“I am never manifest to the foolish and unintelligent. For them I am covered by My eternal creative potency [yoga-maya]; and so the deluded world knows Me not, who am unborn and infallible.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 7.25)

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नाहं प्रकाश: सर्वस्य योगमायासमावृत: ।
मूढोऽयं नाभिजानाति लोको मामजमव्ययम् ॥

nāhaṁ prakāśaḥ sarvasya
yoga-māyā-samāvṛtaḥ
mūḍho ’yaṁ nābhijānāti
loko mām ajam avyayam

1. Directions

“Umm, I think you should make a right turn here. I know your maps application says otherwise, but this is where I live. This is my neighborhood. I know these roads inside and out. Alright, so when you get lost, don’t blame me. I know you will, since that is the kind of thing you are known for.”

2. Eating

“Don’t eat that. It is not good. The food from that place is usually stale and rotten. You will not notice right away. A few hours later and your stomach will be in pain. Don’t say that I didn’t warn you. I am not sure why you like to punish yourself.”

3. Drinking

“Head hurting, huh? Is it painful when I raise my voice? Probably not the best day to be around young children. You don’t remember anything from last night? You don’t recall me trying to stop you? I literally hid all the bottles at one point. You went on a scavenger hunt, against my advice, and started consuming everything that was available.”

4. Relationships

“Wow, I can’t believe that happened. Actually, I can totally believe it. I remember telling you that this person was bad news. You accused me of being jealous. You said that my eyewitness testimony was false, that I was making up stories to turn people against you. I wish you would have listened to me, as I only had your best interests at heart.”

5. Home improvements

“Don’t bother trying to fix it. It’s broken. I just checked. If you try yourself, you might make it worse. And there it is. Now the pipe is totally burst. The entire living room is flooded. Why are you angry with me? I specifically told you to stay away until we could call someone to look at it.”

…

His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada says that the root of all problems we experience is forgetfulness of God. More specifically, it is loss of the awareness of our link to the person who possesses all fortunes, Bhagavan. He holds those fortunes at the highest level imaginable, but as there are no instruments to provide an accurate measurement, He is also known as Adhokshaja.

This is not merely speculation or just an opinion put forward by the acharya. There is a long-standing tradition which addresses this deviation, which looks to plug the deficiency in the hopes that others fulfill the destiny of the human experience.

“If it is so simple, if the solution is as straightforward as continuous remembrance, why does not God reveal Himself? If He is indeed known as Krishna because of His all-attractiveness, as evidenced in every sphere of perceptibility, then why does not Krishna just appear in front of me?

“Right now. No need to wait. Just show up at my front door. If He is polite enough to ring the bell, that is fine, but since He is God I will not mind if He decides to barge in. He does not have to announce His presence, either. Since it is Krishna Himself, I will forgive any breaches of general etiquette.”

From the above reviewed situations, we see that providing the truth to someone does not guarantee an appropriate response on the other side. They have to be willing to accept the information. The biggest stumbling block is lack of trust. This could be rooted in envy.

If they are envious of my standing, if they do not hold proper respect for my observations, my conclusions, my thoughts on a certain issue, it does not matter what I say to them. My warnings, my guidance, and my recommendations will fall on deaf ears.

As Krishna explains in Bhagavad-gita, He does not reveal Himself to those who are envious. He is not so cheap as to be on full display to the non-devotees. Not every person can meet an important figure in society. They must have some qualifications. They must agree to follow a certain standard of behavior, and that standard should be demonstrable prior to the meeting.

This does not mean that the situation is hopeless. The regulative principles of sanatana-dharma are for creating those qualifications. Saintly people try to turn others into devotees, through instituting a system of regulation. Not much different from training for a marathon, implementing a weight-loss regimen, or studying for an important exam, the regulative principles are for reaching a qualification such that I will notice Krishna for who He is.

रागद्वेषविमुक्तैस्तु विषयनिन्द्रियैश्चरन् ।
आत्मवश्यैर्विधेयात्मा प्रसादमधिगच्छति ॥

rāga-dveṣa-vimuktais tu
viṣayān indriyaiś caran
ātma-vaśyair vidheyātmā
prasādam adhigacchati

“One who can control his senses by practicing the regulated principles of freedom can obtain the complete mercy of the Lord and thus become free from all attachment and aversion.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 2.64)

Of those principles, the most important for the present age of Kali is the chanting of the holy names: Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. Chant the holy names, avoid the most harmful sinful activities, and be prepared to finally remember the link to transcendence, which solves the root problem of material life.

In Closing:

Varieties of issues to resolve,
When root cause to solve.

That link to transcendence forgot,
Long before awareness got.

Such that even if God to see,
Not recognizing who is He.

Acharyas giving principles to accept.
The right formula should not reject.

Categories: the five

Tags: advice, bhakti, god, hare krishna, life, poem, poems, poetry, religion