“The Supreme Lord is situated in everyone’s heart, O Arjuna, and is directing the wanderings of all living entities, who are seated as on a machine, made of the material energy.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 18.61)

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ईश्वरः सर्व-भूतानां
हृद्-देशे ऽर्जुन तिष्ठति
भ्रामयन् सर्व-भूतानि
यन्त्रारूढानि मायया

īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ
hṛd-deśe ‘rjuna tiṣṭhati
bhrāmayan sarva-bhūtāni
yantrārūḍhāni māyayā

To the person who has realized their suffering, which perhaps extends back across several lifetimes, who has now changed their priorities in life, finally pointed in the proper direction of apavarga, which is liberation, the spiritual master is everything. The guru is a single person, but their influence feels as if an entire army of supporters has arrived on a rescue mission, to lift the individual up and into the light. As if finally out of the darkness of ignorance, the occasion of Vyasa Puja provides yet another opportunity to attempt to repay the favor, through continuous and steady glorification.

“…the word pavarga signifies our struggle for existence and our meeting with defeat, exhaustion, bondage, fearfulness and, at last, death. Apavarga means that which can nullify all of these material conditions. Krishna is said to be the giver of apavarga, the path of liberation.” (Shrila Prabhupada, The Nectar of Devotion, Ch 59)

As an attempt to properly convey the importance of the guru, we take a hypothetical situation of destitution, despair, and hopelessness.  We pretend that we are stranded on an island.  It was an accident, you see. This was not the expected outcome. It is a journey which ended in disaster. We are all alone, without hope in sight. We happen to find this unmarked box, dark in color. It is rather heavy. There is a latch at one portion, on the side, but we don’t know how to work it. We resign ourselves to the fact that this box will only be used for resting or maybe serving as a weighted object. We don’t mind this particular use, because at this point anything is better than nothing.

Later on, through good fortune, we happen to meet someone. We are no longer stranded. We are on the path to rescue. This person sees the box and then offers a glance of bewilderment. They wonder what we have been doing this entire time. You see, the box opens up. This person has no struggle. They have no trouble in moving the latch a certain way, such that the sides of the box unfold, opening up to show something amazing.

You see, there is a communication device inside; a functioning one, at that. It has been there this entire time. We did not know that our rescue was nearby. We were literally sitting on it. This person is a savior for showing us the way, for helping us out of a difficult situation. Imagine if we had never met them. Imagine if we had continued to ignore something so valuable, that was so close in proximity.

Bhagavad-gita explains that the living entities are seated on something like a machine. The living entity under this definition is not limited to the human species. The machine is not exclusive to the human form. Any form of life that we see has this same dichotomy.  There is the machine and there is the operator. The Sanskrit terms are kshetra and kshetrajna. There is the field and there is the knower of that field.

We have the literal field that has the potential to produce grains, such as wheat and rice. The farmer manages this field. They know how to operate the different machines to get the field to produce on time. Despite the most expert application, there is still reliance on external factors. The farmer cannot make it rain, for instance. They cannot guarantee a certain yield at the end of the season, though they can try their best to make the effort worth it. They want to make the karma reach saphala, which is success.

The individual is seated on this machine of the playing field that is the body. They are the knower within that field. They make choices. They can follow different paths. At the end of the day, they are not in full control. A higher power has to sanction the results beforehand. When that sanction is lacking, no amount of maintenance, fuel, or hope will allow the machine to work as intended. In this regard, the living entity is not really the doer.

प्रकृतेः क्रियमाणानि
गुणैः कर्माणि सर्वशः
अहङ्कार-विमूढात्मा
कर्ताहम् इति मन्यते

prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni
guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ
ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā
kartāham iti manyate

“The bewildered spirit soul, under the influence of the three modes of material nature, thinks himself to be the doer of activities, which are in actuality carried out by nature.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 3.27)

We are still within the field. We are still the knower. We cannot direct outcomes with complete certainty, so what are the options moving forward? The spiritual master advises in favor of yajna. Follow the recommendation of Shri Krishna to turn the entire life experience into sacrifice. Do everything for Krishna. He is the greatest well-wisher, after all. He is the reservoir of pleasure. He is the one directing the movements of the machine. He is that invisible force that we know exists but have trouble identifying. He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

यत् करोषि यद् अश्नासि
यज् जुहोषि ददासि यत्
यत् तपस्यसि कौन्तेय
तत् कुरुष्व मद्-अर्पणम्

yat karoṣi yad aśnāsi
yaj juhoṣi dadāsi yat
yat tapasyasi kaunteya
tat kuruṣva mad-arpaṇam

“O son of Kunti, all that you do, all that you eat, all that you offer and give away, as well as all austerities that you may perform, should be done as an offering unto Me.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 9.27)

His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada provides a practical implementation to meet the potential of an entire lifetime of yajna.  The negative aspects, nivritti, involve restriction to foster desirable attributes such as honesty, cleanliness, austerity, and compassion. Fasting on appropriate days, keeping kama in check, and avoiding the common downfalls of material life, such as addiction to drugs and alcohol and too much attachment for sex life.

The positive aspects, pravritti, involve chanting the holy names:  Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. Preparing and offering food before the deity. Worshiping the deity, in creating an environment that resembles the laboratory for the scientist. We get to use our machine for good, but without expectation of a personal reward in return. This is the greatest reward we could ever receive, anyway. Rather than provide money, wealth, or comfort of the temporary variety, the guru gives eternal life, through an eternal engagement, that brings bliss at every second.

मच्-चित्ता मद्-गत-प्राणा
बोधयन्तः परस्परम्
कथयन्तश् च मां नित्यं
तुष्यन्ति च रमन्ति च

mac-cittā mad-gata-prāṇā
bodhayantaḥ parasparam
kathayantaś ca māṁ nityaṁ
tuṣyanti ca ramanti ca

“The thoughts of My pure devotees dwell in Me, their lives are surrendered to Me, and they derive great satisfaction and bliss enlightening one another and conversing about Me.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 10.9)

In Closing:

Guru this gift giving,
That eternally living.

Life of devotion true,
Dedicated to Krishna who.

Where offerings to make,
Towards deity to take.

Like machine rightly positioned,
The jiva no longer conditioned.

Categories: holiday, vyasa puja

Tags: dailyprompt, guru, poem, poems, poetry, prabhupada, vyasa puja