language? How does he sit, and how does he walk?
This is Arjuna's first question in the Bhagavad-gita. Up to this point, Krishna has been explaining deep philosophical concepts, such as the nature of the soul and being detached from one's work in this world. And just like any time we hear a good amount of philosophy, we want to know how that philosophy is applied into everyday life, into one's everyday behavior. We don't want to be "armchair philosophers", speculating about life from our green squishy armchair in a stuffy drawing room. We want to be practical.
Arjuna is a warrior, and Arjuna is practical. He speaks for all of us. So he asks: what are the symptoms of a person in transcendence? Give me the basics: how does he speak, sit, and walk?
But we all speak, sit, and walk every day, all day. How would a person in transcendence be any different?
Srila Prabhupad emphasizes that of the three activities mentioned, one activity is the most important, which is "how the man in Krsna consciousness speaks; for speech is the most important quality of any man" (116). From this perspective, then, to speak is no longer ordinary.
Speech is power.
So often we just go through life speaking about anything and everything off the top of our minds. Complaining, chatting, cursing, explaining, and more.
We reveal our character, though, at every moment through what we choose to say or not say. Prabhupad writes that "It is said that a fool is undiscovered as long as he does not speak, and certainly a well-dressed fool cannot be identified unless he speaks, but as soon as he speaks, he reveals himself at once" (116). Walking through the streets and subways of New York City, I see many well-dressed people. If I was going off of appearances, I could consider all of these people supremely intelligent and wise. After all, there's no real way to identify a fool if he or she is dressed in a magnificent suit or a tailored dress.
In connection to Arjuna's question, though, language reflects consciousness. Peering into the minds of people to assess their consciousness is a job best left up to the psychics or psychiatrists (take your pick), and probably just a little unreliable. But if we were to listen in or engage in a conversation with any of these people on the street, we may observe their use of language to discern their level of consciousness. Most importantly, I may analyze my own use of language to discern my level of consciousness.
If language truly reflects consciousness, then it's what we say and not so much how we say it. The speech of an ideal person does not necessarily require eloquence, such as accent, pitch, and sophisticated vocabulary. The content of one's speech is far more important.
Naturally, then one may ask that if the content of our speech is the most important, what does a person in transcendence speak about?
Prabhupad writes, "The immediate symptom of a Krsna conscious man is that he speaks only of Krsna and of matters relating to Him" (116). So a well-dressed politician on the streets of New York could be speaking about very nuanced aspects of foreign policy in refined language, but he is not necessarily a person in transcendence. Using the power of speech to discuss spiritual matters and Krishna is a true symptom of someone who is rising above this world.
I have found that when I am searching for people to connect to who are on the spiritual path, I must look past the dress and the face. I need to look for a person who loves to speak from the heart about God and Krishna. In this way they may inspire within me my own desire to speak about God and search Him out with all of my heart.
This is Arjuna's first question in the Bhagavad-gita. Up to this point, Krishna has been explaining deep philosophical concepts, such as the nature of the soul and being detached from one's work in this world. And just like any time we hear a good amount of philosophy, we want to know how that philosophy is applied into everyday life, into one's everyday behavior. We don't want to be "armchair philosophers", speculating about life from our green squishy armchair in a stuffy drawing room. We want to be practical.
Arjuna is a warrior, and Arjuna is practical. He speaks for all of us. So he asks: what are the symptoms of a person in transcendence? Give me the basics: how does he speak, sit, and walk?
But we all speak, sit, and walk every day, all day. How would a person in transcendence be any different?
Srila Prabhupad emphasizes that of the three activities mentioned, one activity is the most important, which is "how the man in Krsna consciousness speaks; for speech is the most important quality of any man" (116). From this perspective, then, to speak is no longer ordinary.
Speech is power.
So often we just go through life speaking about anything and everything off the top of our minds. Complaining, chatting, cursing, explaining, and more.
We reveal our character, though, at every moment through what we choose to say or not say. Prabhupad writes that "It is said that a fool is undiscovered as long as he does not speak, and certainly a well-dressed fool cannot be identified unless he speaks, but as soon as he speaks, he reveals himself at once" (116). Walking through the streets and subways of New York City, I see many well-dressed people. If I was going off of appearances, I could consider all of these people supremely intelligent and wise. After all, there's no real way to identify a fool if he or she is dressed in a magnificent suit or a tailored dress.
In connection to Arjuna's question, though, language reflects consciousness. Peering into the minds of people to assess their consciousness is a job best left up to the psychics or psychiatrists (take your pick), and probably just a little unreliable. But if we were to listen in or engage in a conversation with any of these people on the street, we may observe their use of language to discern their level of consciousness. Most importantly, I may analyze my own use of language to discern my level of consciousness.
If language truly reflects consciousness, then it's what we say and not so much how we say it. The speech of an ideal person does not necessarily require eloquence, such as accent, pitch, and sophisticated vocabulary. The content of one's speech is far more important.
Naturally, then one may ask that if the content of our speech is the most important, what does a person in transcendence speak about?
Prabhupad writes, "The immediate symptom of a Krsna conscious man is that he speaks only of Krsna and of matters relating to Him" (116). So a well-dressed politician on the streets of New York could be speaking about very nuanced aspects of foreign policy in refined language, but he is not necessarily a person in transcendence. Using the power of speech to discuss spiritual matters and Krishna is a true symptom of someone who is rising above this world.
I have found that when I am searching for people to connect to who are on the spiritual path, I must look past the dress and the face. I need to look for a person who loves to speak from the heart about God and Krishna. In this way they may inspire within me my own desire to speak about God and search Him out with all of my heart.
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