Always Bad Timing

“From the highest planet in the material world down to the lowest, all are places of misery wherein repeated birth and death take place. But one who attains to My abode, O son of Kunti, never takes birth again.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 8.16)

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आ-ब्रह्म-भुवनाल् लोकाः
पुनर् आवर्तिनो ऽर्जुन
माम् उपेत्य तु कौन्तेय
पुनर् जन्म न विद्यते

ā-brahma-bhuvanāl lokāḥ
punar āvartino ‘rjuna
mām upetya tu kaunteya
punar janma na vidyate

“Listen, I am getting too old to keep up with every new thing the kids are doing these days. It gets a little exhausting trying to figure out which app I need to use, for instance. I do know that the traditional ways of gathering information are slowly turning archaic. People get their news from other people. Directly, more often through that new format that I absolutely loathe: the short-form video. Seriously, people, how about reading a book, for a change? Everyone just focuses on how the person looks, how they speak, and what the background is. Those videos don’t really inform. Especially not in sixty second bursts.

“Anyway, I do not begrudge someone having social media or posting to it. Why not share your interests with the world? Why not speak your mind? Why not bypass the corporate interests, who are constantly pushing lies and deceit? At the same time, I have noticed one major problem. Fame? Attention? Duplicity? No, to me, the biggest issue is timing. Let me explain.

“Pretend you just bought these new baking sheets from an online retail outlet. You have had your eye on them for a while. The claim is that these will prevent burning underneath the baked items, such as cookies. You finally give it a try. Everything works wonderfully. You are so happy. You film yourself giving a brief testimonial. You post the video online.

“There is only one problem. Something horrible has happened. In the public space. The story is all over the news. The tragedy affects a prominent person in the political arena. It is all everyone is talking about. Some detestable characters are celebrating the event. Others are saying that it is a wakeup call to the dangers that nice people face. You are not really interested, either way. Not that you wish ill upon others, but you have actually never even heard of the person affected. You live in another country, in fact.

“Except people are all over you in the comment section of your post. They insist that you comment. They claim that your silence on the matter equates to violence. That one viewpoint takes you aback. How is not talking about something a violent act? How is keeping quiet the equivalent of taking a hammer to someone’s head? It makes no sense. You are getting mocked for putting up a video about baking cookies during this sensitive time, when people are grieving.

“I was thinking that perhaps the same criticism can apply towards followers of the Vedic tradition. They have regular appointments for what is known as Hari-katha. These are discussions about the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is known as Hari, among countless other names. Hari-katha involves stories from long ago. Sure, the relevance is timeless. That is why the glorification can continue in an endless way, through the celebration that is nityotsava.

“Still, just consider the timing. You are talking about Hari, sharing the details with others, while one tragedy after another is occurring. I think they have even developed a term for this practice. They call it ‘spiritual bypassing.’ You are pretending that the bad stuff is not happening. You are ignoring reality. What is the proper response to such criticism?”

There is an obvious illusion at play, which is easy to detect once a person takes a step back from the situation. It might be insensitive to say, but the reality is clear. The truth is that it is always bad timing to bring up anything other than tragedy. The person online faces criticism for not commenting on the latest item in the news, but the news ignores the countless tragedies that take place all the time. In a steady manner, with the changing of seasons to match the flow of happiness and sadness, there is suffering, heartache, and injustice across the entire known population of creatures.

मात्रा-स्पर्शास् तु कौन्तेय
शीतोष्ण-सुख-दुःख-दाः
आगमापायिनो ऽनित्यास्
तांस् तितिक्षस्व भारत

mātrā-sparśās tu kaunteya
śītoṣṇa-sukha-duḥkha-dāḥ
āgamāpāyino ‘nityās
tāṁs titikṣasva bhārata

“O son of Kunti, the nonpermanent appearance of happiness and distress, and their disappearance in due course, are like the appearance and disappearance of winter and summer seasons. They arise from sense perception, O scion of Bharata, and one must learn to tolerate them without being disturbed.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 2.14)

Today might be a slow day according to the news, but there is a child somewhere being abused. Tempers are rising within a household such that the husband and wife are about to come to blows. A beloved member of a family is suffering from an illness. They are in their final moments. A corrupt politician is plotting to eliminate one of their opponents, through illegal means. A thief is planning their next heist. The list goes on.

Goswami Tulsidas refers to the material world as shokadhama for a reason. From the highest planet to the lowest, there is birth and death. Within that larger duality we find smaller instances of duality, which occur as often as the clock ticks seconds in a year. When there is acceptance, there is rejection. When there is rejection, there is sadness. When there is association, there is separation. When there is separation, there is despair and hopelessness.

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)

Shrimad Bhagavatam gives us the Sanskrit of “padam padam vipadam.” At every step there is danger. No person is safe. No one is really happy. What they consider to be happiness is actually relief. True happiness is with Hari. Real joy is ananda in a manner that is inexhaustible, akshara. That ananda is currently beyond the limits of our perception. It is avyakta, or unseen. It still exists. Hari-katha is the way to inform people. Hari-katha is the way to bridge the gap. Hari-katha is the way to facilitate the connection to that which is permanent.

“In material existence there is danger at every step. In Shrimad-Bhagavatam (10.14.58) it is said: padam padam yad vipadam na tesham. This material world is not actually a place of residence for an intelligent person or a devotee because here there is danger at every step. Vaikuntha is the real home for the devotee, for there is no anxiety and no danger.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Shrimad Bhagavatam, 4.26.16 Purport)

In Closing:

Bad timing and insensitive too,
So how possibly could you?

Uploading video about baking,
Without look at news taking.

Truth that sadness the steady condition,
Even if not part of latest edition,

As rescue from sound perpetually needed,
Always blessed in Hari-katha proceeded.