On Pause

Dear Reader,

I'm excited to share that I am diving into completing a different, big writing project.

This means that I will be putting my 100 Day Project on pause until Thursday, March 19th.

I treasure my quiet times in the morning of reading, reflection, and writing on the divine Bhagavad-gita. I have already experienced a deepening of my faith and understanding, my heart has quieted with divine knowledge. The rigor to stay true to Krishna's and Arjuna's words as well as Srila Prabhupad's purports keeps me invigorated and aligned with truth.

Thank you for being on this journey with me so far - we're just getting started, you know!

I truly believe that to write, especially on the Gita or anything divine, is no ordinary endeavor. So I humbly request your blessings to continue writing as a service.

I am eager and excited to return to this 100 Day Project on March 19th, and I hope you will join me then.

sincerely,

bhakti

16: Be Exemplary

CHAPTER THREE, TEXT 21: Whatever action a great man performs, common men follow. And whatever standards he sets by exemplary acts, all the world pursues.

Once, I asked my spiritual teacher if he had any instruction for me. He simply said, "Be exemplary."

Year after year, his words have rung in my head and reverberated out into my behavior. It's very confronting. 

Would I want another girl or woman to wear what I'm wearing?

Say what I'm saying? to her mother? to her student? to her husband? 

Would I want another woman to do what I'm doing? in the subway? at the temple? online? 

Post a picture that I'm posting? 

Write what I'm writing? 

How does an exemplary woman behave at work? At school? With her husband? 

Basically, the declaration is: Make my life transparent. I have nothing to hide. 

What's more, I need people to look up to, to show me the way to live a transparent life. Without their examples, I would be very lost indeed. In my mind I think of my mother, dance teacher, husband, spiritual master, professors, other teachers, and more. 

In the purport to this verse, Prabhupad writes that "People in general always require a leader who can teach the public by practical behavior" (149). Practical behavior is the key phrase here. Philosophy and words only take us so far. We all need someone who can show us the way through his or her example.

A leader is often equated with a powerful role that he or she attains, such as the CEO of Amazon or the President of the United States. In this verse, for the phrase "great man" Krishna uses the word sresthas, which is translated in the word-for-word as "respectable leader." In this sense, just being in the position of a CEO or the President is not enough for us to call him or her a "great man" - the person must be respectable.

Nevertheless, a role does carry a heavy responsibility. Prabhupad elaborates that "The king or the executive head of state, the father and the schoolteacher are all considered to be natural leaders of the innocent people in general" (149). Note that while many people may or may not have a king or even a schoolteacher to look up to, everyone has a father. For better or for worse, the example the father sets is a powerful precedent for the family and for society at large. The repercussions are great: "All such natural leaders have a great responsibility to their dependents" (149).

Would I want another father to do what I'm doing?

Would I want another mother to do what I'm doing?

Would I want another teacher to do what I'm doing?

Sometimes, it's hard to answer those questions. We simply don't know. That's why we need other people to set the example for us, those who are more powerful, loving, and wise.

So then I may ask: Who is MY role model? Who do I look up to? What would he do? What would she do? Those role models often light up a path that seems very dark. And then, once we are guided, we light the way for others. We are all meant to be leaders, to set standards that the whole world would follow. 

15: Win/Win Work

CHAPTER THREE, TEXT 9: Work done as a sacrifice for Viṣṇu has to be performed; otherwise work causes bondage in this material world. Therefore, O son of Kuntī, perform your prescribed duties for His satisfaction, and in that way you will always remain free from bondage.

In the purport, Prabhupad writes that "both good and evil work have their reactions, and any reaction binds the performer" (138). I'm stumped by this. I can wrap my mind around evil work having reactions and being binding (hellooooo prison), but good work? How does good work "bind the performer"?

I'm genuinely at a loss. I see no harm in doing good work. Follow the law, take care of myself and my family, contribute something to society - how is this a cause of bondage?

The only equivalent I can draw is that of a prisoner. A prisoner may follow all the rules of prison, be kind and respectful to inmates as well as guards, work out and be healthy, read good books, even learn new subjects or develop friends, but he's still just a prisoner. He may be doing "good work" but he's still in prison. 

How happy can a prisoner truly be?

A prisoner is not free.

The nature of the soul is to be free.

And in this material world, we are not free.

