96: Reflections on Austerity

 Creative Expression: Sharing realizations spontaneously 

Bhagavad-gita, Chapter 16, Texts 1-3

Full text here: https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/16/1-3/

94: The Yoga Ladder

 CHAPTER 12, TEXTS 8-12

TEXT 8:

 

Just fix your mind upon Me, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and engage all your intelligence in Me. Thus you will live in Me always, without a doubt.

TEXT 9:

 

My dear Arjuna, O winner of wealth, if you cannot fix your mind upon Me without deviation, then follow the regulative principles of bhakti-yoga. In this way develop a desire to attain Me.

TEXT 10:

 

If you cannot practice the regulations of bhakti-yoga, then just try to work for Me, because by working for Me you will come to the perfect stage.

TEXT 11:

 

If, however, you are unable to work in this consciousness of Me, then try to act giving up all results of your work and try to be self-situated.

TEXT 12:

 

If you cannot take to this practice, then engage yourself in the cultivation of knowledge. Better than knowledge, however, is meditation, and better than meditation is renunciation of the fruits of action, for by such renunciation one can attain peace of mind.

93: Happiness - Poison -> Nectar

  

CHAPTER 18, TEXT 37: That which in the beginning may be just like poison but at the end is just like nectar and which awakens one to self-realization is said to be happiness in the mode of goodness.

Full purport here: https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/18/37/

91: Happiness - Nectar -> Poison

 

CHAPTER 18, TEXT 38: That happiness which is derived from contact of the senses with their objects and which appears like nectar at first but poison at the end is said to be of the nature of passion.

Full purport here: https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/18/38/

87: "Rereading" Thrills

CHAPTER 18, TEXT 76: O King, as I repeatedly recall this wondrous and holy dialogue between Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna, I take pleasure, being thrilled at every moment.

When I was in second grade (7 years old) I read my first novel cover-to-cover in one day. The novel was a part of the larger Goosebumps series, a kind of junior horror series. 

To this day, I'll devour thick bricks of books in a day. Many a time I have stayed up until two in the morning, sometimes even until the sun rises, finishing a novel. 

The thing is, I usually finish a book with a heavy sigh. I didn't like the main character's choices. I didn't like the romance. I didn't like the ending. Of maybe a book was just mediocre. A nice escape for awhile, but... nothing special. 

Every so often I'll read a book that's actually worth a reread. Out of the literally hundreds and hundreds of books I've read in my lifetime, I could probably count out the books I've reread. 

And the second time around is always a little so-so. The third time around is even more so-so-so. 

But the Gita? 

I just finished reading the entire Gita (took me a year ;) and I just want to read it again. 

I want to memorize verses. I want to talk about it with friends. Sometimes I'll talk about one verse for hours with my husband or a friend. I'll meditate on the meaning while I'm out in town, or taking a walk, or journaling. Prabhupad writes, "The understanding of Bhagavad-gītā is so transcendental that anyone who becomes conversant with the topics of Arjuna and Kṛṣṇa becomes righteous and he cannot forget such talks." A beautiful, significant phrase that Prabhupad uses here is "becomes righteous." I have found that the more I think on and remember the Gita, I find my actions becoming aligned with righteousness. For example, I am more conscious to offer my food (3.13) before I eat it. This one little thing is transforming my relationship with food - be a little more detached, Bhakti. Let God enjoy first. 

I can't forget "such talks." In this way, the words of the Gita come alive for me more and more. Unlike novels, these words never age, never get old, never get stale. These words become more and more brilliant. 

Today my husband and attended Christmas mass at our local Catholic church. The priest mentioned, in his brief homily, how in the beginning there was the word, and the word became flesh (John 1.14). The word is flesh - the word is alive. The word is substantial, something we can touch and feel and experience in our lives. We have a relationship with the word. 

By taking this word into our hearts, our lives catch fire with meaning and purpose and joy and love. Prabhupad writes, "The result of Kṛṣṇa consciousness is that one becomes increasingly enlightened, and he enjoys life with a thrill, not only for some time, but at every moment." What an amazing prospect. In this world, our thrills are cheap. 

Novels last a day. 

Movies last a couple hours. 

Food lasts a few minutes. 

Fireworks last a couple seconds. 

