Just Roll It

“All purposes that are served by the small pond can at once be served by the great reservoirs of water. Similarly, all the purposes of the Vedas can be served to one who knows the purpose behind them.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 2.46)

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यावानर्थ उदपाने सर्वतः सम्प्लुतोदके ।
तावान्सर्वेषु वेदेषु ब्राह्मणस्य विजानतः ॥

yāvān artha uda-pāne
sarvataḥ samplutodake
tāvān sarveṣu vedeṣu
brāhmaṇasya vijānataḥ

A simple change is all it takes. What was previously too difficult to accomplish is now not a problem. Like finding a walking path to get to the top of the mountain, instead of climbing the rocks the old fashioned way. There is correlation to the science of self-realization, as in this dark age of Kali there is a way towards transcendence that does not have the strict requirements from previous time periods.

It is a typical day at work. Part of the new normal, you are at the home office. “Home office” has a new, literal definition. You are working from home. That is what your company has decided upon. No problem for you. Better than having to get up early and travelling hours just to get the same work accomplished.

On this particular day, you happen to get interrupted. In all fairness, this occurs quite frequently now. The other members of the household, your family, tend to not respect boundaries. If you were at the office, they wouldn’t bother you, but at home they tend to think you aren’t doing anything.

The interruption today is from the youngest member of the family. She has something she wants to get from the room. It is one of those miniature luggage pieces. Meant for packing clothes for a child, it resembles what the adults take with them on long-distance trips.

While you are trying to get work done, the child is having trouble moving their luggage from one side of the room to the other. There are clothes inside. The weight is too much for them to handle. They are straining themselves in trying to lift.

Noticing the difficulty, you make a simple suggestion:

“Just roll it. Don’t pick it up. It has wheels on the bottom. See! There you go. Isn’t that much easier?”

The child is happy to receive the suggestion. They can’t believe that something so difficult became so easy. They were putting too much effort, which was not necessary.

In Bhagavad-gita, Shri Krishna makes reference to how the purposes of a small pond get fulfilled by a large reservoir of water. This is an easy concept to understand, but one we often forget. If I get one hundred dollars, I automatically get ten dollars.

If the government passes a massive tax reduction, saving me thousands of dollars a year, I should not be worried that I will no longer be able to take certain deductions for items purchased for my job. Yes, the deductions were nice to have, but the new savings already includes the amount for the previous deduction and much more.

The entirety of Vedic teachings might seem too much to grasp. The weight is too heavy, with the guru living up to their title. They carry authority in the message they bring, in the way they conduct themselves, in their ability to rescue others from nescience.

Just as there is the option to roll the carry-on luggage instead of lifting it by hand, a person can fulfill the purposes of the Vedas through the chanting of the holy names: Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. This is the way recommended for the current age of quarrel and hypocrisy.

जथा भूमि सब बीजमय नखत निवास अकास |
रामनाम सब धरममय जानत तुलसीदास ||

jathā bhūmi saba bījamaya nakhata nivāsa akāsa |
rāmanāma saba dharamamaya jānata tulasīdāsa ||

“Just as within the earth are found every kind of seed and within the sky live all the stars, Tulsidas knows that Shri Rama’s holy name is the reservoir of all dharma.” (Dohavali, 29)

Goswami Tulsidas uses the comparison to outer space and the earth. All the stars are already in space. The earth contains all the seeds necessary for the continuation of plant life. In the same way, the holy name of Rama includes the benefits of every kind of dharma to be followed.

The same purpose is served. The holy name is identical to the person it represents. God is the complete everything. He is the reservoir, and so every pond is automatically included.

In Closing:

Not that from benefits excluded,
In reservoir already included.

Comparison to holy name to make,
From which all dharma to take.

Since to Supreme connected,
Where work for Him directed.

Easy and without difficulty needing,
Progressive in steadiness proceeding.