“As the embodied soul continually passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. The self-realized soul is not bewildered by such a change.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 2.13)

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देहिनो ऽस्मिन् यथा देहे
कौमारं यौवनं जरा
तथा देहान्तर-प्राप्तिर्
धीरस् तत्र न मुह्यति

dehino ‘smin yathā dehe
kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā
tathā dehāntara-prāptir
dhīras tatra na muhyati

1. From womb to infant

“They say I was in there. I first showed up as a blip on a display from a machine. Everything started to develop after that. They needed to confirm the blip first. That was supposedly the proof that I was there, that I existed. Hard to conceive of having no body parts, no pun intended, but that is the typical flow of development. I had no clue what was going on. I am just thankful to have had loving family around, with my parents and their parents and extended family.”

2. From infant to toddler

“One story from my childhood is that when I was learning to crawl, I ended up moving backwards. My older brother thought it was a great tragedy, that I would never learn to walk properly. My grandmother reassured him that everything would be okay. I don’t remember any of this, of course. I am walking today. I can move around just fine. I guess I eventually figured things out.”

3. From toddler to adolescent

“They say puberty is the worst. I can attest to that, and there was certainly no forewarning. Your voice changes. You develop these new interests. You don’t really get help from anyone else. While extended family used to be excited to see you, in laughing and smiling at your childishness, they no longer have the same cheer. They expect more out of you. I swear, that had to be the worst period of my life.”

4. From adolescent to adult

“Suddenly, I became old enough to go out into the real world. I could drive a car. I could live on my own, in a boarding school. I could do my own laundry. I could eat whatever I wanted. It was great. The thing is, why did it take so long? Why did I have to suffer through so many years as a dependent? I never want to return to that helpless state.”

5. From adult to old age

“I am not one of these people to complain. I do not take pleasure in trading stories about medical ailments or unexpected pain in various body parts. At the same time, I cannot deny the reality. Recently, simply lifting my right arm in the air has become difficult. There is something in my shoulder which is tight. It feels like one of the muscles needs to be loosened. This never used to happen before. I am not that old, even. I can only imagine how bad it is going to be in the future.”

…

श्रोत्रं चक्षुः स्पर्शनं च
रसनं घ्राणम् एव च
अधिष्ठाय मनश् चायं
विषयान् उपसेवते

śrotraṁ cakṣuḥ sparśanaṁ ca
rasanaṁ ghrāṇam eva ca
adhiṣṭhāya manaś cāyaṁ
viṣayān upasevate

“The living entity, thus taking another gross body, obtains a certain type of ear, tongue, and nose and sense of touch, which are grouped about the mind. He thus enjoys a particular set of sense objects.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 15.9)

His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada asks the question, under the larger context of the need for spiritual life. A person could accurately accuse him of carrying bias in the matter, as there is the outward exhibition of the devotional culture, in worshiping the deity, which is the saguna version of Brahman, and focus on the chanting of the holy names: Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. If there is bias, it is not without cause.

The question we reference pertains to the usefulness of working on matters, setting objectives and goals, and desperately seeking certain states of being when there is helplessness at the foundation. That is to say, those things people are interested in the most have the least viability. The objects related to the interests are automatically subject to destruction. It is like there is an expiration date as soon as the product leaves the assembly line.

नासतो विद्यते भावो नाभावो विद्यते सतः
उभयोरपि दृष्टोऽन्तस्त्वनयोस्तत्त्वदर्शिभिः

nāsato vidyate bhāvo
nābhāvo vidyate sataḥ
ubhayor api dṛṣṭo ’ntas
tv anayos tattva-darśibhiḥ

“Those who are seers of the truth have concluded that of the nonexistent there is no endurance, and of the existent there is no cessation. This seers have concluded by studying the nature of both.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 2.16)

The wise transcendentalist focuses on that which has endurance. To shift in focus requires an identification. The Sanskrit is athato brahma-jijnasa. This refers to an inquiry, with the need arising from birth in the human species. The response to this inquiry is aham brahmasmi. I am a spirit soul. I am part of the Brahman energy. I never became qualified for the identification. I have always been Brahman. I will always be Brahman.

What will not continue is my temporary identification. We see from the above review that the life experience involves change. You could say that change is the one constant, at least with respect to the outer covering. The other constant is on the inside. This is what truly identifies us. I am not of a particular religion. I am not from a particular region. I am not of a specific race or ethnicity. I am always who I am, which is spirit soul.

That soul is part and parcel of the complete whole. The proper objective should be to work on shifting my identification from false to real. Otherwise, whatever I work towards will be destroyed. How wise is it to try to remain alive forever when I couldn’t control what happened to me before? I couldn’t control so many changes, and so how am I suddenly going to halt the final change, which is death?

In Bhagavad-gita, Shri Krishna explains that this final change is natural. The dhira individual is not bewildered by this change nor the previous ones. To be dhira is to be sober, rational, and intelligent. We have this potential. We should not let anyone tell us otherwise. That is the mission of the saintly person of the Vaishnava tradition. They want everyone to know their true identity. They want everyone to realize that identity and then transition their efforts towards the highest destination, one that matches the nature of the identity to begin with. That destination is Vaikuntha, which is a place free of anxieties.

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

“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)

In Closing:

As Vaikuntha known,
By shastra shown.

To be the final place,
Where time not to erase.

Our identity and experiences true,
Controlled by Supreme Proprietor who.

Otherwise helpless at every turn,
Better for endurance to earn.

Categories: the five

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