The thrills of the Bhagavad-gita work in the reverse. Prabhupad says that one "enjoys life with a thrill, not only for some time, but at every moment". The prospect of a thrill that increases in time blows my mind. I have so little frame of reference in this material world - all my little joys and thrills have always, always faded. 

Yes, I must confess, even my spiritual thrills.  

The difference, though, is that when I experience a spiritual thrill, even when it fades it leaves an impression on my heart - I want to experience that again. 

I want to "reread" that. Again and again and again - every time I "reread" a spiritual experience, I experience more joy than before. Whether that's singing, or dancing, or reading the Gita, or conversing with friends about the Gita, or countless other activities, I just want to stay in them forever. 

Full purport here: https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/18/76/

79: Levels of Happiness

CHAPTER 18, TEXT 38: That happiness which is derived from contact of the senses with their objects and which appears like nectar at first but poison at the end is said to be of the nature of passion. 

Krishna is describing the different kinds of  happiness within the modes of nature. I created the below chart as a map to understanding the patterns of how things begin and how things end. 

	Goodness (sattva)	Passion (rajas)	Ignorance (tamas)
Beginning	poison	nectar	poison
End	nectar	poison	poison

An example of happiness in the mode of goodness (sattva) is a college education. Working for a college degree means paying a lot of money for years and years without any income - this often means living in a simple place with simple food, going to class at sometimes early times of the day or late at night after work, hours upon hours of homework, grueling projects and exams, [often] unpaid internships, and more. 

This is like poison. 

But in the end, the nectar of knowledge, a degree, and improved job prospects is what makes college worth it for most people. People with college degrees have been shown to earn more income not only for themselves but for society at large (aplu.org), they have a greater chance of staying married (pewresearch.com), and they are even less likely to be obese and to just have greater health overall (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/). This is the "nectar" of happiness in the mode of goodness.

Happiness in the mode of passion is nectar at first and poison in the end. The classic example that Prabhupad gives is - you guessed it - falling in "love." He writes, "A young man and a young woman meet, and the senses drive the young man to see her, to touch her and to have sexual intercourse." This is considered to be "nectar," a source of pleasure, excitement, and all-consuming absorption. Some dating apps exist solely to facilitate this kind of happiness in the mode of passion - meeting and having sex. Prabhupad continues, "In the beginning this may be very pleasing to the senses, but at the end, or after some time, it becomes just like poison. They are separated or there is divorce, there is lamentation, there is sorrow, etc." I once read an article about a woman who had just had sex with a man through using the dating app Tinder and as she was getting dressed he was already swiping through his phone again, looking for the next meet-up. She was appalled, but what could she say? What right did she have to be appalled? The sorrow of this woman and women and men who have used the app or engaged in this pattern is pervasive. 

This is poison. 

While Tinder is a crude example, it is also very relevant to Prabhupad's purport and today's reality.

Something about the fact that happiness in the mode of passion starts off as nectar makes it addictive. We HAD an experience of that pleasure, that high, but we lost it. So if only I would try again, and again, and again... maybe the nectar will last. 

But it never lasts. 

Prabhupad writes, "Happiness derived from a combination of the senses and the sense objects is always a cause of distress and should be avoided by all means." This means that enjoying the objects of my senses with my eyes and ears and hands and tongue is temporary and always fades. 

And quickly. 

How long does the act of sex last? How long can one eat an ice cream cone? How long can one watch Game of Thrones or how many new phones or houses or cars can one buy? The temporary nature of this happiness is what causes distress. The pleasure is there, it's there! And then poof - gone. So this happiness is nectar in the beginning and poison in the end. 

And finally, happiness in the mode of ignorance is poison in the beginning and poison in the end. 

One may wonder how on earth one could experience happiness by tasting poison in the beginning. Wouldn't you just stop even trying for that kind of happiness if it's so poisonous, even from the first taste?

This is the mode of ignorance, though. As I have come to think of ignorance, it is not just "not knowing" something. Ignorance means ignoring something. This implies an active turning away from knowledge, understanding, and growth. 

So in this context, one ignores the poison - the pain, the discomfort, the burn - of that first sip of alcohol, first puff of cigarette, or first taste of meat as a child (https://family-medicine.ca/). With enough ignoring, one even begins to enjoy that poison. The word used in verse 39 is the word sukham, or happiness. 

An example of this kind of happiness is alcohol. I have only ever tasted one drop of alcohol. When I was about thirteen years old, I went to a party with middle school friends and there was beer. I tried a drop and then kind of spit it back out. I never tried it again.  

