84: True Worship

CHAPTER 18, TEXT 70: And I declare that he who studies this sacred conversation of ours worships Me by his intelligence.

I just Googled "worship" and here's an image that pops up:

I've been to a few Christian services, rock concert style, and sung at the top of my lungs. I've also attended Buddhist prayers, Catholic mass, Vaishnava congregational singing (kirtan), and bowing in the Islamic call to prayer (azaan). Each ritual and service has touched my soul in a special way. According to the Oxford Dictionary, the verb worship means to "show reverence and adoration for (a deity); honor with religious rites." 

But in this verse of the Gita, Krishna is declaring to Arjuna that by studying this sacred conversation, one "worships" Him with one's intelligence. There is no requirement here for a religious rite.  

So then what IS worship? 

The word "worship" is derived from the Old English weorthscipe, which means "worthiness, acknowledgment of worth" (see worth, -ship)" (Oxford Dictionary). Fascinating, no? The core of worship is to acknowledge worth. 

As in, I value spirit, I value God as more valuable than any diamond of this world and so I'll acknowledge His worth in any way I know how: bells and incense and rock concerts. 

The essence of all of these expressions, though, is to acknowledge God's / the Divine's worth. In this verse, Krishna is saying that if we engage our intelligence in understanding with our hearts this conversation, we are acknowledging His worth. 

That is worship. 

It's so easy to reject scripture as arcane, irrelevant, and a source of dogma and strife within this world. These conclusions usually come, though, from either ignoring, misconstruing, or blindly following the teachings of scripture. 

But if one would just apply one's divine power of discernment to any scripture of the world, we would experience the priceless worth that these scriptures provide to elevate the soul to become pure and learn how to love. 

At the core, worship is not a ritual or a religious rite. Worship is to acknowledge the greatest worth of God, the priceless diamond we are all searching for in our heart of hearts. 

Full text here: https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/18/70/

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/

61: The One Who Takes My Hand

 CHAPTER 13, TEXT 26: Again there are those who, although not conversant in spiritual knowledge, begin to worship the Supreme Person upon hearing about Him from others. Because of their tendency to hear from authorities, they also transcend the path of birth and death.

When I was teaching in New York City, the fourth grade teacher at my school told me a story: 

"I told Kaya (pseudonym) to quiet down and stay in her chair. 

She then fired back, 'This is a free country,'"

You may commend this girl for using her intelligence - that comeback is snappy. At the same time, if you look just a little deeper at her words, you can see a kind of deep unwillingness to accept authority. No one is "above" her or has the right to give her directions - her reasoning is that we are all free and thus we are all equal. 

The word "educate" derives its meaning from the Latin "educare" which means "to lead out." This implies that someone is in a kind of darkness of ignorance (the student) and someone is leading that person out into the light (the teacher) (much like Plato's Allegory of the Cave).

In this sense, student and teacher are not equal. One is more knowledgeable and is helping the other, so that person is the authority. 

The hardest part about education is to surrender to authority, whether that is to superior knowledge, a teacher, a path, a lifestyle, and more. Surrender begins with the process of hearing, for words may enter the heart and brain and wake up deep inside a longing, a curiosity, an emptiness. 

Words have a mystical power to touch the soul. 

The ancient process for any kind of progress, but especially spiritual, is to hear from an authority with submissiveness. Prabhupad writes, "Lord Caitanya, who preached Kṛṣṇa consciousness in the modern world, gave great stress to hearing because if the common man simply hears from authoritative sources he can progress." Note that Prabhupad emphasizes that the "common man" can progress - not the scholar or the spiritualist but the common man. 

That's you and me, buddy. 

Krishna describes in this verse a person who has the "tendency to hear from authorities" - the key word here is "tendency." Even more important that downloading loads of knowledge is to cultivate that tendency to hear, an inclination and even hunger to hear. 

Prabhupad writes that the common man must "simply hear" from an authoritative source. 

That said, 

there is "hearing"

and there is "listening." 

Did Kaya hear her teacher's instructions? Yes.

Did Kaya listen to her teacher's instructions? No. 

