“O Dhananjaya, all this work cannot bind Me. I am ever detached, seated as though neutral.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 9.9)

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न च मां तानि कर्माणि
निबध्नन्ति धनञ्जय
उदासीन-वद् आसीनम्
असक्तं तेषु कर्मसु

na ca māṁ tāni karmāṇi
nibadhnanti dhanañjaya
udāsīna-vad āsīnam
asaktaṁ teṣu karmasu

We are asked to believe in God. We are supposed to submit to this higher power. We are tiny, helpless, and always in misery. He is massive, formidable, and wields the greatest authority. He can make anything happen in a second. The Sanskrit to describe the before-and-after is satya-sankalpa. There is sankalpa, or a desire, and the result is fixed. There is truth, satya, to the entire proposal. Meanwhile, we constantly toggle between sankalpa and vikalpa. One day we want something. The next day we hate that thing we wanted. We don’t always get what we want. We are frustrated. We become angry. We follow through on actions later regretted. It would have been better for those thoughts to remain exactly where they started, in the mind.

क्रोधाद् भवति सम्मोहः
सम्मोहात् स्मृति-विभ्रमः
स्मृति-भ्रंशाद् बुद्धि-नाशो
बुद्धि-नाशात् प्रणश्यति

krodhād bhavati sammohaḥ
sammohāt smṛti-vibhramaḥ
smṛti-bhraṁśād buddhi-nāśo
buddhi-nāśāt praṇaśyati

“From anger, delusion arises, and from delusion bewilderment of memory. When memory is bewildered, intelligence is lost, and when intelligence is lost, one falls down again into the material pool.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 2.63)

If we are ready to believe in God, just what exactly are we believing in? Who is He? Where is He? What does He look like? For clearing the confusion, we present the following images. One is based on speculation, taken hold and established across centuries. The other is based on information passed along in texts which have no official date of inception. This is because the texts themselves describe a tradition rooted in sound, wherein the written word was after the fact, established as a way to retain truths in memory, smriti, due to the degradation in mental capacity of the average human being.

1. Angry and vindictive

In this image, the object of worship is mad. He is upset. At who, exactly? Try practically everyone. It is almost like He is seething with rage. He witnesses the gross neglect in official alignment with an established institution meant to instill fear and dread in the population of sinners. Because of that neglect, those sinners will be punished. They will have to suffer. For how long, exactly? Try eternity.

There is no other opportunity. Better make the correction today. Declare your allegiance now, and preferably in front of witnesses. Better be sure that everyone knows you are a believer. If not, you are doomed. The man upstairs is watching. He is taking notice. You ask about those who never reach the stage of maturity, who will never get to make this all-important choice. Well, that is another problem. Stop asking questions. Don’t be a smart guy. Just submit. Right now. You don’t want to make God any angrier than He already is, do you?

2. Neutral and at peace

In this vision, the Supreme Lord has the Sanskrit description of atmarama. He is completely satisfied in Himself. He does not require associates, even, though there is the goddess of fortune nearby, massaging His lotus-like feet. There is the serpent bed who has so many hoods, where each one is used to continuously glorify the one whose features, gunas, are transcendental, divyam, and unending, ananta.

Just what about the population of creatures, then? This person who lays down to rest is known as Narayana. His breathing creates the universes, maintains them, and then destroys them. What happens in between, during the period of maintenance, is not really that significant. Narayana is not interested. For certain, He is always wishing well. He provides a roadmap for curing the condition of rebirth. Narayana wishes for everyone to return to the akshara realm, which is inexhaustible. But if they choose not to, Narayana does not lose. There is no cause for frustration. There is no reason to be upset.

यद्यद्विभूतिमत्सत्त्वं श्रीमदूर्जितमेव वा
तत्तदेवावगच्छ त्वं मम तेजोऽशसम्भवम्

yadyadvibhūtimatsattvaṃ śrīmadūrjitameva vā
tattadevāvagaccha tvaṃ mama tejo’śasambhavam

“Know that all beautiful, glorious, and mighty creations spring from but a spark of My splendor.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 10.41)

…

Stepping outside the realm of dogmatic insistence and religious affiliation for a moment, which vision makes more sense? Which individual is superior? If we take the divine aspect out, we can try to assess from our personal experience. There is that one person who is always unhappy. They are worse than the snake. The envious man can never be satisfied, whereas the snake can at least be charmed.

The person who is always angry fails to realize the insignificance of the issues over which they are obsessed. On the other side, we have the cool customer. They are always sober in thought, dhira. They are not affected by the ups and downs. Surely, they experience emotions. They have happiness and sadness. They regret certain actions and hope to strive to do better in the future. But they are not obsessed over what others are doing.

From our personal experience, we say that the latter is superior. We at least praise them for their way of going about things. We criticize the first person. We witness their behavior from afar and hope to stay away from it. That person who is always angry borders on psychotic, to the point where they might cause untold damage and harm to others. Innocent people might get caught in the crosshairs.

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)

The vision of God as Narayana makes more sense. He would have no reason to be upset with us. If we fail to surrender in this lifetime, we continue on in the next. We have already experienced many births. As explained to Arjuna, only the Supreme Lord can remember the past perfectly. We forget as soon as we leave the body and subsequently take a new one.

समो ऽहं सर्व-भूतेषु
न मे द्वेष्यो ऽस्ति न प्रियः
ये भजन्ति तु मां भक्त्या
मयि ते तेषु चाप्य् अहम्

samo ‘haṁ sarva-bhūteṣu
na me dveṣyo ‘sti na priyaḥ
ye bhajanti tu māṁ bhaktyā
mayi te teṣu cāpy aham

“I envy no one, nor am I partial to anyone. I am equal to all. But whoever renders service unto Me in devotion is a friend, is in Me, and I am also a friend to him.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 9.29)

If Narayana is neutral, then what need is there for religion? There is a special benefit for the devotees. To those who consider Narayana a friend, a well-wisher, and the highest priority for satisfaction as the beneficiary of the vibrant spirit within, there is reciprocation. The one who has everything, who needs nothing, becomes a friend. He lends a helping hand. He gives meaning to the term upasana. This is worship in the formal sense, where the devotee moves closer to the object of worship.

In Closing:

If worship option choosing,
Closer in direction moving.

To the one casually at rest,
Creating through effortless breath.

The universes and more sustaining,
Destroyed after sufficiently maintaining.

With changes nothing really to do,
But always wishing well too.

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Tags: dailyprompt, god, hare krishna, hinduism, poem, poems, poetry, religion