Alcohol is always some kind of fermented grain or fruit or vegetable, which means that it's rotting. This process of decomposing is in the mode of ignorance - the mode of goodness means maintenance and the mode of passion means creation, but destruction is the mode of ignorance. This is why, traditionally, fermented foods are prohibited in Vaishnava tradition, or they are not recommended or offerable to Krishna.  

Of course, alcohol has been enjoyed around the world for millennia. Still, according to this definition of happiness in the mode of ignorance, alcohol fits the bill. It is poison in the beginning, and while one may still experience happiness from this poison (loosening up inhibitions, relaxing etc), it is still poison in the end - throwing up, headaches, and lack of consciousness or awareness of one's words or actions. In more severe cases if alcohol or any drug use becomes an addiction, one's body can begin to sour, or one's character can even rot through abusive language or behavior. Addiction can lead one to feeling trapped into using the substance to function or numb the pain or maybe to even feel alive. 

Krishna describes happiness in these three modes of nature, but ultimately, we are meant to transcend happiness in any of these modes, we're meant to come to a kind of happiness to "which [we] sometimes come to the end of all distress" (18.36). We're meant to experience happiness that is nectar in the beginning and nectar in the end. This kind of happiness can only be experienced by transcending the modes of nature and this world and coming to God, to Krishna. We're meant to end our distress by loving and serving God. 

Of course, if we're not there yet, we can at least look at these verses to get a sense of "Okay, what mode of happiness am I primarily in right now? How can I elevate my approach to happiness?" 

If I'm in the mode of ignorance, how can I elevate to the mode of passion?   

If I'm in the mode of passion, how can I elevate to the mode of goodness?

If I'm in the mode of goodness, how do I elevate to suddha-sattva (pure goodness) by serving and loving Krishna? 

Full purport here: https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/18/38/

77: Description, Not Condemnation

CHAPTER 18, TEXT 28: The worker who is always engaged in work against the injunctions of the scripture, who is materialistic, obstinate, cheating and expert in insulting others, and who is lazy, always morose and procrastinating is said to be a worker in the mode of ignorance.

There is something very, very fascinating about how Krishna phrases His words in this verse. Well, not only this verse but any verse that describes types of people within the modes of natures. 

He does not instruct.  

He does not condemn.

He simply describes. 

Sure, the words "obstinate" and "lazy" sound judgmental, but Krishna is not judgmental or petty in that way. He is objectively describing the mental habits and behavior of a worker who is cocooned within the mode of ignorance. 

To be honest? I find myself being described here. But I don't feel condemned by God. In fact, I feel understood. 

I feel understood for my habits of working in a lazy and morose way and constantly procrastinating. Prabhupad writes, "[Workers in the mode of ignorance] procrastinate; anything which can be done in an hour they drag on for years." I had to laugh at this statement, because I find such truth here. I can pull up a list in my mind of projects or "to-do"s that could be completed literally within an hour, but they go on uncompleted, year after year. 

When I read this verse of the Gita I feel as though I am looking into the mirror. I see more clearly that, ah yes, I am often a worker in the mode of ignorance. 

So I'll start there, by simply saying that I resonate with this verse, and I do not feel condemned, but understood. 

Consequently, and naturally, I feel this lacking within my heart, this sense that I want to not be in the mode of ignorance. I want to be described in a different way. I do. 

My next point now has to deal with the world that I observe around me, especially on social media. 

1) I've begun to notice how there seems to be a confusion about what should be done and what should not be done. Recently I've seen some women share about the deep pain and challenge of motherhood. And while I understand that that's a reality, still... it's a stage of life. Billions of women have endured motherhood for millennia, how come suddenly motherhood is so shocking? Granted, I am not a mother, and I sound like I am condemning women for complaining about the challenge. Still, this verse from the Gita mentions that one who is "always morose" implies someone who is working with a kind of dread, frustration, and resisting the reality of one's duty day after day. While moroseness and the pain and challenge of motherhood is natural, to hang out in that space for a prolonged period of time seems to be resisting one's duty and to be working in the mode of ignorance. 