The nature of the soul is also to be active, though - "[the soul] is always active and cannot stop even for a moment" (3.5 Purport) - and my actions have a funny way of coming back to bite me or delight me. I often find myself tangled up in webs of bad as well as good consequences that I wish I could just cut away from.

It's well known that dopamine is the "feel good" hormone that is produced whether one is exercising, getting hundreds of Likes on a post on Facebook, or smoking a cigarette. We get addicted to dopamine, for better or for worse.

So instead of sense gratification (read: a hit of dopamine) for myself, I see in this verse that the key is to offer all work and all results to Krishna. Prabhupad writes, "Nothing should be performed for sense gratification, but everything should be done for the satisfaction of Krsna" (138). What's interesting here is that by satisfying Krishna, our senses do get pleasure! If I satisfy Krishna by offering him a cookie, then I eat that cookie, then I am not only getting free from the reactions of work, I'm also experiencing pleasure. I would call that a win/win.

Of course, offering Krishna a cookie just so that I can eat it and enjoy it is not necessarily the highest stage of selfless love and service. Ultimately, "This practice [of offering one's work to Krishna] will not only save one from the reaction of work, but also gradually elevate one to transcendental loving service of the Lord" (138). Prabhupad emphasizes that by learning to offer our work to Krishna, we are "gradually elevated" to a higher consciousness. We all need time to learn to love. And in time, the more we offer our work to God, we become free. Prabhupad writes that "While performing such activities one is in a liberated stage. This is the great art of doing work" (138). The word "liberated" is significant here, because liberated means that one is free.

Free.

We all want to be free, we all want to be free of this prison of this world. Offering one's work to Krishna is the "great art" that opens the door to freedom wide.

14: Beautiful Balance

CHAPTER THREE, TEXT 3: The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: O sinless Arjuna, I have already explained that there are two classes of men who try to realize the self. Some are inclined to understand it by empirical, philosophical speculation, and others by devotional service.

Religion gets a pretty bad rap.

In our modern society, the phrase "organized religion" is almost synonymous with "organized crime."

In fact, the words and phrases that come to my mind with the word religion are: strict, shallow, fanatics, meaningless rituals, sanctified violence, suppression of women, power-tripping men at the top, and ego battles. Just a few. I'm sure you could provide a few more colorful phrases to add to that list.

With so many negative connotations to the word religion that are, frankly, kind of warranted, no wonder the phrase of choice today is: "I'm spiritual but not religious."

In this verse, though, Krishna describes that on the spiritual path there are two classes of people - one class wants to understand the spirit through philosophical speculation (sankhya-yoga) and the other class by devotional service (karma-yoga / buddhi-yoga). Prabhupad translates these two principles as philosophy (or "spirituality") and religion, and both are valid approaches.

Yes, religion.

Huh?

I thought religion was strict, shallow, and fanatical?

Definitions are a great place to start. Often, we get carried away with the connotations of a word without truly examining what the word means. According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, religion is: "the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods." Okay. No mention of strict, shallow fanatics. But I think what gets warped in our modern context is the word "worship" - worship then translates as practical action, which can translate as rituals that are acted upon in very shallow, fanatical ways. Unfortunately, this is common in religious circles.

Conversely, the definition of spirituality is: "the quality of being concerned with the human spirit or soul as opposed to material or physical things." So far so good. Being concerned with the spirit over material things sounds like a pretty great aspiration. That said, the "quality of being concerned" is rather vague. How does one put being "concerned" into action? I could be "concerned" all day and all night about the soul until I die, but if I never act upon or show that concern, then really my spirituality has little to no substance. It's simply that - a concern. Airy philosophy.

The key is that religion and philosophy are interdependent (133) and must be combined. Srila Prabhupad offers a famous statement: "Religion without philosophy is sentiment, or sometimes fanaticism, while philosophy without religion is mental speculation" (ibid).

This means that when religion does not have a deeper concern for the human spirit or higher understanding, it is just a shallow display of sentimental rituals and worship. An excessive attachment to those rituals and regulations shows up as fanaticism. Go figure.

The other side of the coin, though, is that when philosophy is not combined with practical action, one just speculates about truth in circles forever and never acts on those beliefs. Then there's no deep substance to those beliefs. The dreaded "armchair philosopher."

Unfortunately, it is so easy to swing to one side or the other, and the hardest practice is to balance the two. If fact, we could all introspect about our own approach and consider: Which side do I fall harder on - the religious or spiritual side? Which side do I sense I need to develop more?