Listening implies submissiveness, a willingness to learn, a willingness to be lead out of the dark, aware that one is even in the dark. 

Listening means that one wants the light, is open and ready to change and transform. 

The Sanskrit word used in this verse is sruti, which is translated as "hearing." This word is also intimately used in connection to or alludes to the Vedas, the ancient scriptures of spiritual knowledge. This means that hearing doesn't just mean the physical experience of processing raw sound. Hearing means that one should hear spiritual knowledge of great weight and authority (such as the Vedas) in order to be transformed and lead out of the darkness. 

Hearing, then, means accepting authority. Hearing from an authority who is knowledgeable and of impeccable character is a special, rare opportunity in this world. Prabhupad emphasizes that "One should learn to become the servant of those who are in knowledge of the Supreme Lord." This means that to truly prepare the heart to hear from an authority, to serve that person opens up one to the light.  

This story of the girl Kaya - the girl who refused to follow the directions of her teacher with her claim that this is a free country - rankles me so much because, frankly, I have a bit of Kaya within my own heart. I don't want to surrender to someone who will tell me the Truth and show me the Way. I want to find my own truth, find my own way. 

Yes, this is a free country, and I am free. No one should have the power to tell me what to do. 

So.

I'll take baby steps. 

There are a few people in this world whose authority I accept in deep, quiet way. One of those authorities is Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupad, the man who writes purports to these verses of the Gita. Sure, maybe I'm still a bit like Kaya when I hear some of his directions, and at the same time I trust him.  

I'd bet that Kaya did not trust her 4th-grade teacher. So why would she follow her directions? 

I trust that Prabhupad is taking my hand in his strong, gentle hand. Although I may dig in my heels and turn away, still with gentility and firmness and kindness, he leads me towards the light. 

Full purport here: https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/13/26/

51: Flaming Mouths of Time

CHAPTER 11, TEXT 32: The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: Time I am, the great destroyer of the worlds, and I have come here to destroy all people. With the exception of you [the Pāṇḍavas], all the soldiers here on both sides will be slain.

65 million people die each year in the world.  

That is 178,000 each day, 

7425 each hour, 

and 120 each minute (bioethics.georgetown.edu). 

That means that every SECOND, two people die. In the time span of writing this post over the past minute or so, 100 people have died. 

Krishna says in this verse, "Time I am, the great destroyer of the worlds, and I have come here to destroy all people." Time does not only destroy people, but all living beings, all natural formations of the earth, the world itself, all the worlds, all the universes... time destroys all. 

How come Krishna is saying this powerful statement? In the verses previous to this one, Arjuna is describing what he sees in Krishna's universal form: "I see all people rushing full speed into Your mouths, as moths dash to destruction in a blazing fire" (11.29) and "O Viṣhṇu, I see You devouring all people from all sides with Your flaming mouths" (11.30). Arjuna is again repeating himself, terrified and awestruck, trying to make sense of what he sees. How can he see all people rushing into God's mouth to be devoured and destroyed? Isn't God supposed to be... well, good? 

Prabhupad explains, "Although Arjuna knew that Kṛṣṇa was his friend and the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he was puzzled by the various forms exhibited by Kṛṣṇa. Therefore he asked further about the actual mission of this devastating force." Puzzled indeed! One can imagine that Arjuna is trying to process not only that his friend is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but that God would devour people and the worlds in such a terrifying display. Interestingly, Prabhupad writes that Arjuna wanted to know further about the "actual mission" of this force - he wants to know what these flaming mouths actually mean and why they matter.  

This is Krishna's response: "Time I am, great destroyer of the worlds." 

Time. 

Amazing. We glance at the clock throughout the day, keeping track of its passage in order to go to work, eat, go to sleep, make appointments, catch a flight, and more. I have glanced at my computer clock a few times during this post, calculating how long I've spent writing.  

In the past 15 minutes, 1,800 people have died. 

Prabhupad writes, "Time is destruction, and all manifestations are to be vanquished by the desire of the Supreme Lord. That is the law of nature."