2) I am seeing a lack of gentility in communication, and a prevalence of cutting insults towards others. I see name-calling, such as "racist", "neo-Nazi", "Karen", "white supremacist", "Uncle Tom", "baby-killers", "snowflake", "wimp" and more. Name-calling is a kind of laziness, labeling others in a way that demeans and disrespects without much consideration. Prabhupad writes that "Such workers are not very gentle, and generally they are always cunning and expert in insulting others." In fact, this brashness and cutting personality is even glorified in modern media. Youtube videos of personalities who condemn and name-call others are wildly popular. The problem with this new kind of gossip and name-calling is that it's out of touch with humanity. If we were all to relate with each other personally, one-on-one, this kind of painful communication would hurt and maim others in a deep way.

3) I am also seeing a kind of obstinate way of dealing with authority, a kind of obnoxious "push back" against being told what to do, especially according to any kind of scriptural injunction (which this verse of the Gita mentions). Authority is rejected and generally seen as an oppressive force that should be questioned at all times. At no point should authority be accepted and respected in any kind of deep way. This obstinate nature and refusal to accept authority is a trademark of workers in the mode of ignorance. 

This post started out by saying that Krishna does not condemn workers in the mode of ignorance. Sure, His language is strong, but he is simply describing the truth of workers in this mode, just as he describes workers in the modes of passion and goodness. Krishna does not even instruct us to work in the mode of goodness. 

He leaves it up to us. 

We read how these workers are described. We look in the mirror and nod when we resonate. 

And we make our own choice: what kind of worker do I want to be? 

Okay, okay, show me the description of the worker in the mode of goodness. Let's do this. Because... that's how I want to be described. I want to look in the mirror and see that person. 

So here it is: https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/18/26/

***

Full purport here: https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/18/28/

76: Bodily Discomfort

CHAPTER 18, TEXT 8: Anyone who gives up prescribed duties as troublesome or out of fear of bodily discomfort is said to have renounced in the mode of passion. Such action never leads to the elevation of renunciation.

Waking up early in the morning - before the sun rises - to engage in spiritual habits like mantra meditation and devotional singing is considered a foundation for building a strong spiritual practice and consequently a strong spiritual life. 

Let's be honest: waking up early can make for a lot of "bodily discomfort." 

That moment when the alarm rights at 5am? Man. I used to wake up at 5am for years when I taught in New York City, and I kind of got used to it... but not really. Most mornings coming to consciousness was like rising out of molasses, and climbing out of a warm bed into a cold room was as good as scaling Mount Rainier. 

Despite the bodily discomfort, did I do my duty? Yes sir. I woke up. I did mantra meditation. I took a shower and got ready for work and left the apartment often before the sun had even risen. 

But now that I am taking time off from work, right now the prospect of rising early is as palatable and practical as scaling Mount Rainier... in my pajamas. 

That said, Krishna emphasizes in this verse that prescribed duties should not be given up. Prabhupad expands on this point by saying that, "If by ... rising early in the morning one can advance his transcendental Kṛṣṇa consciousness, one should not desist out of fear or because such activities are considered troublesome. Such renunciation is in the mode of passion." Right now I could probably say that I have renounced the activity of rising early in the morning in order to advance my Krsna consciousness. Without work to speed me on, I find no need to swim through molasses and climb a mountain just to do mantra meditation that I end up falling asleep trying to do. That said, renouncing this activity out of bodily discomfort is in the mode of passion, and Prabhupad says that, "The result of passionate work is always miserable." 

I can feel that. I can feel that waking up later, at around 7:30am, is a kind of meek and mundane way to trod through life. Even miserable.  

Forcing myself to follow my prescribed duties or what I know I "should" do has just lead me down a lot of Heartbreak Highways and Dutiful Dead-ends. I am striving to be more compassionate with myself, but it's hard.

I know the highest standard. This verse and Prabhupad say it all quite clearly.  

I'm just not there.

For now. 

And that's all I can do right now. No forcing, just accepting. 

Full purport here: https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/18/8/

73: The Heat of Speaking (and not speaking!)

CHAPTER 17, TEXT 15: Austerity of speech consists in speaking words that are truthful, pleasing, beneficial, and not agitating to others, and also in regularly reciting Vedic literature.

"Austerity" is one of those arcane words that kind of has the average person going, "Huh?"

Either "austerity" is a foreign word or concept, or there are some vague connections to being rigid, extreme simplicity, or, as Oxford Languages puts it, "conditions characterized by severity, sternness, or asceticism." This last definition comes the closest to the original meaning of austerity. 

