29: The Fire

CHAPTER 6, TEXT 24: One should engage oneself in the practice of yoga with determination and faith and not be deviated from the path. One should abandon, without exception, all material desires born of mental speculation and thus control all the senses on all sides by the mind.

I have a (totally unscientific) theory that when anyone wakes up to spirituality, s/he goes through a "fanatic" stage. No matter what tradition one belongs to, there seems to be an obsession with rules ("NO onions/garlic/vinegar/mushrooms/chocolate"), and the "right" thing  to do seems so obvious ("just do what the scripture says!").

This Fanatic stage is usually accompanied by extreme enthusiasm to participate in all gatherings (Kirtan Melas! Church on Sunday!), rituals (Holy Communion, sing a prayer before eating), and cultural connections (wear a sari/anarkali/gopi skirt, wear yogi pants). Holy days/seasons are observed with fastidious attention to detail and any requisite fasting is done with a kind of fiery passion.

I went through my own reawakening Fanatic stage when I was about 13 years old. I had a mysterious illness that could have been death knocking on my door, so I seized upon spirituality with a fervor to make sense of my short life before my time was up.

With an unrelenting passion for truth, I became obsessed with rules, doing the right thing, attending as many gatherings as humanly possible, following rituals, and observing holy days with zeal.

This went on for a couple years.

One can imagine that my family members tolerated me with remarkable self-control. But one day, my father said to me gently and firmly, "You want to be a devotee [of God] for your whole life."

His words sobered me. Quieted me.

The fire of enthusiasm must be tempered.

I may sound tongue-in-cheek, and that I seem to be smirking at The Fanatic (and myself) for being immature and silly.

On the contrary, I believe (unscientifically) that being a "fanatic" is a necessary stage of spiritual growth. Being "fanatic" is a kind of extreme enthusiasm, like a fire that burns brightly in the night, and that is beautiful - albeit dangerous.

Fire needs fuel to keep burning, and this fuel is Determination. Determination keeps the fire burning. Even then, fire will burn up the fuel of determination. So we need to keep adding logs of fuel, day after day, year after year. Adding the fuel unswervingly is Perseverance.

Prabhupad quotes Upadeśāmṛta, Verse 3 in the purport to this verse in the Gita: "One can execute the process of bhakti-yoga successfully with full-hearted enthusiasm, perseverance and determination." Thus all three elements are needed for success on the spiritual path. 

The fire, fuel to the fire, and the dedication to keep adding fuel are all elements of spiritual life, to keep the fire of love and devotion burning in our hearts. 

28: Healthy Soul

CHAPTER 6, TEXT 16: There is no possibility of one’s becoming a yogī, O Arjuna, if one eats too much or eats too little, sleeps too much or does not sleep enough.

How fascinating that an ancient scripture that is meant for realization of the divine - a seemingly ethereal and otherworldly endeavor - is giving advice straight out of the family doctor's list of guidelines.

Don't eat too much.

Don't eat too little.

Don't sleep too much.

Don't sleep too little.

Moderation, moderation, moderation.

So practical. So simple. Deep down, we all know that these guidelines are essential for a healthy body, even a healthy mind.

But a healthy soul?

Krishna says that "there is  no possibility of one's becoming a yogi" if one does not learn these practical steps of moderation.

Eating and sleeping are primary functions of what it means to even be alive, no matter what species. But human beings have elevated eating and sleeping to be some of the most pleasurable experiences of existence.

No other animal cooks its food. Other animals eat their food raw (no oven! no stovetop!) and as is (no salt! no spices!). Human beings love to eat, and often, we eat too much. Prabhupad writes, "Too much eating means eating more than is required to keep the body and soul together." Other than the family doctor advising a patient to eat in moderation to keep body and soul together for health reasons, why is overeating considered unfavorable for becoming a yogi?

Because eating beyond one's need is really about enjoying for oneself. Satisfying myself. I'M the center.

But becoming a yogi is about putting God in the center.

Learning to love is about putting others in the center.