This destruction is what Arjuna is seeing by the flaming mouths of the universal form. Note that Prabhupad says that "all manifestations" will be destroyed. This means that death will come for all of us one day, for death "is an inevitable process eventually occurring in all living organisms" (wikipedia.org). So yes, over 2,000 human beings have died within the past 20 minutes or so, but what about all the living organisms on this planet? 

Millions, maybe even billions of beings die every minute, every second. 

What's more, the world itself is being destroyed at every minute. For example, if a house is left alone for even a year with no one to live in it or care for it, it begins to decay. Just by the passage of time, the house is destroyed. This goes for anything on this planet, from human structures like The Coliseum to natural formations like The Appalachian Mountains. "All manifestations" are being destroyed. 

This is the reality of this material world.  

And one day, our own lives will snuff out, and we will be like another moth into the flaming mouth of time. 

34 minutes - 4,080 deaths. 

Full purport here: https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/11/32/

46: Thanks For Asking, Arjuna

CHAPTER 10, TEXT 17: O Kṛṣṇa, O supreme mystic, how shall I constantly think of You, and how shall I know You? In what various forms are You to be remembered, O Supreme Personality of Godhead?

I don't know about you, but for me, sometimes God seems very, very

very

far away. 

Like, beyond my comprehension, beyond my capacity of belief, beyond everything. 

In fact, Krishna even mentions in the ninth chapter of the Gita that, yes, he IS covered by His yogamaya potency, so thus only surrendered souls can see Him. He IS beyond our comprehension and belief and everything!

I don't know about you, but for me, I'm not a surrendered soul, and I'm not going to be a surrendered soul any time soon (let's be real). So I guess I can kiss goodbye any hope of seeing God...?

Not so fast.

This verse where Arjuna is addressing Krishna is so beautiful because he asks, "How shall I know You?" Although in truth HE is a surrendered soul and HE can experience God, Arjuna is speaking out on behalf of all of us (aka: the non-surrendered souls). Prabhupad writes, "The superior devotee is concerned not only for his own understanding but for the understanding of all mankind." Arjuna knows that the whole world, all of mankind, is listening to this deep and intimate conversation between him and Krishna. And by asking this question he is asking on behalf of all of us who are burning to know: "How shall I know You?"

How shall we know God, the one who is considered Achintya (inconceivable)? This seems impossible. 

Arjuna also knows, though, that "The common man who has no love for Kṛṣṇa cannot always think of Kṛṣṇa; therefore he has to think materially." True, love is transcendent and can cross barriers of time and space and open the heart and soul. But the fact is that most of us do not love God and we're not always thinking of Him in order to open our hearts and souls. Arjuna knows this. He  knows that  the common man is just  not in that space of pure love and devotion. 

We need to think materially. 

Let me see it to believe it. 

In this regard, Prabhupad emphasizes that Arjuna understands the materialist. He writes, "Because materialists cannot understand Kṛṣṇa spiritually, they are advised to concentrate the mind on physical things and try to see how Kṛṣṇa is manifested by physical representations." When I read this, first of all I felt a jolt of recognition - yes, I am that materialist! I cannot understand Krishna spiritually, as I am certainly not always thinking of  Him. Second of all, I felt a jolt of appreciation - thank you for giving me a way to see Krishna! I need to be able to experience Krishna with my eyes and hands and ears. I need to be able to marvel, to gasp, to absorb God through the senses of my body. 

I'm not a surrendered soul, but I hope that by appreciating God through His material splendor, I can become surrendered. 

Thank you, Arjuna, for speaking up for me and everyone else on this planet. Thank you for asking a question to your beloved Lord that will allow me to know Him. 

Full purport here: https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/10/17/

41: Humanity Begins Now

What is the meaning of brahma-jijnasa?

*

My husband worked as a hospital chaplain in New York City for five years. This means that he offered spiritual and emotional care to people who were facing great pain and suffering in their lives, either from an injury, illness, or death. 

My husband is also a natural and beautiful storyteller. 

Combine these two elements - hospital chaplain and storyteller - and you can be sure that over the years I have heard many stories over the dinner table and I have wept many times. 