But none of these point to why on earth anyone would undergo extreme simplicity, sternness or asceticism. No one in their right mind really wants to be an ascetic. In fact, austerity seems rather like self-harm (masochism)!

The Sanskrit word used in this verse is "tapa" which translates literally as "heat." This is because doing austerity generates a kind of heat, a personal power (or shakti) that ripples out into one's life. 

This is the phenomenon of performing voluntary suffering - we are empowered to achieve a result.

In this way, most of us have all performed austerity for some reason or other - attending school and completing all that homework in order to receive a diploma, putting in overtime hours at a job to make extra money, working out at the gym in order to get a shapely body.   

This is a law of the material world, just like the law of karma. Anyone who undergoes voluntary suffering generates power. This law can be applied in dark ways in order to gain power over others and to reach some exploitative goal, or this law can be applied in auspicious ways in order to be empowered to serve and love others with a clean and open heart. 

For text 15 of chapter 17, we see that Krishna is describing austerity of speech in the mode of goodness. What's fascinating about the wording of this verse is that to be truthful, pleasing, and beneficial in one's speech is austerity - voluntary suffering.

How could be speaking in a truthful and pleasing way be voluntary suffering? 

Because speaking in a deceitful and unpleasant and purposeless way is the default in this world. It's so easy. 

Too easy. 

To speak in a truthful, pleasing, and beneficial way takes hard work. It's depriving us of the delicious and easy tendency to gossip, complain, vent anger, blame, and criticize others. Prabhupad emphasizes that "One should not speak in such a way as to agitate the minds of others." But it's so easy to speak in such a way to agitate the minds of others! So easy! 

Especially loved ones. We know their soft and vulnerable spots - with a well-aimed word we could incite agitation and pain in their minds and hearts. Just a word.

In this verse, Krishna does not give any advice about how to speak; He simply shares the nature of austerity of speech and what it looks like. In a way, He leaves it up to us to decide what we wish to create with our personal power. 

To refrain from speaking words that agitates others is actually voluntary suffering and generates power. 

By being austere in our speech, our hearts become powerful and strong, the heat of austerity coming back to nourish us and strengthen us to love and be loved at our highest potential. 

Full purport here: https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/17/15/

68: Controversial Protection

CHAPTER 16, TEXT 7: Those who are demoniac do not know what is to be done and what is not to be done. Neither cleanliness nor proper behavior nor truth is found in them.

In this purport, Srila Prabhupad writes some very controversial statements about women. Let's jump right to them, shall we?

He writes, "Now, in the Manu-saṁhitā it is clearly stated that a woman should not be given freedom. That does not mean that women are to be kept as slaves, but they are like children."

Whoo boy. 

There are often two ways to go with statements like these: 

1) Reject the statements and declare Srila Prabhupad to be a backwards man who was raised in an archaic India and he is lost in ancient, inapplicable laws and espouses dangerous ideas, 

or

2) Go fire-and-brimstone and declare that women should literally not be given freedom at all and Ruth Bader Ginsberg was a bane on human society. 

So either reject these words or take them like fire. 

There's a third option here: carefully consider these words with an open mind and reflective heart. 

Prabhupad is quoting from an ancient scriptural guidebook, Manu-samhita, on the best ways for human society to function. Let's look for the kernel of truth here, and I find it in the statement "women are like children." Not that women are immature and infantilized. Women are simply more directed by emotions and are prone to make decisions based on those emotions - like children. 

Look, I'm a woman and I have a Master's Degree and graduated with honors. I have job experience in education from various parts of the world and in several prestigious institutions. I could list quite a few other experiences on my resume that demonstrate that I am an intelligent, driven, successful woman. 

And I speak with 100% understanding that yes, I resonate with the statement that "women are like children." How come? I am often overpowered by emotion. While I do not speak for all women, I know that there are women who resonate with this experience. I sometimes - oftentimes - want to make a [life] decision based on an emotion, but only when I check in with my husband does he get me to come to reason. As a whole, the masculine is driven by reason and logic, and this is what makes men - traditionally - more able to lead a household. 

That said, for the Manu-samhita to state that women should not be given freedom is controversial indeed; surely millennia of abuse in the name of scripture has transpired in India based on this lawbook's verse. 

