“How can that female swan who is accustomed to sporting with the king of swans amidst lotus flowers ever cast her eyes on a water-crow that stays amidst bunches of grass?” (Sita Devi speaking to Ravana, Valmiki Ramayana, Aranya Kand, 56.20)

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क्रीडन्ती राजहंसेन पद्मषण्डेषु नित्यदा।
हंसी सा तृणषण्डस्थं कथं पश्येत मद्गुकम्।।

krīḍantī rājahaṃsena padmaṣaṇḍeṣu nityadā।
haṃsī sā tṛṇaṣaṇḍasthaṃ kathaṃ paśyeta madgukam।।

1. Become a functional human being

His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada repeatedly makes this distinction. The human life only begins with genuine religion. The Sanskrit equivalent is the aphorism, athato brahma-jijnasa. This translates to, “Now is the time for inquiring into the spiritual energy.”

Why so harsh a judgment? Are those who fail to make the inquiry not really human beings? It is not that they have somehow lost the qualification, but they are not making the most of the opportunity. There is one step remaining.

We can think of it like someone sitting behind the wheel of a car, but never starting it. A person puts on a spacesuit, takes a seat inside of the rocket ship, but then never launches. A student enters a classroom, but then listens to music through headphones the entire time instead of following instruction from the teacher.

Rather than approach the task blindly, there are recommended systems and procedures for getting familiar with the spiritual side of an existence. The specific system chosen is not as important as making the decision to proceed. Take steps forward. Do not remain in ignorance. Do not sit back and expect everything to transform magically.

Within the bhakti-yoga tradition of spiritual life, there is something known as sadhana. These are regulative principles, both in the restrictive and indulgent senses. Negative and positive. Those things which we avoid, like harmful behaviors and intoxicants. Those things which we follow, like chanting the holy names, associating with saintly people, hearing from authorized literature, and so forth.

2. Think rationally

If a person follows sadhana in the bhakti tradition, they will think more rationally. The appeal is to the intelligence of the individual, which is naturally there. No one has to install it. There is no upgrade to the operating system, so to speak. Rather, like dusting off particles of gold found in the ground, sadhana is the purification process.

A person who thinks rationally questions the meaning to an existence. They wonder about their true identity. They ask what they are doing in this world. They ponder the long-term future. They want to know what will happen after death.

3. Think clearly

Through following sadhana, a person also begins to think more clearly. They can more easily discern what should be done and what should not be done. Taken as a collective, these decisions fall onto the sides of dharma and adharma.

यया धर्ममधर्मं च कार्यं चाकार्यमेव च ।
अयथावत्प्रजानाति बुद्धि: सा पार्थ राजसी ॥

yayā dharmam adharmaṁ ca
kāryaṁ cākāryam eva ca
ayathāvat prajānāti
buddhiḥ sā pārtha rājasī

“And that understanding which cannot distinguish between the religious way of life and the irreligious, between action that should be done and action that should not be done, that imperfect understanding, O son of Pritha, is in the mode of passion.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 18.31)

Depending on the country I am in, drivers stay on a certain side of the road. If you choose the wrong side, there will be trouble. When thinking clearly in the overall journey through life, decisions and their long-term consequences are easier to resolve.

4. Develop good qualities

Following sadhana in bhakti-yoga should result in four qualities, at a minimum. These are honesty, cleanliness, compassion, and austerity. These qualities are the foundation of any genuine system of religion. In the absence of these qualities, a person is following out of sentiment, only.

5. Reach to the level of the swans

Saintly people praise the literature within the bhakti tradition. Their praise is so continuous and glorious that one person can spend a single lifetime speaking about how valuable the literature is. A single verse can be like plucking nectar from a desire-tree that is evergreen. Every single day I can feel invigorated from reading Bhagavad-gita, for instance.

The distinction is that a person needs to be within a certain mode of living in order to have the appreciation. As Sita Devi remarks in the Ramayana, the crow prefers the weeds and grass. It would rather rummage through garbage. That is the preferred interaction.

The swan, on the other hand, prefers lotus flowers. It appreciates beauty. With respect to the literary world, the swan is attracted to words that glorify the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who has every opulence imaginable.

विषया विनिवर्तन्ते
निराहारस्य देहिनः
रस-वर्जं रसो ऽप्य् अस्य
परं दृष्ट्वा निवर्तते

viṣayā vinivartante
nirāhārasya dehinaḥ
rasa-varjaṁ raso ‘py asya
paraṁ dṛṣṭvā nivartate

“The embodied soul may be restricted from sense enjoyment, though the taste for sense objects remains. But, ceasing such engagements by experiencing a higher taste, he is fixed in consciousness.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 2.59)

Following sadhana helps a person to reach the platform of goodness, at the least. Bhakti-yoga can turn the crows into swans. As explained in Bhagavad-gita, it is seeing something better, param drishtva. Experiencing a higher taste, a person is able to set aside what they were previously interested in, which was doing them no good.

In Closing:

Now finally understood,
That doing me no good.

In association like the crow,
Nothing of value to know.

From sadhana transformation to see,
That more like the swan to be.

Where daily His glories singing,
Endless joy in that manner bringing.

Categories: the five

Tags: bhakti, god, hare krishna, poem, poems, poetry, religion, yoga