“A person who is not disturbed by the incessant flow of desires—that enter like rivers into the ocean which is ever being filled but is always still—can alone achieve peace, and not the man who strives to satisfy such desires.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 2.70)

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आपूर्यमाणम् अचल-प्रतिष्ठं
समुद्रम् आपः प्रविशन्ति यद्वत्
तद्वत् कामा यं प्रविशन्ति सर्वे
स शान्तिम् आप्नोति न काम-कामी

āpūryamāṇam acala-pratiṣṭhaṁ
samudram āpaḥ praviśanti yadvat
tadvat kāmā yaṁ praviśanti sarve
sa śāntim āpnoti na kāma-kāmī

“People like this concept of simple living and high thinking. That seems to be the motto put forward by those who follow Vedic culture. Not necessarily those who are born into it, but the ones who are a little educated as to the reasoning behind the many rituals and regulations.

“What if someone isn’t so keen on this lifestyle? What if they like a little complexity to life? They consider too much thinking to be right at the edge of insanity. They would rather suffer depression and have to visit a grief counselor on a regular basis.

“They just want to be happy. What can Vedic culture offer to them? Is there something to this higher thinking? Will it lead a person to places they could otherwise not visit?”

…

His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada explains that this entire material existence is a gift from nature. That is to say, nothing is of our own making. We did not produce the body which we accepted during the birth process.

It was the mixing of the mother and the father. The father is like the giver of the seed, and the mother is like the field of production. We are individual, spirit soul, based in time immemorial. The event known as birth is the official entry into this world, through the acceptance of a specific type of body.

We enter the world wearing nothing, and we later on leave the same way. This body we inhabit is so useless that after we leave it either gets burned up or buried in the ground. There is only value while there is someone occupying it.

The father provided the seed, the mother the ground for development of the body, and nature for everything experienced afterward. We eat to maintain our health. We accept the light of the sun. We have control over various aspects, for the time being.

For instance, there is the open field. We can utilize it for producing food. We have not created the field. It was there already. We do not produce water in a laboratory. Neither can we generate sufficient light to match the potency of the sun.

These are fixtures of nature upon which we rely. The standpoint of Vedic culture is to do as much as is necessary for maintaining the body. The gifts are already there. No one can deny the reality. There is enough sunlight for everyone. There is enough fertile land to feed the entire world on an annual basis, no matter the growth of the population.

The guidance is for a person to stay within these limits. Anything further and there is the chance of aggravating the senses. As Shri Krishna explains in Bhagavad-gita, the senses can never be fully satisfied. This is due to the nature of desire, which is known as kama.

Desire flows incessantly. There is the comparison to the ocean, with respect to the cultured person. They accept desire as the ocean takes in the rivers. The ocean remains as it is. There is no disturbance to the situation. In the same way, the self-realized individual does not get affected by desire.

There is a benefit to this state of being. If given the choice, the sane person would not want to aggravate their senses. They would rather live in peace. In fact, that is the subtle objective to all fruitive activity. Even when indulging the senses, the hope is that further immersion will create peace and calm. Sadly, the opposite ends up happening.

There is no question of lasting happiness without peace. Therefore, the standards of Vedic culture are for finding happiness. There is the initial peace from controlling the senses, through living simply. Then, there is the opportunity for progressing further, for utilizing the gifts of nature for the highest purpose of all.

In Closing:

The ins and outs never mind,
Purpose for peace to find.

Everyone after it already,
Whether worried or in position steady.

Nature so many gifts distributing,
Like rain and sunlight contributing.

Just enough for maintaining respect,
And for higher consciousness direct.

Categories: questions

Tags: dharma, hare krishna, poem, poems, poetry, yoga