“Shri Rama, who are supreme bliss, the resting place of mercy, who can fulfill all the desires of the mind, please grant me pure loving and unwavering devotion.” (Dohavali, 125)

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परमानंद कृपायतन मन परिपूरन काम
प्रेम भगति अनपायनी देहु हमहि श्रीराम

paramānaṃda kṛpāyatana mana paripūrana kāma
prema bhagati anapāyanī dehu hamahi śrīrāma

1. That new toy

“That thing is taking up way too much space. No one has touched it in years. It was such a hefty investment that no one dares mention what happened. I know that it was my fault. I am the one who asked for it. What can I say? I made a mistake.”

2. That new job

“I really hate this place. Incompetence all around. I am the only one who seems to have their stuff together. You would think that gets rewarded, but I am only suffering from it. I bear the burden of responsibility, to fix the mistakes of others. This is the worst place ever. I regret making the move.”

3. That new house

“Have you ever seen that movie, “The Money Pit”? I think that accurately describes what we are going through. This has to be the worst place on earth. The neighbor’s dog barks all freaking day. Just shut up already. Everything inside is broken. Water leaking everywhere. The place smells, too. My due diligence was severely lacking in this case. I made a mistake.”

4. That new friend

“It barks all day. It is like a wild animal. Yes, it was my fault. I insisted that my parents get a new dog, to replace the beloved one that passed away. I also do not take care of this replacement. I would rather have nothing to do with it. I made a mistake.”

5. That coveted title

“I thought it was the one thing missing in my life. If I could win that one tournament, it would silence all the critics. All the doubters would have to take a seat. Well, I sacrificed everything for that victory, and the desire came to fruition. Let me tell you, though, nothing has changed. Why should I care what other people think? This has not made me any happier in life. I feel ashamed for putting so much value into something so meaningless. I made a mistake.”

…

Upon hearing the end-goal of the discipline known by terms such as sanatana-dharma and bhagavata-dharma, a person asks the following questions:

“What would be the justification for asking for devotion? Why would someone take up the bhakti path only to ask for bhakti? You want to know what the answer is for any issues while practicing bhakti-yoga? You guessed it…more bhakti. What is the ultimate goal of bhakti? Wait for it…more bhakti. Is this not circular logic? Is this not one of those pyramid schemes? Sorry, it is also known as multi-level marketing. Maybe they added that to make it seem less offensive. It’s still a total fraud. Is that what we are trying to follow in bhakti? We are basically tricking ourselves. Become a member of this group, and once you join your sole objective is to recruit new members.”

These are legitimate questions. When someone accepts the invitation to read a book such as Bhagavad-gita or Shrimad Bhagavatam, they gain an interest in transcendental life. Upon asking for further immersion into the practice, they might be surprised to learn that one of the implementations in the modern day is to preach. It is speaking Krishna-upadesha with every person that you meet, in whichever direction you go. The bliss in the bhakti path increases by sharing bhakti with others.

यारे देख, तारे कह ऽकृष्णऽ-उपदेश
आमार आज्ञाय गुरु हञा तारऽ एइ देश

yāre dekha, tāre kaha ‘kṛṣṇa’-upadeśa
āmāra ājñāya guru hañā tāra’ ei deśa

“Instruct everyone to follow the orders of Lord Shri Krishna as they are given in the Bhagavad-gita and Shrimad-Bhagavatam. In this way become a spiritual master and try to liberate everyone in this land.” (Chaitanya Charitamrita, Madhya 7.128)

In a collection of his verses known as the Dohavali, Goswami Tulsidas makes his desires clear. He understands that there can be different living situations. The present indicates the potential in the future. We know that there are so many species. We see this right now. Only a fool would deny the existence of life outside of the human species. In fact, the tendencies are eerily similar in the animal community. Eating, sleeping, mating, and defending.

The present is the result of the past. These living beings were placed into these forms. They are as much life as the human being. The animating spark inside is the size of the tip of a piece of hair, divided into ten thousand parts. There are the species that we can see, but there are so many others which are beyond our range of perception. Those are potential destinations for the future.

पुरुषः प्रकृति-स्थो हि
भुङ्क्ते प्रकृति-जान् गुणान्
कारणं गुण-सङ्गो ऽस्य
सद्-असद्-योनि-जन्मसु

puruṣaḥ prakṛti-stho hi
bhuṅkte prakṛti-jān guṇān
kāraṇaṁ guṇa-saṅgo ‘sya
sad-asad-yoni-janmasu

“The living entity in material nature thus follows the ways of life, enjoying the three modes of nature. This is due to his association with that material nature. Thus he meets with good and evil amongst various species.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 13.22)

Tulsidas asks only for devotion. He wants unwavering allegiance to the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His transcendental form of Shri Rama. Nothing else matters. There is nothing else to ask for. There is no reason to go for anything else.

To understand why a wise person would intentionally choose to go in this direction, we see how many desires lead to regrettable conditions. These were instances of the exercise of choice. We asked to go in a specific direction. Our hankering could have been so intense that we thought of nothing else, day and night. It was almost like a magnificent obsession.

Perhaps there was some enjoyment in the beginning. Then came the bitter, harsh, and cold reality. Something did not go as planned. Perhaps time itself took its toll. Through maturity, we came to realize that something else would be superior. It is like seeing something better, experiencing a higher taste.

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)

Pure devotion to the Supreme Lord is the highest taste there is. It is the one thing that will never be regretted. This is because nothing can be greater than God. His association is outstanding. It outlasts the influence of time. It humbles us through elation and lifts us up during grief. It has endurance to match the life expectancy of the individual, who is timeless.

नासतो विद्यते भावो नाभावो विद्यते सतः
उभयोरपि दृष्टोऽन्तस्त्वनयोस्तत्त्वदर्शिभिः

nāsato vidyate bhāvo
nābhāvo vidyate sataḥ
ubhayor api dṛṣṭo ’ntas
tv anayos tattva-darśibhiḥ

“Those who are seers of the truth have concluded that of the nonexistent there is no endurance, and of the existent there is no cessation. This seers have concluded by studying the nature of both.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 2.16)

In Closing:

By that decision troubled,
Seems now my miseries doubled.

So deeply do I regret,
From that desire met.

With bhakti never the same,
The world and more to gain.

Most wonderful gift of all,
Supreme Lord as friend to call.

Categories: dohavali 121-160, the five

Tags: dailyprompt, hare krishna, poem, poems, poetry, prayer