“[Suta Gosvami replied to the sages headed by Shaunaka:] ‘Everyone should very attentively listen to the pastimes of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. One should glorify His activities and meditate upon Him regularly.’” (Shrimad Bhagavatam, 1.2.14)

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तस्मादेकेन मनसा भगवान् सात्वतां पति: ।
श्रोतव्य: कीर्तितव्यश्च ध्येय: पूज्यश्च नित्यदा ॥

tasmād ekena manasā
bhagavān sātvatāṁ patiḥ
śrotavyaḥ kīrtitavyaś ca
dhyeyaḥ pūjyaś ca nityadā

1. Contemplation

It is a thinking man’s game. It is a game in the sense that there are different possible outcomes. Not everything is in our control. Material nature must eventually cooperate, but we still get the process started.

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 question, of course, is what to do. In which direction should we travel? What is the best use of our time? If we could review our life during the time of the end, anta-kale, what is it that we would like to have accomplished?

अन्त-काले च माम् एव
स्मरन् मुक्त्वा कलेवरम्
यः प्रयाति स मद्-भावं
याति नास्त्य् अत्र संशयः

anta-kāle ca mām eva
smaran muktvā kalevaram
yaḥ prayāti sa mad-bhāvaṁ
yāti nāsty atra saṁśayaḥ

“And whoever, at the time of death, quits his body, remembering Me alone, at once attains My nature. Of this there is no doubt.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 8.5)

Thinking this way about the future is called contemplation. To contemplate is to utilize intelligence. The human being can contemplate because they have intelligence. That gift of nature should not go to waste.

2. Consideration

The neighbor who blasts their music into the late-night hours. The supposed friend who calls ten times a day, without concern for what the person on the other side might be doing. That passenger who takes up more space than they are allotted in the overhead bin on the flight.

These are different ways to be inconsiderate. There is lack of consideration for others. Consideration is therefore another proper utilization of intelligence. After contemplating the potential courses of action, a wise person considers which ones are beneficial and which ones are not.

3. Deliberation

This is an extension of consideration. After mentally assessing the different routes, a person can also discuss with others. The jury in a trial deliberates as to the verdict. A review board deliberates to reach a decision on an important issue placed before them. The head of state consults with their advisers on a proper course of action.

4. Meditation

The Sanskrit word is dhyana. This is focus and attention. It does not necessarily have to involve sitting quietly, in an empty room, with no outside distractions. A person can be meditating while driving. They can be focusing on something while hard at work.

5. Focus on the highest goal possible

When tied to an important goal, dhyana is a benefit. It is typically better to be focused than to be distracted. Otherwise, the goal will not be achieved. I might procrastinate. I might delay in the hopes of postponing the inevitable, wherein I have to work hard. But when the time for work arrives, it is better to be focused than not.

The true yogi takes all of these values and directs them at the highest goal possible. They are after liberation, in the true sense. More than escaping the cycle of birth and death, this kind of liberation is transcending the influence of the illusion around them.

On the other side of the illusion is reality. This force is a truth absolute in nature. That truth is not subject to conditions. It is not true in one scenario and false in another. It is not more true in one time and less true in another. It is equally true for every person, whether they are honest or dishonest, humble or puffed up, intelligent or foolish.

Shrimad Bhagavatam provides a way to implement this kind of yoga. The recommendation is to focus on the pastimes of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is known as Bhagavan. With ekena manasa, one-pointed attention. The mind is on one place, the Supreme Lord.

The activities within that yoga can be hearing, glorifying, or simply remembering. It is a yoga that can be practiced from morning until night. Not that we simply sit for fifteen minutes and then return to illusion, erasing whatever benefits accrue.

Rather, the intensity of the yoga process can go on increasing. The limit is beyond the sky, even, to the unmanifest realm. The proprietor of that realm is inexhaustible, and so the yoga dedicated to Him inherits that property.

In Closing:

Instead of distractions to hit,
While intense focus to sit.

With a one-pointed mind,
Transcendence to find.

From the pastimes to hear,
Illusion to disappear.

Yogi lifestyle to show,
Way for others to know.

Categories: the five

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