*

On his deathbed, a man apologizing to his son for never being there for him. 

A man who has been waiting for years for a heart transplant; at last he receives a new heart and goes home to his wife and child. Days later he must return to the hospital because fluid is gathering in his chest. 

A little girl who suddenly comes down with a terminal illness and dies weeks later. My husband sings for her on her deathbed. 

The celebration of a newborn baby. Hours later the exhausted father falls asleep with the baby in his arms and the baby suffocates to death - the baby had fallen asleep against his own father's arm and could not move his neck in order to breathe. 

Being there for people when they hear the news that multiple family members have died in a car accident, being there when doctors tell patients they have cancer, accompanying family members to the morgue, comforting nurses who are on the verge of emotional breakdown, counseling women with eating disorders, praying for people as they leave this world, and much, much more. 

Countless stories of pain and suffering.

So many stories. 

Prabhupad writes in the Introduction to The Bhagavad-gita that, "Unless one is awakened to this position of questioning his suffering, unless he realizes that he doesn’t want suffering but rather wants to make a solution to all suffering, then one is not to be considered a perfect human being." Suffering seems like such an integral aspect to being alive, but Prabhupad emphasizes here that we need to question our suffering. 

How revolutionary. 

Spiritual life begins when we question the reality of our suffering here. Like, hold on, I don't have to suffer? 

Then what am I meant to do??

What is the solution to all suffering? 

What am I meant to do that is beyond the pain and suffering of this world, something that will give me joy with no end? 

This questioning, this inquiry, is called brahma-jijnasa, which means an "inquiry into the Absolute Truth" (Brahma-sutra). Prabhupad even declares that "Humanity begins when this sort of inquiry is awakened in one’s mind." The phrase 'humanity begins' is significant in this context. After all, all living beings are suffering day in and day out - from the insects to cats to dolphins to human beings. This is easy to understand. But to realize that we don't have to suffer - this is a revolutionary concept and a privilege that human beings can access. 

True humanity does not begin with altruism or the pursuit of the arts or creating nice families.

Humanity begins when we question our suffering. 

The ultimate way we can question our suffering is to question death. Sure, we all know that we'll die. But on a gut, instinctual level, we don't want to die. Not a single living entity wants to die.

Why? Why don't we want to die? If death is so natural, why is it that we never seem to get comfortable with the prospect? 

My husband is now a hospice chaplain; he solely offers emotional and spiritual care to those people and the families of the people who are dying. 

Death. Every day, day in and day out.

Now every time my husband tells me a story over the dinner table, I feel my own heart whir and pound in my chest. I consider my own life, the value of my every breath. 

Why am I here? 

How come I suffer? 

Where will I go when I leave this world?

When I die will I ever see and hug my husband again? 

Is there something more to life?

Who AM I? 

Prabhupad seems to encourage me and every reader of the Bhagavad-gita in the Introduction: question your suffering. Your humanity begins now. This is brahma-jinasa. 

37: Conceiving the Inconceivable

CHAPTER 8, TEXT 9: One should meditate upon the Supreme Person as the one who knows everything, as He who is the oldest, who is the controller, who is smaller than the smallest, who is the maintainer of everything, who is beyond all material conception, who is inconceivable, and who is always a person. He is luminous like the sun, and He is transcendental, beyond this material nature.

The name for God in Islam is "Allah," which means "The Great One." In Islam, God is never depicted with a form or in any way that could be construed as a material interpretation, for God is beyond our material conception.  

In this verse of the Gita, this understanding is confirmed - God is beyond material conception. At the same time, God is also stated as a person who has a form (rupam). The fact that God is beyond material conception while also having a form is inconceivable - acintya. After all, isn't the fact that one has a form MAKE one conceivable?? Prabhupad writes, "The word acintya (“inconceivable”) is very significant in this connection. God’s energy is beyond our conception, beyond our thinking jurisdiction, and is therefore called inconceivable (acintya)." I appreciate Prabhupad's phrase here, our "thinking jurisdiction," because we all have a kind of arena from which we can think and conceive. After all, human beings have been inquiring about and questioning God since the beginning of our existence. Healthy exploration, questioning, and even doubt is all a sign of intelligence on the spiritual path. At the same time, it is also a sign of intelligence to realize that there are some things that are beyond our understanding, beyond our "thinking jurisdiction." 

