“This knowledge is the king of education, the most secret of all secrets. It is the purest knowledge, and because it gives direct perception of the self by realization, it is the perfection of religion. It is everlasting, and it is joyfully performed.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 9.2)

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राज-विद्या राज-गुह्यं
पवित्रम् इदम् उत्तमम्
प्रत्यक्षावगमं धर्म्यं
सु-सुखं कर्तुम् अव्ययम्

rāja-vidyā rāja-guhyaṁ
pavitram idam uttamam
pratyakṣāvagamaṁ dharmyaṁ
su-sukhaṁ kartum avyayam

1. The magnetic pull of old habits

“Sorry, but I just couldn’t do it. I enjoy my morning coffee too much to dedicate myself to the routine. The stress of the day requires some sort of pain relieving elixir at night. I was told that I could not stay in the temple unless I gave up these things. What can I say? I am a failure. I feel bad about it, but at the same time I am more relaxed now.”

2. The austerity of waking up early

“Sorry, but I just couldn’t do it. I am not a morning person. I am well-aware of the auspiciousness associated with brahma-muhurta. I tried my best. I did like it when I woke up around that time and chanted the holy names: Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. Still, it was not going to work for me long term.”

“The time early in the morning, one and a half hours before sunrise, is called brahma-muhurta. During this brahma-muhurta, spiritual activities are recommended. Spiritual activities performed early in the morning have a greater effect than in any other part of the day.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Shrimad Bhagavatam, 3.20.46 Purport)

3. Pastoral abuse

“Are you kidding me? You are trying to guilt me for leaving? You should be thankful I stayed as long as I did. I should write a book about all the corruption I witnessed. I knew something was suspect right from the start, when I wanted to get initiated. I read the books of the founding acharya. Everyone else was quoting from the same books. We were singing prayers to that acharya in the morning program.

“Then, at the time of initiation they asked me to pick a spiritual leader from a list, to be my guru. Like going through a phone book or something. I know none of the people listed. It is like they wanted me to order my Christmas presents from this year’s version of the Sears catalog. Instead, I call it ‘The Guru Catalog.’

“Not to mention so many people I served with were advised to surrender to the founding acharya, who is no longer in this world. This is after, of course, the gurus they chose from the catalog ‘fell down.’ No, not down the stairs or anything. The leaders ended up doing horrible things. Their official fall only occurred after the offenses were discovered. We all knew about it beforehand. Nobody said anything for fear of being kicked out. They don’t take too kindly to whistleblowers around here. Anyway, I am just glad to be done with these people. I will never go back.”

4. Infighting

“Sorry, but I just couldn’t do it. The leaders in that place were some of the most arrogant people you will meet in your life. They are wildly corrupt. They interfered with my work left and right. I was never allowed to share an independent thought. I had to move just like everyone else. I had to march to the beat of their drum, literally step for step. They tried to turn me into a robot. That’s alright. I am free now. I can provide for myself. I’d much rather work for an ‘eww dirty karmi’ than these people.”

5. Lack of meaningful work

“Sorry, I just couldn’t do it. I felt like my talents weren’t being utilized properly. I get it that some people like to go out in public, to chant and dance, to make a huge spectacle of themselves. That is good for them, but I have a different nature. I am more reserved. I am more intellectually inclined. But I had no choice in the matter. I had to do as I was told. That’s okay. I am much happier now, being away from that scene.”

…

This is perhaps the most visible vulnerability. In the sell of Krishna consciousness, in trying to convince others to take up the path of bhakti-yoga, irrespective of their existing religious affiliation, tradition inherited from within the family, or sentiment towards the presence of a higher being in general, the promise is for change. It will be noticeable. The change will be demonstrable. It might even be measurable, especially when taking anarthas into account, which are habits and behaviors deemed unprofitable for the long-term purification of the consciousness. And that is the ultimate objective, after all, to purify one’s existence.

The vulnerability is failure. At least with other religions, you cannot really test the premise. The promise is for salvation that manifests specifically in the afterlife. They say you will get to enjoy with women who have never been with another man. You get endless riches. You are blessed with eternal life, in a way not clearly defined. Whatever the specific promise, you have to wait to see it. You cannot expect anything much different in the immediate term.

Whereas with Krishna consciousness, you are supposed to experience a higher taste. The words from Bhagavad-gita are param drishtva. You essentially see something superior. This is the easier way of shedding unwanted behaviors. Instead of thinking about what you are missing from morning until night, you are on to something better. You have that higher taste, and so you will never settle for the inferior again.

