“The living entity, thus taking another gross body, obtains a certain type of ear, tongue, and nose and sense of touch, which are grouped about the mind. He thus enjoys a particular set of sense objects.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 15.9)

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It’s like everything is conspiring against you. One problem after another. You are pulled in every which direction:

Pressure from work. This might be the end of the company. You’ll have to look for a new job. But where? Do you want to stay in the same area or is now the perfect opportunity to look for a better place to live, perhaps with a more suitable climate?

Pressure from home. Just married, living together with family members is no picnic. While you generally don’t cause trouble, everyone complains about each other. One person is unhappy about having to cook. Another is inconsiderate to the needs of others.

Pressure from a medical situation. A family member is suddenly in a lot of trouble. Someone has to look after them. But who? People have jobs. People have responsibilities. When will these issues end? It’s like a nightmare that continues to get worse.

From shastra, or scripture, there is evidence that everything will indeed be okay in the future. This is applicable to every person and every situation.

1. Time

There is the saying that time heals all wounds. The idea is that the pain won’t last forever. Time instigates change. One day you were a small child. Today you are an adult. In the future you will be in old age. Time continues to operate.

Whatever situations exist today are guaranteed to change. The headaches won’t persist. In Sanskrit time is known as kala, which is the great devourer. Time has yet to lose in its attacks. Even the staunchest atheist can’t deny the existence of the deity that is time.

2. Death

Kala also means “death.” In other words, death is one representation of time. Death is the guaranteed destination for every person that takes birth.

“For one who has taken his birth, death is certain; and for one who is dead, birth is certain. Therefore, in the unavoidable discharge of your duty, you should not lament.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 2.27)

Not just a person, but any living thing. Purusha is a Sanskrit word that also means “enjoyer.” The animals are purusha at the core. The purushas in the material world are equal, though they don’t appear to be so. They are made up of the same spiritual substance.

Death takes away everything material associated with the body. The duration of the removal depends on the type of consciousness while quitting the body. If there is further desire to enjoy separate from the Almighty, then in the future the individual spirit soul again takes birth. The consciousness from the just exited lifetime travels forward, like the air carrying aromas.

“The living entity in the material world carries his different conceptions of life from one body to another as the air carries aromas.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 15.8)

As death takes away everything, the present situations are included. The nightmare of everything going wrong simultaneously will eventually be corrected. It may not seem that way in the moment, but death approaches all the same.

3. Bhagavan

The Supreme Lord is time itself. There is no need to speculate on the issue. He gives confirmation in the Bhagavad-gita.

“The Blessed Lord said: Time I am, destroyer of the worlds, and I have come to engage all people. With the exception of you [the Pandavas], all the soldiers here on both sides will be slain.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 11.32)

The speaker is Shri Krishna, and many times He is referred to as Bhagavan, which means the Supreme Personality of Godhead, an individual possessing every fortune simultaneously and to the highest degree.

We can take comfort from Bhagavan because He will always be around. He expands as the Supersoul to accompany every individual spirit soul in their travels through different bodies. At every moment God is around, from the time of birth to the time of death.

The person who creates this universe, maintains it, destroys it, and acts impersonally as time itself is also the best well-wishing friend. Surrender means to take comfort in the grace of God. Indeed, the height of living is to shift consciousness towards Him. What need is there to fret over something that is temporary? Do we remain worried about what we saw in the dream once we wake up? The experience was real, but the dream is not.

In the same way the dreamlike material existence creates temporary situations that have no lasting value. The constant factor is the individual spirit soul, who is accompanied by God. The two link together through yoga, and it is this yoga which brings all happiness. It is most easily practiced in the modern age by chanting the holy names: Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

In Closing:

Experience with emotions to feel,

But why worry, dream not real.

Same with struggles of present life,

With work, school, family and wife.

Eventually to be erased by time,

After death another situation to find.

From Bhagavan the most comfort take,

In bhakti a clear consciousness make.

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Tags: articles, bhagavad-gita, god, hare krishna, karma, time