Indeed, Prabhupad continues to say that "We cannot comprehend even this material world, which is insignificant compared to the spiritual world – so how can we comprehend what is beyond? Acintya means that which is beyond this material world, that which our argument, logic and philosophical speculation cannot touch, that which is inconceivable." Even this material world is such a mystery. Although much can be puzzled out, and the sciences are dedicated to understanding how this material world functions, still, we may understand how a thing functions but not why. 

For example, we now understand how a rainbow is created, with the reflection of light upon suspended water droplets in the air. But we do not know why rainbows are created. What is the purpose of a rainbow?

That is something that logic and philosophical speculation cannot touch.  

My sense is that scientists can conclude that there is no God because they see that there is no mystery to the mathematical laws that govern the universe; they can conceive of and wrap their minds around things that previously seemed so mysterious, like a rainbow, or lightning, or the human heart. Thus there is no "mysterious God" controlling all.  

Or, scientists can conclude that there must be a God because the laws and calculations that govern the universe are so wondrous, so inconceivable that there must be a higher intelligence at work. They reason that all the laws are actually in service of a higher and more mysterious purpose and person. Aristotle once wrote that "Mathematics is the alphabet in which God has written the universe," which means that behind all miracles is an architect who plays by the mathematical rules he has created.

What's more, there is a purpose - a why - behind every aspect of creation.   

Possessing a higher intelligence means accepting that there is a higher intelligence at work. 

This is not blind following, but an understanding that there are some things that are simply beyond my conception. After all, God is the Great One, He cannot be conceived of with an ordinary mind and an ordinary intelligence. 

If He was, then how Great would He be? 

And yet, if we are to actually love God in a practical way, then He must have a form. Prabhupad writes, "One cannot meditate on something impersonal or void. That is very difficult. The process of thinking of Kṛṣṇa, however, is very easy and is factually stated herein. First of all, the Lord is puruṣa, a person – we think of the person Rāma and the person Kṛṣṇa." Just like we meditate on the people we love, this is the same for God. Although it's an aspect of God, meditating on an inconceivable void can be very difficult in terms of cultivating love. Meditating on the face of the Lord actually awakens love in the heart. And it's so easy, as Prabhupad states.  

Yes, God is The Great One - Allah - who I imagine to be this brilliant and wondrous God who is luminous like the sun (aditya-varnam) as described in this verse. 

God is not limited, though, to only being inconceivable. 

If God is unlimited, then he can also be perceived, even with our limited eyes and senses. So yes, He is The Great One, and He is also the Beautiful One with Skin as Dark as a Raincloud - Shyamasundar. 

Personally, I visit Krishna temples and love to absorb myself in the beauty of Krishna's form in His sacred deity. His form touches my heart and soul, giving rise to a kind of unique and beautiful affection, adoration, and a desire to serve.

In this way, God becomes real and luminous like the sun within my own heart. 

Full purport by Bhaktivedanta Swami here: https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/8/9

Day 31: A Really Good Question

CHAPTER 6, TEXT 38: O mighty-armed Kṛṣṇa, does not such a man, who is bewildered from the path of transcendence, fall away from both spiritual and material success and perish like a riven cloud, with no position in any sphere?

Arjuna has received instructions about the nature of the soul and  the supreme value of pursuing the spiritual path. These instructions are so logical and make so much sense, it's difficult to deny that the ultimate goal of human life is to set one's mind on Krishna and offer one's very self in devotional service.

But Arjuna has a doubt.

This goal is so high - love of God - that it seems unattainable.

So Arjuna is wondering - on behalf of all of us - if I fall from the spiritual path, where will I fall?

What's more, if one is on the spiritual path, then maybe material life is neglected. So not only would someone fail at spiritual life, s/he would fail at material life too. Double whammy! Prabhupad writes: "If the aspiring transcendentalist fails, then he apparently loses both ways; in other words, he can enjoy neither material happiness nor spiritual success." This is a lose-lose situation, and it's a possibility for each and every one of us:

Failure.