Now, to enjoy food and enjoy life is a need - the soul is naturally pleasure-seeking, ananda mayo bhyasat (Vedanta Sutra). Deprivation will only backfire - I'm sure we've all had the equivalent experience of going on a diet or juice cleanse or whatever and then bingeing on potato chips when it's over. This pendulum swing of indulgence-deprivation actually just keeps the focus on US, we're still in the center. Whether I'm enjoying or suffering, the focus is still on me, and that defeats the goal of yoga and the goal of love.

Indeed, even when one eats to keep body and soul together, still we can keep Krishna in the center of this activity by offering all the food we eat to Him first.

Here Krishna, You enjoy first. You're the center.

Once You're satisfied, THEN I'll enjoy.

Learning to eat just enough and learning to let God enjoy first is the key to keeping a healthy soul.

Full purport for Chapter 6, Text 16 by Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupad here: https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/6/16/

27: From Enemy to Friend

CHAPTER 6, TEXT 6: For him who has conquered the mind, the mind is the best of friends; but for one who has failed to do so, his mind will remain the greatest enemy.

Even in America, Land of the Free, everyone has a boss.

That boss may be my manager. Or professor. My parents. Maybe my husband, or wife. Maybe my boss is simply time, which tells me when to wake up and go to sleep. Or maybe my boss is my stomach, because I need to eat. There will always be someone "superior" giving me orders, whether I like it or not.

Prabhupad writes, "The constitutional position of the living entity is to carry out the order of the superior." So in this sense, there is no getting around having a boss and carrying out the orders of that boss - it is our very nature to serve.

Freedom does not mean having no boss and no one to answer to.

Freedom means I get to choose my boss.

Have you ever had a bad boss? I have. I remember dreading waking up in the morning because I had to go to work. No matter that I liked my coworkers and even the work itself. The negative, doubtful, nitpicky, over-controlling, and discouraging attitude of my boss cast a shadow over my work and life. But I was bound to serve my superior, whether I liked him/her or not.

In this analogy, the mind is not the highest boss, like the CEO or company owner, but it's the manager. The function of the mind is to accept and reject.

What do I like? What do I dislike?

What comes to me  is the image of a child who rejects broccoli with screams of disgust and accepts ice cream with screams of delight.

That's the mind.

That's our manager.

Great.

In this verse, Krishna says that the mind can be either the greatest friend or the greatest enemy, and without self-control the mind is the greatest enemy: "One who cannot control his mind lives always with the greatest enemy, and thus his life and its mission are spoiled." I need to become the boss of my mind, or my mind will take over my life and spoil it.

The good news is that my mind is only the manager, not the CEO.

The CEO is the intelligence. This means that my intelligence is capable of controlling my mind. I need to use my intelligence to control my impulses to accept and reject. Ultimately, though, "As long as one’s mind remains an unconquered enemy, one has to serve the dictations of lust, anger, avarice, illusion, etc." This is like living with a bad boss, day in and day out, a manager who is doubtful, nitpicky, temperamental, and negative. Living under the tyranny of lust, anger, hatred, and more is a life of hell.

The greatest choice to make in order to transform the mind from an enemy to a friend is to control it - to learn self-control, self-discipline, and self-knowledge. This is what it means to conquer the mind. A powerful and practical way to ways to cultivate self-discipline is to delay gratification. Viktor Frankl writes, "Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom." This is about expanding our free will and our ability to control our choices and ultimately our minds.

Delay, don't deny.

Delay the ice cream.

Delay the new clothes.

Delay the new gadget.

Delay the hurtful words.

Just the process of delaying is an act of self-control. We increase the size of that space between stimulus and response. And in the process of delaying, in that window of time, I can use my intelligence to accept what is healthy for me (the "broccoli") and reject what is unhealthy for me (the "ice cream").

Cultivating self-control makes the mind one's friend. Interestingly, the word "friend" comes from "Indo-European root meaning ‘to love’, shared by free" (britannica.com). To love is the root of both friend and free - which is the underlying message of this verse by Krishna. Our mind is our friend when we are free, and freedom is the very core of what it means to love.

We cannot love if we are not free.

