“This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome. But those who have surrendered unto Me can easily cross beyond it.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 7.14)

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दैवी ह्य् एषा गुण-मयी
मम माया दुरत्यया
माम् एव ये प्रपद्यन्ते
मायाम् एतां तरन्ति ते

daivī hy eṣā guṇa-mayī
mama māyā duratyayā
mām eva ye prapadyante
māyām etāṁ taranti te

1. Good parents for good children

“How did those kids end up so bad? Did you hear about what they did? It’s just sickening. The entire community is dumbfounded. The parents were of the highest character. They were respected throughout the society. You would expect the children to follow the example, at least to some extent.”

2. Medicine for health

“I don’t understand. I followed the rules. While others were cavalier to the danger, while they lived without a care in the world, I took every precaution. Even when it was difficult to breathe, I managed. I persevered for the greater good, to keep myself and others safe.

“I took the experimental, breakthrough medicine. I was a little confused when several months later I had to take another dose, but I went along with the authorities. I followed what the doctors said. Well, it turns out that none of it helped. I am terribly ill, at the moment. I am suffering from the exact disease that I was hiding from. It is like my system has been weakened. What good did that medicine do me?”

3. A ship for a drowning man

“This doesn’t make any sense. They were on a boat. They were having fun late at night, for sure, but they had others around to help. They had lifejackets. They should have been safe. How could this have happened?”

4. Wealth to prevent poverty

“See that homeless person over there? He was a famous ice hockey player. He made millions of dollars in his career. I have no idea how he ended up on the streets. People have tried to help him. They want to bring him home. He just refuses. He says he is much happier in this destitution.”

5. Education for common sense

“That person received an Ivy League education, but I don’t see it paying off. They have no common sense. They are making one silly mistake after another. I think they would have been better off spending time in the real world, learning what they call ‘street smarts.’”

…

There is an often repeated criticism of followers of bhakti-yoga. Since the dedication and top priority is on pleasing the Supreme Personality of Godhead, others fear that important aspects of society will get neglected. More specifically, those who are in need will be callously ignored, left to suffer without assistance.

“Better than worshiping the deity is helping your fellow man. Superior to service to God is service to the poor. That will make God happy. Not wasting money on some elaborate worship. Not spending large sums of money for a giant building, where people will congregate, as a means to simultaneously turn their backs on the downtrodden.”

From the above review we see that assistance is no guarantee of a proper outcome. You can have every safety measure available installed in a new vehicle, but if there is a larger, more imposing force that causes a collision, not much can be done to avert disaster.

This means that there must be a higher authority at play. Not every person will live to reach a certain age. Not every person responds identically to the same set of stimuli. There is free will, after all. There is something known as incidental damage. A person might accidentally fall into harm’s way, caught in the middle of two other conflicting parties.

Except there is really no accident. It is not a coincidence. In the same way that the living being has no control over the higher forces acting upon them, there must be prior sanction for any result to manifest.

Something as basic as getting up out of bed in the morning requires outside approval. We may not be able to see the hand of that influence working. We may be blissfully ignorant as to the laws of nature, but our awareness makes no impact on the reality.

प्रकृतेः क्रियमाणानि
गुणैः कर्माणि सर्वशः
अहङ्कार-विमूढात्मा
कर्ताहम् इति मन्यते

prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni
guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ
ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā
kartāham iti manyate

“The bewildered spirit soul, under the influence of the three modes of material nature, thinks himself to be the doer of activities, which are in actuality carried out by nature.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 3.27)

The truth is the truth. The living entity is not the doer. Material nature must cooperate. It must agree. That nature has a controller. In the local sphere, the controlling feature is Supersoul, or Paramatma. Though present in every living body, Paramatma is of a singular identity.

This material world is difficult to cross over. It is like the largest incarceration facility, with high walls that are almost impossible to scale. The person who has the favor of Krishna can easily cross beyond it. There is direct assurance, from both realized saintly people and the source of the information Himself, Shri Krishna.

In Closing:

Installed with every safety measure,
Children of inheritance treasure.

With every medicine induced,
But still bad outcome produced.

Meaning that someone else to control,
To know how end to unfold.

Material world in turmoil to toss,
But with Krishna’s favor to cross.

Categories: the five

Tags: hare krishna, life, poem, poems, poetry, success