“After attaining Me, the great souls, who are yogis in devotion, never return to this temporary world, which is full of miseries, because they have attained the highest perfection.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 8.15)

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माम् उपेत्य पुनर् जन्म
दुःखालयम् अशाश्वतम्
नाप्नुवन्ति महात्मानः
संसिद्धिं परमां गताः

mām upetya punar janma
duḥkhālayam aśāśvatam
nāpnuvanti mahātmānaḥ
saṁsiddhiṁ paramāṁ gatāḥ

“Listen, I can tell you that what I am about to describe resonates with people out there. It is the other side to religion, which is easy to overlook. You typically have the divide between believers and nonbelievers. Those who have surrendered themselves, who feel saved, who think they are on the right path in life. Then you merely invert the situation to get the other side. The ones who are not surrendered, who don’t feel they need saving, and don’t think it is possible to choose a right direction in life. Rather, they recommend to do whatever you want, since there is no God.

“The angle of vision I would like you to consider is the one that bases their judgment off of horrific tragedies. This is a legitimate route to reaching a conclusion, precisely because so many people only found faith after some personal elevation. They were down on their luck. They had hit rock bottom. They might have been addicted to drugs and alcohol. Their spouse left them. Their family crumbled. They could only look up; that is how deep they had descended.

“From the lowest of the low, they later reached the highest of the high. They credit God for the turnaround. They feel compelled to save others now. They see God in everything that they do. They proclaim that God is their one and only, their top priority in life. Okay, but what about someone who hasn’t been rescued? They feel that God cannot exist precisely because of the horrors witnessed in life. Some of the things we can’t even describe. An audio recording of the incidents would be too much to handle. How could any rational adult conclude that there is an all-benevolent God after witnessing such tragedies? Do you see what I mean? Why do you not consider that angle of vision?”

In the following hypothetical situation, you happen to stumble upon a speaker occupying an elevated seat in a formal gathering. You could say it is religious in nature, but there does not seem to be any fear. The people in attendance are actually paying attention. They are respectful. They are not counting down the minutes, in eagerness to return home to watch the afternoon sporting matches on television. Rather, they have a genuine interest in the message of the speaker.

The central theme of the discussion on this day is the horrors of material life. That life has the boundaries of birth and death. The person taking birth suffers one misery after another. The four primary miseries are birth, old age, disease, and death. Then there are the three primary sources of misery: from the heavens, from other living beings, and from within. There is the misery of loss, of separation, of defeat. There is the misery of longing after achievement, of feeling empty inside despite having so much. There is the misery of the reality of never again returning to childhood, where there was safety in the care of the adult guardians.

The recommendation from the speaker is to escape. Like gaining release from a prison sentence, the objective should be to end the process of birth altogether. Never take birth again. Never return to the land of miseries. The means of achievement is following spiritual life. It is not a guarantee, either. It is not like signing on a dotted line or checking a box. You have to change consciousness. You have to become conscious of the transcendental nature. A person who carries such a conception of life at the end will attain the transcendental nature.

अन्त-काले च माम् एव
स्मरन् मुक्त्वा कलेवरम्
यः प्रयाति स मद्-भावं
याति नास्त्य् अत्र संशयः

anta-kāle ca mām eva
smaran muktvā kalevaram
yaḥ prayāti sa mad-bhāvaṁ
yāti nāsty atra saṁśayaḥ

“And whoever, at the time of death, quits his body, remembering Me alone, at once attains My nature. Of this there is no doubt.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 8.5)

The talk certainly grabs your attention, but you cannot move beyond the visual. You see, the speaker is advanced in age. You speculate that the reason they have such a negative outlook on life is because of personal experience. They think this world is miserable because they could not succeed. They have a “sour grapes” kind of mentality. That must be the reason, and so they now use that frustration to try to dissuade others from even trying.

The reality is that such individuals are not just speaking from experience. They notice the potential right away. They give the warning so that others do not have to waste their time. You see, the potential for the horrors described above is set at the moment of entry. Just because the incidents are not always broadcast on the news does not mean that everyone will be more or less safe. The beginning point is trauma. The science of self-realization starts with the premise of pessimism.

As far as an unwanted outcome negating the concept of Divinity itself, this conclusion is not based on intelligence. We already witness variety in outcomes based on choice. One person chooses to only eat a few slices of pizza for dinner. They sleep just fine at night. Another person devours an entire pie, since they enjoy the taste. They fail to heed the warnings. They know better, based on past experience, but they proceed down this route anyway.

The second person feels awful the next day. Their stomach protrudes such that the pants don’t fit. The energy levels are low. Making a habit out of this behavior then leads to long-term unwanted consequences, such as high blood pressure and issues with sugar. Everything is based on choice. The negative outcome cannot be blamed on the person who created the field, since there is always a choice in how to proceed.

Moreover, a single negative outcome, which might be considered tragic, is not the end to the story. The living being continues. They never took birth, in fact. They will never die. What we see is merely the change in the manifest condition. We say someone is alive when they are manifest before us. We say they are not living when they are unmanifest, or avyakta. Our perception has no bearing on the nature of existence.

अव्यक्तादीनि भूतानि व्यक्तमध्यानि भारत
अव्यक्तनिधनान्येव तत्र का परिदेवना

avyaktādīni bhūtāni
vyakta-madhyāni bhārata
avyakta-nidhanāny eva
tatra kā paridevanā

“All created beings are unmanifest in their beginning, manifest in their interim state, and unmanifest again when they are annihilated. So what need is there for lamentation?” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 2.28)

The science of self-realization is for declining the option to associate with a temporary playing field, kshetra. This knowledge has been passed forward by both the elderly and the young. A five-year old son of a Daitya king had mastery over this knowledge such that he could explain it even under the greatest duress. He knew that the human life should not be spoiled. It should be utilized for self-realization, such that the vulnerability to ignorance itself would be removed.

मुग्धस्य बाल्ये कैशोरे
क्रीडतो याति विंशतिः
जरया ग्रस्त-देहस्य
यात्य् अकल्पस्य विंशतिः

mugdhasya bālye kaiśore
krīḍato yāti viṁśatiḥ
jarayā grasta-dehasya
yāty akalpasya viṁśatiḥ

“In the tender age of childhood, when everyone is bewildered, one passes ten years. Similarly, in boyhood, engaged in sporting and playing, one passes another ten years. In this way, twenty years are wasted. Similarly, in old age, when one is an invalid, unable to perform even material activities, one passes another twenty years wastefully.” (Prahlada Maharaja, Shrimad Bhagavatam, 7.6.7)

In Closing:

Since from tragedy to lose,
Against religion to choose.

God cannot exist,
Since misery to persist.

But potential reality to distort,
Not just when the news to report.

The wise the future trouble can see,
Recommending liberation for me.

Categories: questions

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