65: Transcendental Bystander

 Arjuna asks three questions to Krishna (Chapter 14, Verse 21) and Krishna responds with the below verses (22-25), which are traditionally grouped together. I will be focusing on the words and phrases that I bold and underline.  

CHAPTER 14, TEXTS 22-25: The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: O son of Pāṇḍu, he who does not hate illumination, attachment and delusion when they are present or long for them when they disappear; who is unwavering and undisturbed through all these reactions of the material qualities, remaining neutral and transcendental, knowing that the modes alone are active; who is situated in the self and regards alike happiness and distress; who looks upon a lump of earth, a stone and a piece of gold with an equal eye; who is equal toward the desirable and the undesirable; who is steady, situated equally well in praise and blame, honor and dishonor; who treats alike both friend and enemy; and who has renounced all material activities – such a person is said to have transcended the modes of nature.

Talking about religion and saying the word "God" is now taboo. But the soul craves some kind of way to seek righteousness through reform and behavior. As a result, social and political issues and involvement seem to be the new religion. 

On the social level, there's the Me Too movement, Black Lives Matter, LGBTQ+ equality and pride, affirmative action, school shootings, abortion, and many more.

On the political level, there's the matter of Donald Trump being president, America's handling of its borders with Mexico, illegal immigrants, North Korea, involvement in the Paris Climate Agreement, voting, and many more.   

Of course, social and political issues overlap - Black Lives Matter is sometimes considered a political issue, the handling of illegal immigrants sometimes considered a social issue. In either case, in the past few years there seem to be marches and protests and riots on a regular basis; the people who participate are fighting for their voices and opinion to be heard, for a change to be made.

From what I have observed on social media and in person, the engagement with these issues escalates to an almost religious fervor. If one chooses to not engage with any or all of these issues, one runs the risk of being a "bystander" - one who just lets things happen without taking a stand for what is right. 

Krishna has a different perspective, though. 

In the previous verse, Arjuna has asked Krishna: What is the behavior of a person who has transcended the modes of nature?  

This fourteenth chapter has explored the modes of nature, specifically goodness, passion, and ignorance, and how they permeate this world and our existence. These modes are binding, even goodness. And so Arjuna is asking how to move beyond them. 

Yes, even goodness. 

Krishna replies that the symptom of one who has transcended these modes has "renounced all material activities." This could mean many things and this response could, quite frankly, be bewildering. But Prabhupad elaborates on this particular phrase in two sentences. 

In the first sentence, he says, "[The transcendentalist] is equally disposed and sees everything on an equal level because he knows perfectly well that he has nothing to do with material existence." This seeing everything on an "equal level" is key here, but what is important is to be able to see reality and then be on an equal level. If I deeply identify with being a woman, there is no way I can be equally disposed towards all. This goes for any material identity (such as race, age, sexual orientation, religious orientation, etc.). True equality and neutrality must come from a spiritually informed perspective that we are a spirit soul, that we have "nothing to do with material existence." That is spiritual reality and the foundation for an equal disposition. 

Prabhupad then specifically writes that a person who has renounced all material activities renounces connections to these ever-changing social and political issues. In the second sentence he writes, "Social and political issues do not affect him, because he knows the situation of temporary upheavals and disturbances." The material world is in constant flux, the modes of material nature in perpetual competition for supremacy (14.10). But our true, divine nature is not in flux - the soul and the Supersoul is steady, eternal, at peace. Getting deeply absorbed in the comings and goings of material problems is a never-ending, turbulent storm.  

For example, Donald Trump has been president for four years. The maximum term he could have held was eight years. People opposed him and supported him with feverish, religious fervor, but at the end of the day, his "reign" was four years, and if he had been voted into office for a second term, a maximum of eight years.  

Then the next upheaval would've come. 

Many of the issues listed earlier in this post have been under scrutiny for decades, but the past few years we've seen an explosion of talking about and shedding light on them. 

But they will come and they will go. This is not a pessimistic opinion dismissing important issues of the world. The statement that these issues will come and go is based on reality - social and political issues are temporary because they are born of the material world and the modes of nature. Material issues deal with the body, country borders, and the environment; for each of these issues there is a perpetual merry-go-round of goodness, passion, and ignorance fighting for supremacy. 

These are not issues of the soul. 

An important distinction to make here is that Krishna and Prabhupad are not recommending anyone to renounce material activities. Krishna and Prabhupad are describing the symptoms of a person who has transcended the modes of nature. 

So in this way, Arjuna could've asked the question flipped around: What is the behavior of a person who has not transcended the modes of nature?

