“Out of many thousands among men, one may endeavor for perfection, and of those who have achieved perfection, hardly one knows Me in truth.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 7.3)

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मनुष्याणां सहस्रेषु
कश्चिद् यतति सिद्धये
यतताम् अपि सिद्धानां
कश्चिन् मां वेत्ति तत्त्वतः

manuṣyāṇāṁ sahasreṣu
kaścid yatati siddhaye
yatatām api siddhānāṁ
kaścin māṁ vetti tattvataḥ

1. The comedian

“Oh, you are interested in becoming a standup comedian? You are looking for some advice? I would tell you to get on the stage. Any stage. As often as possible. Wherever possible. Take your act to different settings. Whether you only have five minutes or fifteen. You will learn just as much from bombing as you will from killing. Whether they like you or hate you, that is the learning process. It is the only way to get better.”

2. The radio host

“Oh, you are interested in becoming a talk show host on the radio? You are looking for some advice? I would tell you to try to be the reason that people tune in. You can fill the time with guests and callers, but that will not make you stand out. Any other host can get the same guests. You have to be able to carry the audience, by yourself. They have to want to listen to what you have to say.”

3. The doctor

“Oh, you are interested in becoming a doctor? You are looking for some advice? Fortunately, the path is rather straightforward. Do well in school. Try to earn the highest marks on the standardized tests. Then colleges will be competing for your admission. There are these combined programs which give you automatic admission into medical school following the completion of undergraduate. What else can I tell you? Just keep studying. Maybe volunteer at local hospitals, in order to get a taste of dealing with patients. Witness trauma firsthand and see if you have the stomach for it.”

4. The baker

“Oh, you are interested in baking? You are looking for some advice on how to make cookies, cakes, pastries, and the like? You have to practice. You have to get into a routine. Do not worry about the taste, necessarily. I feel that is a rather disgusting habit, where people taste the food while preparing it. Find some recipes online or in a book. Try them yourself. Make tweaks along the way. See what works and see what doesn’t. If you are baking for the right purpose, then you will get additional support from the beneficiary. Trust me on this.”

पत्रं पुष्पं फलं तोयं
यो मे भक्त्या प्रयच्छति
तद् अहं भक्त्य्-उपहृतम्
अश्नामि प्रयतात्मनः

patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ
yo me bhaktyā prayacchati
tad ahaṁ bhakty-upahṛtam
aśnāmi prayatātmanaḥ

“If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, fruit or water, I will accept it.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 9.26)

5. The human being

The above is but a sampling of designations, which correlate to the concept of varna in Sanskrit. There have to be divisions in order for a machine to operate. This is only rational. If the wheel on the car were expected to do the same work as the windshield, for instance, there would be trouble. There are individual parts, with their own constitution, construction, and qualities. Those parts must work together to create a properly functioning unit, as a whole entity.

चातुर्-वर्ण्यं मया सृष्टं
गुण-कर्म-विभागशः
तस्य कर्तारम् अपि मां
विद्ध्य् अकर्तारम् अव्ययम्

cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ
guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ
tasya kartāram api māṁ
viddhy akartāram avyayam

“According to the three modes of material nature and the work ascribed to them, the four divisions of human society were created by Me. And, although I am the creator of this system, you should know that I am yet the non-doer, being unchangeable.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 4.13)

The divisions based on class and institution for spiritual advancement descend from the original person of all. The divisions are for helping people advance through work suited to their nature. We see from the above review that the advice is different in each case. The person already established in the field has their own experience. If they have the qualities necessary, gunas, they must also put in the necessary work, karma.

At the same time, the divisions do not exist prior to birth. They vanish completely at the time of death. There is a single force inside, which does not change. While the outside continues to shift, this animating spark remains the same. While there are divisions based on the exact configuration and specification of the external, the internal lacks any notable distinction from other forces of life. In this way, living beings share a oneness. In Sanskrit, this collective energy is known as Brahman.

देहिनो ऽस्मिन् यथा देहे
कौमारं यौवनं जरा
तथा देहान्तर-प्राप्तिर्
धीरस् तत्र न मुह्यति

dehino ‘smin yathā dehe
kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā
tathā dehāntara-prāptir
dhīras tatra na muhyati

“As the embodied soul continually passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. The self-realized soul is not bewildered by such a change.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 2.13)

We can remove the divisions by considering the human being. What if I am aspiring to be the best human being? I am not so much interested in a specific occupation, in upward mobility, in rising to the heights of prominence and influence. I am not against any of those things, but I inherently understand that the CEO sitting in the expensive chair behind the desk at the office is really no different than the person who cleans that same office at the end of the workday. There is a stark difference in compensation. Hardly anyone knows the name of the person who cleans, while the CEO sits for interviews airing live on the cable television networks.

