“O scion of Bharata [Arjuna], O conquerer of the foe, all living entities are born into delusion, overcome by the dualities of desire and hate.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 7.27)

Download as podcast episode (right click and save)

इच्छाद्वेषसमुत्थेन द्वन्द्वमोहेन भारत
सर्वभूतानि संमोहं सर्गे यान्ति परन्तप

icchādveṣasamutthena dvandvamohena bhārata
sarvabhūtāni saṃmohaṃ sarge yānti parantapa

“What’s your take on the idea of settling? Let me provide the context. Someone is sick and tired of answering the question of why they are not married. They are still young enough to start a family and raise children, but they live by themselves. They are steady and dependable, otherwise. They have a job. They have an income they can rely upon. They support themselves. It is just that they are alone. This is how other people see it. These other people wonder what the deal is.

“The person in question responds that they have not met anyone they really like. It has been this way all along. They have never been in a relationship. They are obstinate. They refuse to settle. They are waiting until they meet the right person. If that meeting never takes place, they are fine with things staying as they are.

“We don’t have to focus on relationships, necessarily. What would you say to people who refuse to settle? They demand perfection in their area of interest, whatever that interest may be. I have never really considered the idea, myself. I guess you could compare it to laying up in the game of golf. You decide to chip the next shot so that it lands right in front of the water. This requires an extra stroke, in a game where strokes are counted, where the lowest tally determines the winner. The other option is to go for it, where you take the larger club out of the bag and try to land the ball across the water. Of course, this is a riskier play. The player laying up is essentially settling for a higher score. Which way is better?”

We could try to moderate our tone in responding, but the reality is that the proposal itself is preposterous. It is ridiculous. Insert your preferred term for that which evokes laughter and mockery and you would still not hit the mark. This is because the living entity, no matter the form they inhabit, is constantly settling.

It begins at the time of birth. The child has to settle for the parents they have. One of those parents might soon fly away, overwhelmed by the responsibility of maintaining a family. The child then has to settle for life with one parent. If something gets in the way, that same child might have to settle for living with extended family, such as the grandparents, aunts, or uncles. The child has to settle for the food placed on the dinner table, the square footage of the residence they inhabit, and the clothes hanging in the closet.

The child has to settle for the school they are placed in by the guardians. In most cases, those guardians have to settle for the school that is available in their area. The school district is based on geographical boundaries. The child has to settle for the teachers they receive in school, the classmates sitting next to them, the climate within the classroom, and the kind of food served in the cafeteria.

The same child then has choices to make in adulthood. If they see everyone around them panicking over a crisis entirely manufactured by corrupt actors in the government, in the media, and in medical establishments, do they say something? Should they say something? They might lose their job, as a result. They might be shunned by their own family and friends. This person has to settle for the circumstances, no matter the decision they make.

The adult has to settle for the climate around them. They have to settle for the foods that they can properly digest, even though their colleague may be able to eat other categories of food without issue. This person has to settle for the decline of the body brought about by aging. They have to settle for the duplicity of their managers at the office. They have to settle for the occasional meltdowns at home by their spouse.

Our cursory review shows how ridiculous it is to think that someone can go through life without settling. Bhagavad-gita already revealed the truth thousands of years ago. The living entities in this world are struggling. They are overcome by the dualities of attraction and aversion. These are like two endpoints in a padded cell. You run towards attraction only to hit a wall. You quickly run in the other direction, in a kind of rebound, towards aversion. Again, you hit a wall. After a while, you don’t know what to do. The whole experience is bewildering.

This is why the wise point towards the exit. Work in a way such that you will no longer assume a material body. When you are liberated, there is no more settling. The same factor of time, whose Sanskrit name also applies to death, no longer has an inhibiting influence. The way towards liberation is to connect with the source of the material and spiritual worlds. There is help along the way. The object of that worship provides what the devotee is missing and preserves what they already have. Upon being informed of this option, no sane person would choose otherwise.

अनन्याश् चिन्तयन्तो मां
ये जनाः पर्युपासते
तेषां नित्याभियुक्तानां
योग-क्षेमं वहाम्य् अहम्

ananyāś cintayanto māṁ
ye janāḥ paryupāsate
teṣāṁ nityābhiyuktānāṁ
yoga-kṣemaṁ vahāmy aham

“But those who worship Me with devotion, meditating on My transcendental form – to them I carry what they lack and preserve what they have.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 9.22)

In Closing:

Inside the padded cell,
Attraction and aversion to tell.

Settling for the limits by nature to impose,
Only a fool thinking boundaries can expose.

Saint opening liberation option,
Ready for immediate adoption.

For the sober and the sane,
Never again to choose the same.

Categories: questions

Tags: dailyprompt, hare krishna, life, poem, poems, poetry, relationships