Giving Shelter To The Shelterless

“Engage your mind always in thinking of Me, offer obeisances and worship Me. Being completely absorbed in Me, surely you will come to Me.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 9.34)

Download this episode (right click and save)

मन्-मना भव मद्-भक्तो
मद्-याजी मां नमस्कुरु
माम् एवैष्यसि युक्त्वैवम्
आत्मानं मत्-परायणः

man-manā bhava mad-bhakto
mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru
mām evaiṣyasi yuktvaivam
ātmānaṁ mat-parāyaṇaḥ

“Just what exactly is the spiritual master after? The guru from an unknown place, from a tradition foreign to the area, who speaks an ancient language, who uses one analogy after another to get their points across – just what are they doing here? Why does everyone offer so much respect? What is so valuable in the presentation?

“Is that why a person becomes an officially recognized guru? They want the fame. They like the attention. They crave the notoriety. They love to travel from place to place, without spending a dime, with people attending to their every need. They never have to enter a kitchen again, if they don’t want to. They never have to drive a car, sit in traffic with people complaining in the backseat, or worry about meeting next month’s mortgage payment. They have everything they could ever want, and all they do in return is sit on a high seat and tell everyone else how much in illusion they are, that they should drastically shift their priorities if they want any happiness at all.”

There will be cheaters, liars, and thieves within any field of endeavor. To assist in filtering out the genuine from the pack, we can consider the following hypothetical story. We place ourselves into the role of the lead character. We happen to be a person of influence. We are prominently known in the community. We are successful. We have sufficient resources to support many generations within our own family. Everything is going well.

On one particular day, we are touring a local orphanage. This place houses many young children, spanning a wide range of ages. From infants and toddlers to teenagers and those ready to attend university. The visuals are heartbreaking. The people running the orphanage try their best to put on a good face. They obviously prepared for our visit. The children are well-dressed, polite, and all smiles. The facilities look decent enough, but deep down we understand that the reality does not match the rosy picture.

These children have no one to support them. Through the circumstances in life, for whatever reason, they are all alone. We can’t help but think back to our own childhood. The love. The attention. Someone always asking about our welfare. Someone correcting us when we went astray. Someone worrying if we are not back home in time. Someone sacrificing for our benefit. There is so much we took for granted. We never realized how good we had it until we interacted with those who are without.

Deep inside, there is this irrational desire. A reflexive impulse of sorts. We are not sharing it with anyone. We can’t help but consider it, though. Given our means, our blessings, and our standing within the world, we wish we could act out on this particular desire.

The thing we want most at this moment is to adopt all of the suffering children. Every single one of them. Bring them into our family. Care for them. Correct them. Guide them. Be there for them. Never let them think that there is no hope in this dark, cold, and cruel world. Let them be uplifted. Let them reach their full potential. Let them find work that makes a meaningful impact, that leaves something important behind for future generations to carry forward.

Of course, this desire cannot manifest in reality. It is simply not possible. If allowed, which children could we take? How do we choose? Why should one be given priority over another? Such a heartbreaking situation. We now almost want to forget the experience. How could life be so cruel to so many? What have these children done wrong? No one deserves such a fate.

This story helps to explain the mission of the genuine saint of the Vedic tradition. They are indeed trying to adopt the entire world, to give shelter to the shelterless. After all, the relationships we have are only temporary. Not every person is guaranteed to have a lifetime’s worth of interaction with their parents. Sometimes brothers and sisters can turn into the worst enemies. The government locks you in your home for two years, on suspicion of a contagious illness that you are not even sure you have. Everyone is in it for themselves. They are envious of your position. They do not wish you well.

Except the guru does. They want only the best for me. They make the sacrifice to travel from place to place, to widely disseminate the message of the bhagavata. This is the way towards transcendence, for connecting with the person who has always been our best friend. He has been steady in this role, and will continue to remain by our side. We have simply forgotten Him.

दंपति रस रसना दसन परिजन बदन सुगेह
तुलसी हर हित बरन सिसु संपति सहज सनेह

daṃpati rasa rasanā dasana parijana badana sugeha
tulasī hara hita barana sisu saṃpati sahaja saneha

“The tongue and its taste are the husband and wife, the teeth are the relatives, and the mouth is the beautiful home. Lord Shiva’s cherished syllables [Ra + ma] are the children, and natural love for them is the wealth, says Tulsi.” (Dohavali, 24)

If you have no other shelter, you can chant the holy names. You can say “Krishna”. You can say “Rama”. You can repeat the sacred sound vibration of “Narayana”. You can hold on to these names through a systematic implementation of what is known as yoga. The guru teaches this yoga. They teach in a variety of ways.

They sometimes arrive at a local program, to instruct directly. They sometimes publish their words of instruction in a physical form, such as a book or tape recording. They might then create a mechanism for the widespread distribution of such media. The intent is always the same: to give shelter. For rescuing us from the loneliness caused by illusion, there is no proper repayment. We can only try to offer the same to others, in fidelity with the tradition.

In Closing:

This world heartless and cruel,
The illusion only to fool.

That others care to take,
Or proper shelter to make.

But never truly alone,
Light by the guru shown.

That friend in Supreme to call,
The greatest well-wisher of all.