“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

“I am not going to reference the abject racism. Sometimes, stupidity is self-explanatory. Those people are really dumb. They do not even know what they are arguing against. They have lived in one place since childhood, following only one culture, within a homogenous group of people, in terms of appearance. You cannot necessarily say they are closed-minded, because they have never really had the opportunity to consider opening their mind. The opportunity never arose.

“But amongst honest seekers, you will see this sort of comparative analysis. It dates back to the period of the founding of the country. Those people were tied to the British, after all, and the British were known to comb through historical texts of significance in the places they were ruling. It must be admitted that there was a lot of appreciation. Some people never previously considered the concept of a steady existence, wherein the individual never dies. They never thought it would be recommended to always think of the Almighty, from morning until night, as a sort of inherent occupation, which is known as dharma.

“Is that what the mission of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is? To bridge the gap, to remove the barriers of ignorance. To get people to consider a different way of thinking, of living, of following right and wrong. His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada was specifically instructed to teach the English-speaking world. If they would merely come across the timeless teachings of Vedanta, they would be uplifted. Shrila Bhaktivinoda Thakura had previously longed for the day when people outside of the sanatana-dharma culture would worship the deity, in appreciating the transcendental qualities of the person they otherwise only knew through the abstract, as God.

“Is the purpose to the outreach to conduct a comparative analysis? To give people an option different from the one they inherited from their ancestors? The teachings from Bhagavad-gita are amazing; of this there is no doubt. But what is the purpose in sharing those teachings with people who might otherwise have a bigoted worldview, who look at anything different from what they have known with disdain?”

We find that within Vedic culture, there is little appetite for comparative analysis covering teachings outside of Vedic culture. This is because every angle of vision is already accounted for. Within a large Sanskrit work such as Mahabharata, for instance, we find different teachings and a variety of philosophies. It is indeed possible to detect contradictions. One sage recommends a certain way of thinking, while another sage says something else. Since they each bring something different to the table, they are known as “muni.”

यावानर्थ उदपाने सर्वतः सम्प्लुतोदके
तावान्सर्वेषु वेदेषु ब्राह्मणस्य विजानतः

yāvān artha uda-pāne
sarvataḥ samplutodake
tāvān sarveṣu vedeṣu
brāhmaṇasya vijānataḥ

“All purposes that are served by the small pond can at once be served by the great reservoirs of water. Similarly, all the purposes of the Vedas can be served to one who knows the purpose behind them.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 2.46)

How can every angle of vision already be covered? How can someone predict how people will think in the future? Why is there a lack of desire to compare against the prevailing faiths of the day? The reason is that the many religious systems, whether new or longstanding, will be tied to desire. The Sanskrit word is kama.

Every person is looking for something. The starting point is desire. They will then look for ways to meet that desire. If they find success through an implementation of specific rules and regulations, they can essentially create a religion off of that implementation. This is like a specialized version of dharma.

आद्यन्तवन्त एवैषां लोका: कर्मविनिर्मिता:
दु:खोदर्कास्तमोनिष्ठा: क्षुद्रा मन्दा: शुचार्पिता:

ādy-anta-vanta evaiṣāṁ
lokāḥ karma-vinirmitāḥ
duḥkhodarkās tamo-niṣṭhāḥ
kṣudrā mandāḥ śucārpitāḥ

“All the persons I have just mentioned obtain temporary fruits from their material work. Indeed, the meager and miserable situations they achieve bring future unhappiness and are based on ignorance. Even while enjoying the fruits of their work, such persons are filled with lamentation.” (Lord Krishna, Shrimad Bhagavatam, 11.14.11)

In Shrimad Bhagavatam, Shri Krishna acknowledges this truth. He even says that people will find success in these various dharmas, enjoying the fruits of their work. Since the initial spark to ignite the work is kama, there will always be a flaw. The people will not be happy, even within their success. This is one reason why Goswami Tulsidas refers to this world as shokadhama.

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)

Teachers of the Vedanta tradition tied to bhakti, specifically in the line of the golden avatara, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, look to bring happiness. This is the ultimate goal. The kind of happiness that transcends both periods of time and conditions. Find a way to experience a thrill without necessarily going somewhere, facing imminent danger, or sacrificing significant resources.

Sacred texts carry evidence of the potential. At the conclusion of Bhagavad-gita, Sanjaya remarks how he feels a thrill at every moment in merely thinking of the dialogue between Krishna and Arjuna. Sanjaya is not on the battlefield. He is not dodging arrows to save his life. He is not within the heat of the battle. He is not your traditional thrill-seeker. He is only a narrator. He is able to pass along what he sees because of the blessings of Vyasadeva.

The same potential is there for every single person. Their background is not important. The language they speak is not a barrier. The traditional diet of the area is not an impediment. They can be happy in drawing the proper picture of God, who otherwise remains an abstract concept. They can turn the entire life experience into yajna, which is sacrifice for the satisfaction of the greatest enjoyer, Yajneshvara. This will make them truly happy both in this lifetime and the infinite future. They simply have to be offered the option and then asked to choose wisely, after careful deliberation.

In Closing:

At least the option to them give,
With eternal happiness to live.

Otherwise in ignorance to remain,
Reward only temporary to gain.

But never satisfied in that pursuit,
Petty and miserable to boot.

Thrilled at every moment can be,
When Krishna with Arjuna to see.

Categories: questions, why so many religions

Tags: bhagavad-gita, dailyprompt, hare krishna, poem, poems, poetry