And Krishna would've responded, logically, "He is deeply absorbed in material activities" and Prabhupad would've elaborated, "He is affected by social and political issues, thinking the problem to be permanent and that he must be the one to solve the problem." 

As a reader, we are now faced with a choice: which person do I want to be? 

Full purport here: https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/14/22-25/

44: All Souls Are Created Equal

CHAPTER 9, TEXT 32: O son of Pṛthā, those who take shelter in Me, though they be of lower birth – women, vaiśyas [merchants] and śūdras [workers] – can attain the supreme destination.

Let's be honest. If the CEO of any company made this statement today (substituting out "Me" for God, of course), he or she would probably be fired and his or her career and standing in society would come crashing down in smoldering ruins. 

Why? 

Krishna states here that women, merchants, and workers are of lower birth. 

This implies that men and, let's say, world leaders, are of a higher birth. 

Note the term "birth", which implies that if someone is born a certain way, there is nothing that can be done about it - no amount of surgeries or education degrees or work experience can change the manner in which one is born. A woman is a woman. A worker is a worker. One could argue that this kind of reasoning breeds discrimination and permits persecution and abuse in the name of religion. 

This verse (and others) are often cited as quite controversial, verses and commentaries that sometimes break people's faith in the Bhagavad-gita, the path of bhakti, and maybe even spiritual life. 

Americans hold equality of all to be a very sacred principle, and this Gita verse seems to violate that principle. Within a founding document of the United States of America, Thomas Jefferson penned these famous words in the Declaration of Independence, "All men are created equal." I am certainly a benefactor of America's pursuit of equality - as a woman living in 2020, I could literally do anything and everything I truly wanted to do, including go to college, buy land, or even become the President. What's more, America has inspired many other countries of the world to pursue equality for all. 

Of course, Jefferson is now criticized as a white man of privilege who had slaves and excluded women from this famous statement. On a material level, Jefferson (and most of the other founding fathers) was a hypocrite. 

So now we still have a problem - even people who espouse liberty, equality, and justice for all don't actually live those principles. 

Let's return to the drawing board then, and see where we have gone amiss in our interpretation of this Gita verse. Here is the problem: the phrase "lower birth" is all that is focused on. The truth is that this verse is stating something closer to what Jefferson himself meant in the deepest way: we are all truly created equal. 

No material designation, whether that is a body or an occupation, can keep us from our divine nature and our divine purpose in this world. Prabhupad writes, "It is clearly declared here by the Supreme Lord that in devotional service there is no distinction between the lower and higher classes of people." All that would be focused on if the CEO made this statement would be that he had classified women and workers as a lower birth, but not the essence of the verse, which is that anyone can participate in spiritual life, regardless of birth and class. 

The bigger thing to accept, then, is that there *are* classes of men and women in this world. This is the reality. There have always been classes in society, there always will be classes in society. This is just the nature of the material world. Prabhupad continues, "In the material conception of life there are such divisions, but for a person engaged in transcendental devotional service to the Lord there are not." This distinction is crucial. If we are engaged in transcendental service, these divisions become irrelevant. But if one switches into a material conception of life, then yes, suddenly these distinctions and classes of birth become important, almost overpowering. 

For example, men and women have separate competitions in the Olympics. This is understandable, considering the obvious physiological differences between a man's body and a woman's body.

But - men and women also have separate competitions for chess. 

Chess? 

How can this be? 

Being good at chess is a strong indicator of a high IQ (thechessworld.com), so if there is a separate championship for women, this means that on average, even the intellects of men outperform the intellects of women. This is simply the reality. Being stronger and also more intelligent is a sign of a "higher birth." 

But Krishna is saying here that none of those considerations of lower and higher birth matter when it comes to love and devotion.  

Prabhupad emphasizes, "[D]evotional service and the guidance of a pure devotee are so strong that there is no discrimination between the lower and higher classes of men; anyone can take to it." This is true equality. We all hunger to be treated as equals in life and in love. This is why the founding fathers laid down equality as a principle for the United States to be built upon - our soul hungers to be recognized for who we are, not just for some material condition. But the Declaration of Independence is a material document. 

The Gita is spiritual document. Contrary to how this verse is misinterpreted, the Gita is meant to lift us out of these cages of designations that trap us into discrimination, hatred, and persecution. Krishna is saying here that actually, none of these designations matter when there is love and devotion to God.  

More important than the reality that there are higher and lower births in this world is the reality that we are all spirit souls and all spirit souls are equal. When I operate from that level, I see the truth that I am just as eligible as any man, as any world leader, as anyone more beautiful or more intelligent or wealthier than me. I am a spirit soul, capable of offering my love and my heart to God with purity and devotion. That is within my power, that is within the power of every human being on this planet, that is an inalienable right within each and every one of us. No one can take away the right to love. I believe that this divine truth is what the founding fathers of America were aiming for when they wrote the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. This is the truth that God himself is emphasizing in the Gita. 

