“The Blessed Lord said: While speaking learned words, you are mourning for what is not worthy of grief. Those who are wise lament neither for the living nor the dead.” (Bhagavad-gita, 2.11)

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श्री भगवानुवाच
अशोच्यनन्वशोचस्त्वं प्रज्ञावादांश्च भाषसे
गतासूनगतासूंश्च नानुशोचन्ति पण्डिताः

śrī-bhagavān uvāca
aśocyān anvaśocas tvaṁ
prajñā-vādāṁś ca bhāṣase
gatāsūn agatāsūṁś ca
nānuśocanti paṇḍitāḥ

“You know, I never liked it when this advice was offered to me. Especially when it was delivered harsh and direct. There was a cruelty involved that gave me the feeling that the other person had no idea what I was going through. They callously tossed aside my reservations, my fears, my concerns, my sadness, my despair, and my heartache. They told me to simply ‘get over it.’

“Is that not similar to what Krishna does at the beginning of the Bhagavad-gita conversation? Krishna reminds Arjuna that the wise person does not lament for the living. They do not lament for those who have departed, either. Is that not really cruel to say, though? What if someone has just lost a child to a horrible accident? What if they are reliving pain from their childhood? What if they suffered through so much abuse that they struggle to keep it together?

“If we should not lament for the living, then does that mean we should not care? Should we not show some compassion to the suffering? To those who are afflicted, the pain is real. You cannot simply write it off to some abstract factor like time or karma. When someone needs a hug and some support to create even a brief period of comfort, why should the words of Bhagavad-gita be thrown in their face?”

If we are honest in the assessment of the situation, there is no other option but to move on. There is nothing we can do to reverse the adversity. The torture we experienced. The abuse at the hands of the perpetrators. The horrible tragedy that struck unexpectedly, at the worst possible time. We cannot turn dials on a fictitious time machine and make everything magically go away.

We have to get over it. Shri Krishna is kind enough to reveal that there is potential for suffering right from the time of arrival. As soon as we take birth, there must be death. Think about it for a moment. Everything that we have. Every person that we love. Every experience that we enjoy. Every memory that we cherish. These are destined to be wiped away. No one can stop that formidable force, which is known as kāla in Sanskrit. This word refers to both time and death, as they are essentially the same thing.

“The material body has no factual existence in relation to the eternal soul. It is something like a dream. In a dream we may think of flying in the sky, or sitting on a chariot as a king, but when we wake up we can see that we are neither in the sky nor seated on the chariot. The Vedic wisdom encourages self-realization on the basis of the nonexistence of the material body. Therefore, in either case, whether one believes in the existence of the soul, or one does not believe in the existence of the soul, there is no cause for lamentation for loss of the body.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Bhagavad-gita, 2.28 Purport)

Is perpetual lamentation going to help matters? If we spend day after day crying, is that a positive use of time? Are we moving forward? Are we improving our situation in life? Even if we have managed to live life relatively unscathed up until now, just consider the horrible suffering that takes place across the globe. Across recorded history. Across all ethnic groups. Across all age groups. The suffering is so large in scale that we would have sufficient justification to lament from morning until night, day after day.

तब लगि कुसल न जीव कहुँ सपनेहुँ मन बिश्राम
जब लगि भजत न राम कहुँ सोकधाम तजि काम

taba lagi kusala na jīva kahum̐ sapanehum̐ mana biśrāma
jaba lagi bhajata na rāma kahum̐ sokadhāma taji kāma

“For as long as there is not devotion to Shri Rama and the release of material desires, which are like an abode of grief, the living being should not expect to find welfare and peace of mind, even in a dream.” (Dohavali, 131)

As Goswami Tulsidas describes, this world is actually shokadhama. There is only grief. The source of that grief is birth, which is triggered by material desire, kama. Renouncing kama and worshiping the Supreme Lord is the only way out. That is the only way to turn shoka into ashoka. Desire remains, but it transforms from kama into bhakti. Ultimately, this is the message of Bhagavad-gita. That is the finish line, the conclusion, if you will, from the starting point of acknowledging the suffering and how the living being, whether manifest or unmanifest, is always alive.

यं हि न व्यथयन्त्येते पुरुषं पुरुषर्षभ
समदुःखसुखं धीरं सोऽमृतत्वाय कल्पते

yaṁ hi na vyathayanty ete
puruṣaṁ puruṣarṣabha
sama-duḥkha-sukhaṁ dhīraṁ
so ’mṛtatvāya kalpate

“O best among men [Arjuna], the person who is not disturbed by happiness and distress and is steady in both is certainly eligible for liberation.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 2.15)

In Closing:

To recite influence of karma’s rule,
But at that time callous and cruel.

To the victim suffering enduring,
How any future comfort ensuring?

Reality that progress the only choice,
Otherwise of perpetual lamentation voice.

Room enough warranting eternal grief,
But wisdom of Krishna the only relief.

Categories: questions

Tags: compassion, dailyprompt, god, hare krishna, kindness, poem, poems, poetry, religion