That said, while both philosophy and religion are interdependent and crucial for balanced spiritual growth, Prabhupad emphasizes that practical action is easier for human beings. We sometimes have a hard time with philosophy. We need practical experience, we need activities that awaken our hearts to love and to the human spirit. I have often experienced that when I'm not "feeling it" and have no concern whatsoever into the "human spirit" and philosophy, if I can just DO some worship - offer some flower, sing some song, fold my palms, anything - my heart awakens to love and to spirituality. I have experienced this awakening during Catholic mass when I kneel as well as opening my palms during prayers in a mosque as well as singing the holy name in communal kirtan in a temple. Devotional service is not restricted to any particular religious path.

In this way, Prabhupad emphasizes that "devotional service is simultaneously easy and sublime" (133). This phrase is so perfect, devotional service, for it implies the perfect balance of spiritual and divine concern (devotional) and the practical and accessible action (service).

Religion is underrated.

Spirituality is overrated.

The balance of the two is more challenging to strike, and yet when we find that beautiful balance, when we offer devotional service, the process is truly easy and sublime. 

13: Ocean of Peace

CHAPTER TWO, TEXT 70: 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.

Sometimes - well, most of the time - desires flow through my mind with the force of the Amazon River. I want a muffin, I want cheese fries, I want a gorgeous house, I want to take a yoga class, I want to dye my hair blue... I want I want I want... in fact, while I was looking up pictures of the Amazon River, the desire flowed into my mind: I want to travel to the Amazon. 

All day, every day, flowing in and in and in. 

If I give in to those desires, I often feel swept away, flailing and drowning in the attempt to be satisfied. Case in point - the muffin I wanted this morning. Or should I say, muffins - I ate one too many, and now my stomach feels stretched, I shift in my seat in discomfort. 

Desires desires desires.

All day.

Every day.

Flowing in and in and in.

Until I burst.

When I strive to satisfy my desires, I get swept away in the current. When I try to stop them - well, let's just say that's like standing in the middle of the Amazon River with a hand out yelling "STOP!"

Yeah. All pretty futile. 

Srila Prabhupad acknowledges the futility of fighting desires when he writes that "As long as one has the material body, the demands of the body for sense gratification will continue" (128). As long as I'm alive until my last breath in this body, I will demand and yearn to enjoy. This is the reality. 

So we are truly in a predicament in this world, suffering at the mercy of our desires.  

In this verse, Krishna gives us a vision of one who can overcome this predicament: Although rivers of desires flow into the ocean, the ocean "remains the same - steady; it is not agitated nor does it cross beyond the limit of its brink" (128). The ocean does not swell or shrink, no matter how big or strong the river and flow of our longings. The ocean remains steady, still, at peace.   

So how can one become like the ocean, instead of being swept away by the Amazon River of desires? How can one truly be desireless in order to be at peace? 

Prabhupad illuminates the solution: "Real desirelessness is desire for the satisfaction of Krsna, not an artificial attempt to abolish desires" (129). The phrase here "artificial attempt" shows that it is only natural for the soul to desire. In fact, to desire is the function of the soul. So there is no need to abolish desires. The key is to use this natural propensity to enjoy and satisfy our longings by satisfying Krishna.  

Naturally, I wonder why it's necessary (or even recommended) to satisfy Krishna. Prabhupad writes, "One who is situated in this perfect stage [of knowledge] knows that because Krsna is the proprietor of everything, everything must be used for the satisfaction of Krsna" (129). If Krishna is the proprietor, this means that he is the source of everything, the ultimate source of satisfaction. 

When I was a teenager in Hawaii, I used to ride my bike out along a mountain trail to watch the sun set on the Pacific Ocean. Just gazing at the glassy, luminous water that stretched off into the limitless horizon, my mind would quiet. 

Krishna is like that ocean. He is so vast, limitless, and steady, for He is the proprietor of everything. He is vast enough to contain my feverish yearnings and deep longings, no matter how furious my river of desires flows into Him. All I need to do is take those yearnings and longings and redirect them to the "transcendental loving service of the Lord" (128) - just offer the muffin (and cheese fries) to Krishna. Place Krishna in the center of the gorgeous house. Meditate on Krishna when I take yoga. Um... dye my hair blue... to the shade of Krishna's skin...? ;)

Let the desires flow in and let them flow out - to Krishna. He can hold me. Then my mind and heart may become like the ocean: steady, still, at peace. 

The Amazon River flowing into the Atlantic Ocean