So ultimately, if we conquer our minds, this does not mean that we are "free" of any superior. Our intelligence is the CEO of our company, but there's still the company owner - and the owner is Paramatma - the Lord in our heart.

Our owner is quiet, unobtrusive. He never raises his voice, so in the racket that our mind gives when it's our enemy, it's hard to hear him. But when we quiet down and control the mind, we can hear the Supersoul. He knows what's best. In this regard, "When the mind is conquered, one voluntarily agrees to abide by the dictation of the Personality of Godhead, who is situated within the heart of everyone as Paramātmā." If I can learn to control my mind, make it my friend, I can hear the quiet, beautiful voice of the Lord in my heart. Carrying out the orders of such a superior can only lead to peace, love, and true freedom. He is my truest friend.

Full purport for Chapter 6, Text 6 by Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupad here: https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/6/6/

26: Pursuit of Satisfaction

CHAPTER 5, TEXT 24: One whose happiness is within, who is active and rejoices within, and whose aim is inward is actually the perfect mystic. He is liberated in the Supreme, and ultimately he attains the Supreme.

McMurdo Station, Antarctica

About a year ago, I watched a documentary about a scientist who shares what it's like to live in Antarctica for one full year.

The sun does not even rise for six months, and it is nighttime for three months straight.

Three months of darkness.

Instead of being appalled, I was captivated. Fascinated.

I was possessed with a deep desire to not only visit Antarctica, but to "winter over." I wanted to experience three months of total darkness. Never mind that during that time one rarely ever leaves the meager Motel 6-like accommodations, people get disoriented, people are at higher risks of depression and there are little to no fresh food choices.

I wanted to... turn inward.

Be with myself.

Just me.

Maybe because at the time I watched this documentary my energy was so splayed OUT (especially at work) that I was desperate to gather myself IN.

Of course, what I really wanted in my irrational desire to spend a year in Antarctica was to relish a self-satisfaction and happiness within. To be in touch with my own soul's capacity to be satisfied and even happy without any external stimulation. I wanted to experience, for once, what it would be like to let go of any and all activities and just be with me.

Prabhupad  poses a question in response to this verse: "Unless one is able to relish happiness from within, how can one retire from the external engagements meant for deriving superficial happiness?" This is an interesting wake-up call, because I could've flown all the way to Antarctica but if I had never truly allowed myself to relish happiness from within, I may have gone crazy without "external engagements." Without a more purposeful connection to Krishna, I would just be substituting out intense activities I was doing here in New York City for intense activities at McMurdo Station.

So it's not about where I am. Happiness is about being in touch with the soul. A quality of the soul is atmarama - or self-satisfaction. That self-satisfied nature gets so covered over, though, with all of these empty pursuits for happiness.

If we would slow down enough, though, we would see that we are all capable of being happy and satisfied at every moment, because that is the nature of the soul. Prabhupad writes, "A liberated person enjoys happiness by factual experience. He can, therefore, sit silently at any place and enjoy the activities of life from within. Such a liberated person no longer desires external material happiness." Spiritual happiness is accessible at any moment in any place. Maybe that is what I've been craving for the past year, the sense that happiness is not dependent on an external circumstance, but my own connection to God.

Now that the Coronavirus quarantine is in full effect, I don't have to go all the way to Antarctica to gather myself in. The whole WORLD has shifted into "wintering-over-in-Antarctica" mode. All external engagements are cancelled. No more potentially empty, shallow pursuits for happiness.

Just be here now.

Be satisfied.

We'll see, it's all a grand experiment.

And I must confess, I'm glad that I can eat fresh oranges, take walks, and see the sun rise every morning.

Full purport for Chapter 5, Text 24 by Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupad here: 
https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/5/24/

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/

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/

23: Changing the World

CHAPTER 5, TEXT 2: The Personality of Godhead replied: The renunciation of work and work in devotion are both good for liberation. But, of the two, work in devotional service is better than renunciation of work.

All over the world -

Flights grounded.

Factories closed.

Vehicle traffic has been reduced to a trickle.

From the very beginning of this coronavirus pandemic, I have been consumed with curiosity: does this cessation of human activity have a positive impact on our environment? Is the air cleaner? Water clearer?