Let's see what Prabhupad continues to say. He writes, "The demons have now neglected such injunctions, and they think that women should be given as much freedom as men. However, this has not improved the social condition of the world." Fascinating point. Ruth Bader Ginsberg championed for women to have all the same rights as men, from buying a home in her own name to having a credit card in her own name. Surely this is a step forward for society, right? That women have greater freedom?

But what was the goal of increasing a woman's capacity for freedom? To improve the social condition of the world. Prabhupad states here, though, that these increased freedoms have not improved the social condition of the world. This seems to go against modern understanding of the evolution of society. On objective scales, women are gradually getting paid just as much as men (census.gov), women are given positions to lead companies and organizations and women are even increasingly become religious leaders. How is this not an improvement on social conditions of the world? 

Those points of improvement, though, are not actually social improvement, because proper social behavior, according to the Manu-samhita, is the healthy functioning of the family - marriage, children, and old age. How do we deal with these social conditions? Are we improving? 

For the improvement of the family, the statistics show that we are not (census.gov). Households lead by women are double the rate of poverty compared to those lead by men or married-couple households. Almost a third of people on government assistance are women and children (lexingtonlaw.com) and almost two thirds of people on government assistance (Medicaid) are the elderly. This means that women, children, and elderly people are not being taken care of by their families, so the government must step in. If the government must step in, then according to the Manu-samhita, the family and social conditions are not improving. 

What is interesting, though, is the ideal that Prabhupad points out: "Actually, a woman should be given protection at every stage of life. She should be given protection by the father in her younger days, by the husband in her youth, and by the grownup sons in her old age. This is proper social behavior according to the Manu-saṁhitā." The emphasis here is that a woman is given protection. If a woman is not given protection, she must a) be her own protection, which calls upon women to imbibe more masculine qualities in order to not be taken advantage of or b) if she is put into a vulnerable situation, such as getting pregnant or getting old, and a man is not there to protect her, the government must protect her. Government housing, government food stamps, government services. 

The bigger problem, then, is that there seem to be a lack of men - fathers, husbands, or sons - to actually protect women. Women in society nowadays often grow up without a father or he's in and out. Often women don't get married or have a domestic partner, or maybe they get married and then get a divorce; either way, a steady, reliable husband isn't really there. And if a woman has a son, he often grows up without a father to model after, or even if the father is there and there's a nice family, there's little cultural support or expectation that he help his mother in her old age - hence the massive amount of elderly people on government assistance.

In this way, women are in a tough spot. They're supposed to be protected by men all their lives, but those men are not stepping up to the plate. What's a woman to do? 

This confusion, this "not knowing of what is to be done or what is not to be done" is a trademark of "demoniac" civilization. Although Prabhupad is talking  about women here, he is also talking about men. He is indirectly given men an instruction:

Be a protector. 

Be the father, the husband, or the son that your daughter, wife, or mother needs. Be a man and protect her. She needs you, even though it may not seem so. 

Full purport here: https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/16/7/

U.S. Census: https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2019/09/payday-poverty-and-women.html#:~:text=Poverty%20Rate%20Declines%20for%20Women,not%20statistically%20different%20from%202017.

Welfare Statistics: https://www.lexingtonlaw.com/blog/finance/welfare-statistics.html

47: Gold Medal of Morality

CHAPTER 10, TEXT 38: Among all means of suppressing lawlessness I am punishment, and of those who seek victory I am morality. Of secret things I am silence, and of the wise I am the wisdom. 

When an elite athlete competes in the Olympics, a gold medal is burning within his or her heart. The athlete desires to vault that podium and be decorated by the presiding judge. This is the ultimate sign of victory for the whole world to see and remember forever in history. 

I mean, besides a war general, this is what I envision to be the pinnacle of someone seeking victory. 

In these verses in Chapter 10, Krishna is describing ways that He can be recognized in this material world. In this verse 38, I am intrigued by this declaration: "Of those who seek victory I am morality." 

Morality? 

What does morality have to do with a gold medal? The war that is won? The trophy? The Award - Oscar, Pulitzer, Emmy, Newbery, etc. etc.? 

What does morality have to do with victory? 

Srila Prabhupad writes, "Among those who are trying to be victorious in some field of activity, the most victorious element is morality." So whether someone is trying to be victorious in swimming (Michael Phelps), battles (Napoleon), or the Oscars (Katharine Hepburn), Prabhupad is emphasizing that morality is the most important element to all of these victories.