विषया विनिवर्तन्ते
निराहारस्य देहिनः
रस-वर्जं रसो ऽप्य् अस्य
परं दृष्ट्वा निवर्तते

viṣayā vinivartante
nirāhārasya dehinaḥ
rasa-varjaṁ raso ‘py asya
paraṁ dṛṣṭvā nivartate

“The embodied soul may be restricted from sense enjoyment, though the taste for sense objects remains. But, ceasing such engagements by experiencing a higher taste, he is fixed in consciousness.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 2.59)

But from the above reviewed examples, we see that people might leave. The caretakers will say that this is a failure. The people who left fell back into maya, you see. They succumbed to illusion. They didn’t have what it takes to make it in the timeless tradition, which has been passed down through elevated spiritual teachers, in what is known as the parampara system.

एवं परम्परा-प्राप्तम्
इमं राजर्षयो विदुः
स कालेनेह महता
योगो नष्टः परन्तप

evaṁ paramparā-prāptam
imaṁ rājarṣayo viduḥ
sa kāleneha mahatā
yogo naṣṭaḥ parantapa

“This supreme science was thus received through the chain of disciplic succession, and the saintly kings understood it in that way. But in course of time the succession was broken, and therefore the science as it is appears to be lost.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 4.2)

The reality is that most of these so-called failures have more to do with external circumstances than any supposed deficiency in the discipline itself. His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada refers to bhakti-yoga as Krishna consciousness for a reason. It is a way of changing the way we think. It is moving from the temporary to the permanent. It is trying to remember the Supreme Lord, in His beautiful, original form, as much as we can. It is working for His benefit, as directly recommended to the bow-warrior named Arjuna.

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)

If the critics want to use the examples of apparent failure described above as a way to discredit Krishna consciousness itself, there is something overlooked in their flawed analysis. There is supposed to be consciousness of Krishna. That Krishna happens to be the personal side to the impersonal understanding. The impersonal understanding is always an option, though not recommended for those who are embodied. The impersonal understanding incorporates the entire creation. The move towards that understanding is appreciation.

क्लेशो ऽधिकतरस् तेषाम्
अव्यक्तासक्त-चेतसाम्
अव्यक्ता हि गतिर् दुःखं
देहवद्भिर् अवाप्यते

kleśo ‘dhikataras teṣām
avyaktāsakta-cetasām
avyaktā hi gatir duḥkhaṁ
dehavadbhir avāpyate

“For those whose minds are attached to the unmanifested, impersonal feature of the Supreme, advancement is very troublesome. To make progress in that discipline is always difficult for those who are embodied.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 12.5)

How can there be a deficiency in appreciating the sum total of everything? Every person already appreciates. It is a natural tendency. Even the most miserable person, petty, vindictive, and spiteful, appreciates the forces of nature that deliver tragic outcomes to others. Understanding the virat-rupa, the universal form, is like extending the appreciation to the highest factor there is. This appreciation can never be invalid. It can never be the wrong way to go.

Rather than give up hope due to bad experiences, the better way is to search out ideal conditions. If that means living outside of an institution, in chanting the maha-mantra in isolation, in writing down appreciations and realizations in a personal journal, then there should be full encouragement offered. One way or another, a person should advance in their understanding of Krishna, since that is the king of education, which will bring boundless joy to those who are enlightened.

राजन् संस्मृत्य संस्मृत्य
संवादम् इमम् अद्भुतम्
केशवार्जुनयोः पुण्यं
हृष्यामि च मुहुर् मुहुः

rājan saṁsmṛtya saṁsmṛtya
saṁvādam imam adbhutam
keśavārjunayoḥ puṇyaṁ
hṛṣyāmi ca muhur muhuḥ

“O King, as I repeatedly recall this wondrous and holy dialogue between Krishna and Arjuna, I take pleasure, being thrilled at every moment.” (Sanjaya, Bhagavad-gita, 18.76)

Someone like Sanjaya experiences a thrill simply by remembering the scene of Krishna delivering Bhagavad-gita to Arjuna. That experience is not based on conditions. No one can take that thrill away from Sanjaya. It is his valued possession. It is transcendental in nature.

In Closing:

Of critical association bereft,
Because that temple finally left.

Too much for me to take,
Honesty and decency to forsake.

By leaders corrupt and vindictive,
The innocent whistleblowers evicted.

Truth that never on conditions to base,
Success in vision of Sanjaya to chase.

Categories: the five

Tags: bhagavad-gita, dailyprompt, god, hare krishna, poem, poems, poetry