So I'll just accept right now that as a woman, according to the Gita, I've been born into a "lower birth." 

Yep. Last I checked, I still love myself. I'm just accepting the reality of my birth. 

Being born a woman does not stop me from learning to love. I am a spirit soul, capable of opening my heart to God and attaining the "highest perfection of life." 

I trust that that is the message of the Gita, that is the message of Srila Prabhupad, that is the message of any genuine spiritual path. 

Full purport here: https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/9/32/

25: Window to the Soul

CHAPTER 5, TEXT 18: The humble sages, by virtue of true knowledge, see with equal vision a learned and gentle brāhmaṇa, a cow, an elephant, a dog and a dog-eater [outcaste].

The eyes are the windows to the soul.

Then with our eyes and with our own soul, let's look into the eyes of those beings who Krishna mentions in this verse (for  a dog-eater I put a picture of a criminal, which is a modern equivalent of an outcaste).

gentle brahmana

cow

dog

elephant

outcaste

Regardless of body, the soul shines forth. Go ahead, look again at the criminal, look past the tattoos and into his eyes - you can see, the soul is there.

To acknowledge the spirit soul that resides within all beings - not only human beings - is the foundation of any true knowledge.

America's founding credo is: "All men are created equal." Krishna is emphasizing, though, that that equality is based upon the equality of the soul, not the body.

So this would include that all men and women are created equal.

All races are created equal.

The eyes.

The eyes have it.

But other living beings also have eyes. Prabhupad writes: "A Kṛṣṇa conscious person does not make any distinction between species or castes [social standing]." So if we do not make a distinction between species, how about dogs? Dogs are mentioned in this verse as having a soul. Dogs are capable of love and affection, and any dog lover would agree most emphatically with Krishna that yes, dogs have souls.

So any cat lover (my sister included) would make the same proclamation: cats have souls.

So then what about OTHER animals??

To acknowledge the soul within all living beings is revolutionary consciousness.

Prabhupad writes: "The brāhmaṇa and the outcaste may be different from the social point of view, or a dog, a cow and an elephant may be different from the point of view of species, but these differences of body are meaningless from the viewpoint of a learned transcendentalist." Of course there are material differences between all of the pictured living beings in this post - these pictures offer barely give a glimpse into the diversity of bodies of living beings on this planet. But if we scroll through and really take time to look into their eyes, we can feel something tingle in our mind and our soul, a sense of recognition: a soul is here.

Even in a fish.

On the deepest level, those differences of body become truly become meaningless.

In fact, "The bodies are material productions of different modes of material nature, but the soul and the Supersoul within the body are of the same spiritual quality." At the core, we are all eternal spirit souls who have a relationship with God and each other. In this sense, our equality "is due to [our] relationship to the Supreme, for the Supreme Lord, by His plenary portion as Paramātmā, is present in everyone’s heart." This means that within the heart of each and every living being - from the President of the United States to the goldfish - God is there, witnessing every action and accompanying us at every moment.

If we can imbibe this "true knowledge" and disregard the social differences and the differences of species, how should we behave towards other living beings?

The first word that comes to me is respect.

For differences of species, maybe I do not give dogs and turtles the right to vote, or make a spider my companion, but if God is within every living being, surely I can offer respect. I can respect the gift of life within every living being and not take it away for my pleasure or convenience. That's a start.

For living beings with social differences, such as human beings, sometimes this is the hardest. I get caught up in the differences - the eye color, the hair color, the face shape, the body shape, the culture, the language, the dress, etc. Compared to how I may sympathize with and respect a sweet dog, it may be almost easier to categorize a human of a different race and culture as "other" and thus "bad" or "inferior" and refuse to offer my respect. So on the basis of recognizing and respecting another's soul and not just their body is the way that a learned transcendentalist behaves.

Ultimately, "the Lord is equally kind to everyone because He treats every living being as a friend yet maintains Himself as Paramātmā regardless of the circumstances of the living entities." At the core, the Lord is a friend to all. He treats everyone equally, regardless of social standing or species. We are all spirit souls.

True knowledge means to see with this equal vision. I've touched on living beings with eyes in this blog post, but there are billions of living beings that do not have discernible or sympathetic eyes, such as sea sponges and trees. But let's start with eyes. Let's look into the window of another being's soul, let's look into their eyes, and acknowledge that the soul is there, God is there.

True wisdom begins there.

Full purport for Chapter 5, Text 18 by Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupad here: https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/5/18/