I'm still somewhat confounded here. 

When all else fails, look up the definition. 

So the definition of morality is, according to Cambridge Dictionary, "a set of personal or social standards for good or bad behavior and character."

I must say, this definition does not resonate for me. In fact, I challenge this definition as being superficial. Cambridge is saying that standards for morality are derived only from personal standards or social standards. Inherent rightness or goodness is not a factor, which means that morality is relative. 

When all else fails, look up another definition. 

According to the Oxford Dictionary, morality is "principles concerning the distinction between right and wrong or good and bad behavior." This definition resonates much more deeply, because morality is now a matter of principle that helps us to distinguish between different kinds of behavior. Making these distinctions and choosing the right and the good decision is at the heart of moral behavior. 

Making the right and the good decision is hard. Living a virtuous, moral life is really, really hard. 

I have not been victorious at much in my life - I'm certainly no Napoleon or Oscar winner. But I do know what it feels like to make a right and good moral decision after a long battle of discernment. Sure, no one even really knows that I came out victorious, but for me? Making the right decision is worth ten gold medals.

That victory is Krishna Himself. 

Full purport here: https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/10/38/

24: The Ultimate Motivation

CHAPTER 4, TEXT 12: The steadily devoted soul attains unadulterated peace because he offers the result of all activities to Me; whereas a person who is not in union with the Divine, who is greedy for the fruits of his labor, becomes entangled.

There are four levels of motivation for any activity (Bhaktivinoda Thakur, Chaitanya Sikshamrita):

Love
Duty
Profit
Fear

Here's an example:

Going to work -

Love: I love teaching. I love my students. I love my subject matter.
Duty: My job is to teach. I'm responsible for these kids' education.
Profit: I'm here for the money (even though it ain't much) and for paid summers off.
Fear: If I don't go to work to teach, I will lose my paycheck, I'll lose my home, I'll go hungry, I'll lose my WiFi...

Any of this sound familiar?

For the most part, humans operate out of Profit and Fear. Sometimes we level up to Duty, maybe even to Love. But mostly, we're either in it for the money/rewards or we're terrified of what will happen if we don't do our job/do the needful.

That's just life, right?

In fact, one could say, hey, what's the problem with doing something for the money? Krishna knows this is how human beings operate, that's why He makes the declaration in this verse that to be greedy for the fruits of one's labor makes a person becomes entangled.

Now we see that entanglement is the problem.

When we're entangled, we're not free.

And the soul wants freedom.

Most of all, the soul wants freedom to love.

At the end of the day, when we look at the four kinds of motivation, let's all admit that if we could, we'd do everything out of love. I love my job, I love my family, I love my car, I love throwing out the trash...

But we're not there.

So the Bhagavad-gita emphasizes doing things at least out of Duty, because that's one step away from Love.

But let's all admit where we're really hanging out: Profit and Fear.

And so Krishna is so wondrous, so amazing, that He says that if we just remember Him and offer our endeavors to Him, even if it's out of Profit or Fear, He is pleased. After all, everything belongs to Him and He is everything: "All that exists is a product of Krsna's energy, and Krsna is all good." We can't go wrong if we keep Krishna in our hearts.

So no matter what activity I do, from cooking a meal to putting gas in the car to managing a business, when I keep Krishna in my heart He elevates all of my activities. Prabhupad writes: "Activities in Kṛṣṇa consciousness are on the absolute plane; they are transcendental and have no material effect. One is therefore filled with peace in Kṛṣṇa consciousness." This makes sense, for if an action does not entangle us further, we're free, and if we're free, we're at peace.

Prabhupad then writes the beautiful, beautiful secret of Krishna consciousness: "[the] realization that there is no existence besides Kṛṣṇa is the platform of peace and fearlessness." Whether I'm motivated to act out of Love, Duty, Profit, or Fear, if I can choose this one little shift in consciousness - everything belongs to Krishna, let me keep Him in mind, let me offer my action to Him - then I am free. I am at peace. What's more, to remember Krishna is in and of itself an act of Love.

I was in the middle of writing this post while cooking dinner. I was excited to make a delicious soup for myself and my husband. But then I remembered this principle. So before we ate, I offered the soup to Krishna with a little more attention. Just a little.

I felt peace.

And a tinge, just a glimmer, of Love.

Full purport for Chapter 5, Text 12 by Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupad here: https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/5/12/