But the final destinations are identical. Whenever there is birth, there must be death. Whenever there is birth, there must be the accompanying suffering of old age and disease. Whenever there is birth, there is the vulnerability to the three sources of misery: adhyatmika, adhibhautika, and adhidaivika.

“The threefold miseries are (1) those miseries which arise from the mind and body, (2) those miseries inflicted by other living beings, and (3) those miseries arising from natural catastrophes over which one has no control.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Shrimad Bhagavatam, 1.1.2 Purport)

“Religion” is the appropriate response to the person seeking to be the ideal human. This is the purpose of religion. It is not simply to check a box on a form. It is not a mere formality to gain acceptance into the local society. It is not for avoiding a feared condition in the afterlife, such as punishment in the hellish region.

Religion in the traditional sense may serve these purposes, but the real reason it exists is to separate the human beings from the animals. Both sets are known to eat, sleep, mate, and defend. Human beings can contemplate their existence. They can understand the simultaneous existence of vishesha, distinction, and advaita, oneness.

As Shri Krishna describes in Bhagavad-gita, out of thousands, one person may be serious about spiritual life. The life experience thus far confirms this reality. We see that religion in practice is not really taken seriously. It does not necessarily give direction in life. It does not explain the wonders of the universe, such as why the seed of a cucumber is configured specifically to produce cucumbers, while a similar looking seed, like that of a tomato, will only produce tomatoes.

सर्व-योनिषु कौन्तेय
मूर्तयः सम्भवन्ति याः
तासां ब्रह्म महद् योनिर्
अहं बीज-प्रदः पिता

sarva-yoniṣu kaunteya
mūrtayaḥ sambhavanti yāḥ
tāsāṁ brahma mahad yonir
ahaṁ bīja-pradaḥ pitā

“It should be understood that all species of life, O son of Kunti, are made possible by birth in this material nature, and that I am the seed-giving father.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 14.4)

Real religion is sanatana-dharma. It is the eternal way of living, for rising up to the standard that exhibits the inherent qualities of the individual, who is spirit soul. Real religion is for becoming the ideal human being, and there are people we can consult in this regard. Someone like Arjuna says that the highest standard is to know Shri Krishna as the deva deva, the God of the gods.

स्वयमेवात्मनात्मानं वेत्थ त्वं पुरुषोत्तम
भूतभावन भूतेश देवदेव जगत्पते

svayam evātmanātmānaṁ
vettha tvaṁ puruṣottama
bhūta-bhāvana bhūteśa
deva-deva jagat-pate

“Indeed, You alone know Yourself by Your own potencies, O origin of all, Lord of all beings, God of gods, O Supreme Person, Lord of the universe!” (Arjuna, Bhagavad-gita, 10.15)

The systematic implementation of knowing Krishna goes by terms such as bhagavata-dharma, bhakti-yoga, and karma-yoga, but the ultimate objective is always the same. The person who follows real religion attempts to implement austerity, cleanliness, honesty, and compassion, at a bare minimum. That is the platform from which to know Krishna, or God, in truth, which is an achievement reached after perhaps many lifetimes of suffering in this world. The truth can be reached with knowledge and principles assimilated with a sober reality, to which only the human being can strive.

बहूनां जन्मनाम् अन्ते
ज्ञानवान् मां प्रपद्यते
वासुदेवः सर्वम् इति
स महात्मा सु-दुर्लभः

bahūnāṁ janmanām ante
jñānavān māṁ prapadyate
vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti
sa mahātmā su-durlabhaḥ

“After many births and deaths, he who is actually in knowledge surrenders unto Me, knowing Me to be the cause of all causes and all that is. Such a great soul is very rare.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 7.19)

In Closing:

Comedian wanting to be?
Then time on stage to see.

Talk show on radio to host?
Then have charisma the most.

But if human being the best,
Then forego all the rest.

And tattva from Vedas take,
With sober understanding make.

Categories: the five

Tags: dailyprompt, dharma, life, poem, poems, poetry, yoga