“The sages, knowing Me as the ultimate purpose of all sacrifices and austerities, the Supreme Lord of all planets and demigods and the benefactor and well-wisher of all living entities, attain peace from the pangs of material miseries.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 5.29)

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भोक्तारं यज्ञ-तपसां
सर्व-लोक-महेश्वरम्
सुहृदं सर्व-भूतानां
ज्ञात्वा मां शान्तिम् ऋच्छति

bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ
sarva-loka-maheśvaram
suhṛdaṁ sarva-bhūtānāṁ
jñātvā māṁ śāntim ṛcchati

1. You want to enjoy

“You don’t believe in God? You think He is a figment of the imagination. People are only using Him as a crutch, to explain away things they can’t comprehend.

“As a result, you want to enjoy as much as possible. You will focus on eating and sleeping. You will try to earn enough money so that no one will get in the way of your enjoyment. Just how much will be enough? I guess you will have to see and find out. Please do report back so that the rest of us can learn.”

2. I want to enjoy

“I feel the same way. Life is so terrible. Just look around. No one is happy. Everyone is on some kind of medication. These poor children get attacked by injections as soon as they are born. They can’t go anywhere without showing proof that they are sufficiently medicated up, according to the ever-changing standards of the establishment.

“Better that I join these people. I will take what I can get. I will enjoy as much as possible. What are these people really going to do for me anyway? I don’t see them getting punished for being selfish. I should try to top their lack of affection. I will be known as the cruelest and the most cold-hearted. That will be my goal in life.”

…

His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada explains that even when accepting the philosophy of hopelessness, there will be a clash. There will be fighting, precisely because the resources are finite.

For instance, only one person can land that coveted opening in the large corporation. Only one person can fill the vacancy for manager. One person went and cleaned out the supermarket of that item that was on clearance sale. There is nothing left for anyone else.

The philosophy of hopelessness cannot solve the problem. There has to be further management to allow proper utilization of resources. Preventing hoarding. Not letting one person starve due to the excessive enjoyment of another.

It is within this area that human civilization has continued to quarrel since before anyone can remember. The clever-minded take to politics and administration in order to control the purse strings. The administrators scratch each other’s backs.

If there is corruption uncovered, no big deal. Just pretend like it didn’t happen. It is not that one administrator is any more corrupt than another. They are equally culpable, which means there will be no accountability. A gang of thieves.

Let the subjects try to mount an opposition. They will most likely fail, as they lack organization and resources. They are in need. They do not have access to the treasury. They cannot print money. If the corrupt officials can make an example out of one or two of the primary dissidents, that will dissuade others from getting involved. They will be demoralized. They will feel that hope is lost.

Bhagavad-gita gives the peace formula. Through basic acknowledgment of simple truths, everything can turn around. A person should know that there is a singular controller, who stands above all others. Every dedicated action should ultimately be for His benefit. He is also wishing well of every single person.

While this peace formula is found in a sacred text of Sanskrit origin, there is no mention of exclusivity, institutional affiliation, or dogmatic insistence. That is to say, these truths apply across the entire spectrum of time and space.

Only with this formula in mind is there a chance for peace. Otherwise, there will remain a sense of hopelessness. Without hope, the only other option is to enjoy as much as possible, wherein lies the issue of competition.

A person dedicated to God the person automatically can do with less. They are not greedy for increasing riches, fame, or knowledge. They will take whatever they get and use it in Krishna’s favor, but they are as much eager to see others succeed in the same path.

One of Krishna’s many other names is Kripasindhu. He is an ocean of mercy. His devotees follow the same path. They are ready and willing to share the secrets to lasting happiness, both in this life and the next, with the foundation of supreme assuredness in the shelter and protection of the one who is in charge of the entire universe and more.

In Closing:

Of entire universe and more,
Every person caring for.

And wishing them well,
The peace formula to tell.

Otherwise hopelessness to stay,
Getting in each other’s way.

Better at Krishna’s feet left,
In peace His handling the rest.

Categories: the two

Tags: atheism, enjoyment, god, hare krishna, poem, poems, poetry