“In the childhood form, wearing nice jewelry and clothing, He plays in the dirt and His limbs become full of dust. With child-like speech, Rama plays with all the brothers and children.” (Dohavali, 117)

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बाल बिभू।सन बसन बर धूरि धूसरित अंग |
बालकेलि रघुबर करत बाल बन्धु सब सन्ग ||

bāla bibhū।sana basana bara dhūri dhūsarita aṃga |
bālakeli raghubara karata bāla bandhu saba sanga ||

“Before you judge me, hear me out. I am fully aware of the categorization of maya. I don’t want to live in illusion. I understand that the results are temporary, that the participants aren’t far off from the hamster spinning on the wheel.

“The thing is, I have watched professional sports throughout my life, dating back to childhood. I am not much into the gambling aspect; this was merely for entertainment. You can call it an escape. You can call it fantasizing about living a different life. You can call it admiration. You can call it being swept away by real-life stories.

“I think the reality is that the live events helped to schedule my day. If I had something to look forward to, I could make sure other responsibilities were completed first. During youth, that would be homework. It is no surprise that I was a pretty good student, as a result. I never put off important assignments until later.

“In adulthood, it is really the same principle. Take care of everything else, and then relax. Sit in front of the television and watch something that has little real-world significance. But the effect is the opposite. Sometimes you get so nervous in supporting your team or player that you can feel your heart pounding on the inside.

“Anyway, the reason I mention this experience is in trying to comprehend the life of the sadhu, in the classic sense. Someone who has no connection to the outside world. Their daily routine is not tied to enjoyment of events occurring on a schedule.

“For someone living in a cave, what motivates them each day? How do they stay true to the cause? What do they look forward to? Someone might feel spiritual life in general has these defects. Maybe not a defect, but it is an additional difficulty with which people in the real world have little familiarity.”

In the tradition of Vaishnava bhakti, there is something called nityotsava. Imagine you had a birthday party to go to every single day. You are not necessarily celebrating the same person. Just another member of the community, for whom you care deeply.

Perhaps the indulgence in cake and drink would be too much after a while. Yet there is the event all the same, and everything related. Preparation, anticipation, responsibility, convergence, congregation, and so forth.

Since God is ultimately a person, there are activities and movements. He appears in this world throughout the course of time, for a variety of reasons.

यदा यदा हि धर्मस्य
ग्लानिर् भवति भारत
अभ्युत्थानम् अधर्मस्य
तदात्मानं सृजाम्य् अहम्

yadā yadā hi dharmasya
glānir bhavati bhārata
abhyutthānam adharmasya
tadātmānaṁ sṛjāmy aham

“Whenever and wherever there is a decline in religious practice, O descendant of Bharata, and a predominant rise of irreligion-at that time I descend Myself.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 4.7)

The wise seers document what takes place. Even prior to the written word, they string together beautiful poetry that can be sung and easily remembered. This means the information passes forward, through the generations.

The calendar gets filled with inspiration for celebration. At the very least, twice a month there is the impetus to contemplate, through Ekadashi. Focus on the Supreme Personality of Godhead, follow some basic austerity, and feel rejuvenated, as a result.

There are the appearance days of Shri Rama, Shri Krishna, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Narasimha, and the spiritual master. We even know the moments when the eternal consorts appear, such as Sita Devi, Rukmini Devi, and Shrimati Radharani.

Genuine spiritual life does not have to be torture. It can be fun and engaging. The participants can utilize the full array of artistic and culinary talents. Every sense can be spiritualized through the connection to the Divine. This is also yoga, though not in the way typically understood.

Even if there is no one around to keep track of the days, a person can simply contemplate. Every single day the mind can travel back to the period of childhood for Shri Rama in Ayodhya. A person can fondly recall Rama giving pleasure to His parents through learning to crawl, walk, and talk, and how He played with His younger brothers. This is also yoga, and its benefits can reach the doors of the spiritual kingdom.

In Closing:

Benefits to reap,
Through schedule to keep.

By properly managing time,
At end of day to unwind.

But the sadhu following how?
Everything in the here and now.

Tools such that remembering so,
Like to Rama’s childhood to go.

Categories: questions

Tags: god, hare krishna, poem, poems, poetry, tulsidas