No progress, no success, no belonging, just...

You failed.

Prabhupad defines the term "riven cloud":  "A cloud in the sky sometimes deviates from a small cloud and joins a big one. But if it cannot join a big one, then it is blown away by the wind and becomes a nonentity in the vast sky." Note that the cloud may start off in a smaller cloud - this represents being in the material world, with relatively small goals and small aspirations. When a cloud breaks off to join a bigger cloud, this represents the soul's desire to achieve something much grander than itself. But when the cloud fails to belong in that spiritual place - the soul is "bewildered on the path of transcendence" - then it wanders and dissolves into nothingness. It belongs neither here nor there - it is "riven."

Arjuna's fears strike a deep chord. Not only do humans want to succeed in an endeavor, they also need to belong. Karyn Hall, Ph.D. writes in her article "Create a Sense of Belonging" in Psychology Today, "A sense of belonging is a human need, just like the need for food and shelter." The possibility that one may not belong anywhere and simply dissolve into a "nonentity" is a frightening prospect indeed. We're hardwired to be connected to something bigger than ourselves. But the problem is that we could fail to belong, and we could fail to succeed in life. 

In his question, Arjuna is expressing some of our deepest fears: failure and belonging nowhere.

Don't you notice that when a question is good, like, really good, we want to know the answer? Well, now we're set up. We want to know.

So let's lean in and hear what Krishna has to say.


Full Purport by Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupad here: https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/6/38/

Hall, Karyn. “Create a Sense of Belonging.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, 24 Mar. 2014, www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/pieces-mind/201403/create-sense-belonging.

30: Be Sincere

CHAPTER 6, TEXT 33: Arjuna said: O Madhusūdana, the system of yoga which You have summarized appears impractical and unendurable to me, for the mind is restless and unsteady.

In Chapter 6 entitled Dhyana Yoga, Krishna is instructing Arjuna to follow a very stringent system of yoga practice to purify the body and mind. Go to the forest, sit upon a firm yet soft mat, gaze at the tip of the nose with eyes half-open, and control the mind until it becomes like a "lamp in a windless place" (6.29).

One would imagine that as an obedient disciple to God Himself, Arjuna would be nodding his agreement to all of these instructions. Even if he did have misgivings, Arjuna would never object to instructions given by the guru.

Right?

Not quite.

Krishna has presented a system of mysticism to achieve perfection, but it is "rejected by Arjuna out of a feeling of inability."

Cue inner sigh of relief.

The yoga of mystic meditation and mind control seems interesting, and the past few dozen verses have certainly made valid points about the importance of self-control and recognizing the divine within others and within oneself. That said, Arjuna does not mince words - he declares that the system "appears impractical and unendurable."  In fact, Arjuna is a warrior and already highly self-disciplined; he also "had much better facilities than we do now, yet he refused to accept this system of yoga... Of course it may be possible for some very few, rare men, but for the people in general it is an impossible proposal."

Arjuna's rejection of Dhyana Yoga demonstrates two things. The first is that above all, The Bhagavad-gita is a practical scripture; this wisdom is meant to be applied by the common man in every age, every place, and every culture. The Gita is not meant for a few, rare men. The Gita is meant for the people in general, and people need practices that are accessible and meaningful. The Gita is meant for you and for me, today, here and now.

The second thing that Arjuna's rejection of Dhyana Yoga demonstrates is how a disciple should engage in dialogue with the teacher. Arjuna uses his intelligence and is respectfully, unflinchingly honest. What kind of disciple would Arjuna be if he just nodded his head and "accepted" everything that Krishna was telling him to do, but in his heart he felt doubtful and incapable? Arjuna speaks up about his concerns. Thus he is showing us how to conduct ourselves on the spiritual path - Do not blindly follow, but also do not blindly reject.

Use your intelligence.

Use your heart.

Be practical.

Ultimately, be sincere.

Full purport by Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupad here: https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/6/33/

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. 

11: Language Reflects Consciousness

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.