“O King, as I repeatedly recall this wondrous and holy dialogue between Krishna and Arjuna, I take pleasure, being thrilled at every moment.” (Sanjaya, Bhagavad-gita, 18.76)

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राजन् संस्मृत्य संस्मृत्य
संवादम् इमम् अद्भुतम्
केशवार्जुनयोः पुण्यं
हृष्यामि च मुहुर् मुहुः

rājan saṁsmṛtya saṁsmṛtya
saṁvādam imam adbhutam
keśavārjunayoḥ puṇyaṁ
hṛṣyāmi ca muhur muhuḥ

“Let me share with you a story of a hypothetical situation. I will use it to explain something perplexing witnessed within the culture of bhakti-yoga, especially as it is practiced today. Our story takes place in a home. The husband and wife are beginning to make it on their own. This is the first step. Children are on the horizon, and so after making the investment in a fixed place of residence, the next responsibility is furnishing that place.

“They say that the wife is the better half. She is the energy of the man, and this plays out through the man’s fervent desire to assemble as much of the furniture by himself. He is otherwise not known to be handy. He was never taught craftsmanship by elders in the family. To stay on the safe side, the husband decides to read the instruction manuals. He wants to assemble each piece of furniture in as careful a manner as possible. No mistakes, as each error is like a seed which grows into a much larger problem, which can manifest further down the line, when people are least expecting it.

“The husband completes his tasks. The furniture is ready. It is placed in the proper space within each room. After a few weeks, however, the wife notices something peculiar. She sees that her husband is still reading the instruction manuals. Were there mistakes made? Are there extra nuts and bolts that weren’t used? Is the husband worried that something bad will happen?

“She asks him directly, and the response is surprising. The husband simply likes the instruction manuals. He takes great joy out of reading them. In fact, he sees no end on the horizon. He will keep reading the manuals, day after day, for as long as time and health afford. The wife cannot understand what is going on. She thinks that her husband may have lost his mind.

“Is this not an accurate way to describe the steady affiliation with works like Bhagavad-gita and Shrimad Bhagavatam? I believe His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada even compares them to undergraduate and graduate curricula in formal education. Why are people stuck on one book? Should they not have moved on by now? Are they actually that slow in learning? Some of these learners now have official titles that signify high repute and respect. If they are so advanced, why are they still reading the instruction manual?”

As a famous talk radio host used to say, in this area there are no graduates and there are no degrees. The institution may provide such certificates as a way to encourage the students, to maintain a balance with other institutions of higher learning where tattva is not the goal, but the learning never really stops. This is because while the individual is like a sample of God, an amsha expanding from the original fire, they never become God. We know this based on Krishna revealing to Arjuna the gap in memory for the previous life experiences.

श्री-भगवान् उवाच
बहूनि मे व्यतीतानि
जन्मानि तव चार्जुन
तान्य् अहं वेद सर्वाणि
न त्वं वेत्थ परन्तप

śrī-bhagavān uvāca
bahūni me vyatītāni
janmāni tava cārjuna
tāny ahaṁ veda sarvāṇi
na tvaṁ vettha parantapa

“The Blessed Lord said: Many, many births both you and I have passed. I can remember all of them, but you cannot, O subduer of the enemy!” (Bhagavad-gita, 4.5)

If we focus on a single work such as Bhagavad-gita, we see that the person passing forward the information, the narrator, if you will, admits to experiencing immense bliss in the process. There is remembering. This remembering is of Krishna and Arjuna. Remembering those two great friends, who are also constant companions spanning the lifespan of the universe and beyond, is blissful.

We compare such a work to an instruction manual due to the ideal change in state, from novice to expert, from ignorance to intelligence, from a collection of individual truths to the formation of a stable and sturdy object of understanding, but the subject matter is still transcendental. Krishna is the Absolute Truth. To remember Krishna is to be with Krishna. To talk about Krishna is to remember Krishna. To have Krishna by your side is to always be in the association of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. His association is the most important, as He is the only person wishing me well. He is steady in this show of kindness.

भोक्तारं यज्ञ-तपसां
सर्व-लोक-महेश्वरम्
सुहृदं सर्व-भूतानां
ज्ञात्वा मां शान्तिम् ऋच्छति

bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ
sarva-loka-maheśvaram
suhṛdaṁ sarva-bhūtānāṁ
jñātvā māṁ śāntim ṛcchati

“The sages, knowing Me as the ultimate purpose of all sacrifices and austerities, the Supreme Lord of all planets and demigods and the benefactor and well-wisher of all living entities, attain peace from the pangs of material miseries.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 5.29)

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu confirms this equivalence between the book, the instruction manual, if you will, and the object of attention. He once met an illiterate brahmana who was being mocked for attempting to read Bhagavad-gita on a daily basis. After inquiring into the matter, it was learned that the brahmana could see the kindness of Krishna just by holding the book. He could always remember Krishna agreeing to be a servant for His dear devotee, who was the bow warrior. Lord Chaitanya assured the brahmana that this was the proper understanding of Bhagavad-gita. This understanding was reached without the full ability to even read the content.

यावत् पडोङ्, तावत् पाङ ताङ्र दरशन
एइ लागि’ गीता-पाठ ना छाडे मोर मन

yāvat paḍoṅ, tāvat pāṅa tāṅra daraśana
ei lāgi’ gītā-pāṭha nā chāḍe mora mana

“As long as I read the Bhagavad-gita, I simply see the Lord’s beautiful features. It is for this reason that I am reading the Bhagavad-gita, and my mind cannot be distracted from this.” (Brahmana speaking to Lord Chaitanya, Chaitanya Charitamrita, Madhya 9.101)

In Closing:

Furniture already made,
Attention to detail paid.

But why now again reading?
With instruction manual proceeding.

Since Krishna absolute as true,
Connection even reading through.

Bliss like playing on repeat,
Gita a replenishing retreat.

Categories: discussing bhagavad gita, questions

Tags: bhagavad-gita, dailyprompt, dharma, poem, poems, poetry, yoga