There are some facts to indicate that yes, there has been a change:

Measurements of nitrogen dioxide pollution in China

An image of clear water in Venice canals

But there is always a caveat in any report that there is a positive environmental impact because humans are retreating: the change is temporary.

Very temporary.

In fact, it has been shown in the past that when there have been shutdowns as a result of outbreaks or even economic depressions (and thus a slowing of production and transportation), there is always a rebound, and the pollution gets even worse than before - often called "revenge pollution."

Sure, it's admirable to step back and pause and let go of all of these unnecessary activities, like going to sports games, shopping for a summer dress, or vacations to Mexico (I'm charged with all of these!). But staying at home and watching Netflix/reading/cooking/snacking/sleeping/taking walks/Zoom conferencing with friends-coworkers-classmates can only go on for so long. The video above seems to romanticize all of these empty cities and roadways of the world and kind of sigh in disappointment that China is reemerging to go back to work.

But humans must work. At some point, humans must emerge, and we shall emerge with a vengeance, because after all, we need to make a living AND make up for lost time.

So just because human beings on an unprecedented global scale are retreating indoors does not mean that the world will change at all after this crisis. Srila Prabhupad writes in this purport that, "Without Kṛṣṇa consciousness, mere renunciation of fruitive activities does not actually purify the heart of a conditioned soul." This means that renouncing activities does not have long-lasting effects. The key phrase here is to "purify the heart" - the world has become so polluted because our hearts have become polluted. An example is of a thief who has gone to sleep - sure, he's not committing crimes while asleep so everything seems fine. But once he wakes up, because he has not purified his heart of the stealing mentality, he'll simply steal again.

That said, Krishna does emphasize in this verse that "the renunciation of work... is good for liberation." The purpose of renunciation of work is to stop the frenetic engagement in enjoyment and suffering in the material world. In this sense, we can experience "liberation." I can certainly attest for myself during this time of "lockdown" here in New York City (the epicenter of the coronavirus in the United States), that I experience a beautiful, quiet space to reflect upon my life, like sitting upon the shore of a silent, still lake.

Without reflecting upon the bigger meaning and purpose of life, though, ceasing work is useless. Prabhupad quotes verses from the Srimad Bhagavatam (5.5.4-6), and one line says, "One is considered to be a failure in life as long as he makes no inquiry about his real identity." Fascinating, no? The material perception of failure is very external: one became a drug addict, or a nobody, or a corrupt wealth businessman, or a prison convict. We certainly wouldn't consider a Harvard graduate, Nobel Prize winner, New York Times bestselling author, or director of worldwide charities a failure. But this verse is saying here that they're ALL failures - from the drug addict to the Nobel Prize winner - if they have not made any inquiry into their real identity as a spirit soul.

Sounds extreme, but the fact is that happiness and suffering come and go, come and go endlessly, and no matter which way we look at it, we're still stuck on the same merry-go-round of pain and pleasure, pain and pleasure.

This time of renunciation of work should not be romanticized. It is a special time to reflect inward; atatho brahma jijnasa - the time to inquire to about my true spiritual identity and purpose is now. This is real knowledge and true success.

That said, knowledge is not enough. Like the thief who eventually wakes up, I need to purify my heart and then act upon that purified knowledge. Prabhupad writes, "Jñāna (or knowledge that one is not this material body but spirit soul) is not sufficient for liberation. One has to act in the status of spirit soul, otherwise there is no escape from material bondage." In this way, the two must go hand in hand - knowledge and action. Only then can there be real change in the world.

Sure enough, the canals in Venice will become polluted again, the nitrogen dioxide pollution levels in China will rise again, and the whole machinery of this world will kick back into high, furious gear.

And the global temperature will continue to rise, and the Amazon rainforest will continue to be burned down, and the islands of plastic waste in the ocean will continue to expand.

But I have this precious opportunity right now, within my grasp, to purify my heart, find my purpose, to be able to go out into the world again to live with restraint and love. That is the greatest change I can make in the world.

Full purport for Chapter 5, Text 2 by Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupad here: https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/5/2/