“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)

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इच्छाद्वेषसमुत्थेन द्वन्द्वमोहेन भारत
सर्वभूतानि संमोहं सर्गे यान्ति परन्तप

icchādveṣasamutthena dvandvamohena bhārata
sarvabhūtāni saṃmohaṃ sarge yānti parantapa

They tell you that the sky is the limit. Whatever it is you want to reach for, go for it. Do not let anyone or anything hold you back. This is your life. This is your one opportunity. Do not squander it. Do not settle for anything but success. Put in the hard work. You will not regret it later on. All of the limitations are self-imposed. Break out of the cycle of depression, sadness, and despair. Rely on hope, hard work, and patience.

The reality is that the living being negotiates from the time of birth up until the very end. They have to settle for what they can get by with, or get away with, depending on your perspective. Bhagavad-gita offers some hope, provided that a person come to terms with their true position within this world.

The following hypothetical account helps to illustrate the helplessness the living being experiences throughout their lifetime, in the one that they can remember. Imagine that you are at home one day, relaxing. There are no pressing errands. There are no responsibilities that you have to tend to. The day begins peacefully, but ends in chaos. The transformation kicks into gear when there is someone at the door. The ringing bell is the alert. To your surprise, it is one of your friends. They, too, have the day off. They decided to bring along their small children. School is closed, you see, and these kids have nowhere else to go.

A few minutes later the doorbell rings again. It is another one of your friends. You are not that close with this person, but they were alerted by the first friend that everyone is heading to your house. Without asking permission and without prior notice, that place you looked forward to enjoying the rest of the day is now the hot spot. Of course, the guests keep arriving. Too many small children to keep count; it is beginning to resemble a daycare facility or an indoor playground.

Throughout the day, you can be heard offering the following warnings:

“Hey, watch where you are going. No, that is not a fake. I bought that on a trip to Africa last year. It is a priceless piece of art. [crashing sound]Okay, it was priceless. My goodness! No, do not use that. Make sure to put the cover on. Never mind, I will clean it up. Get your hands out of there. I cannot be in five places at once. You people are destroying my house!”

Towards the end of the day, you notice some of the children entering your office. This is where you keep your computers, used for home and work. At this point, you finally give up. You tell the children that they can play anywhere else in the house, except for this room. You have no choice. They will destroy everything. They will ruin the furniture. They will empty the food supply. They will not clean anything up. It does not matter, as you need to salvage your livelihood. You have to negotiate with these people.

We can take this isolated experience, of a single day, in a single setting, with a single negotiation, and apply it to the entirety of the life experience. We may proudly claim that we will never settle, that we will only accept the best of everything, but the truth is that we have little control. Over anything. Over outcomes. Over our height. Over how other people treat us. Over the weather. Over the laws passed by the corrupt leaders. Over the response to that corruption by the average citizen. Only because of false ego, ahankara, do we think we can completely control outcomes.

प्रकृतेः क्रियमाणानि
गुणैः कर्माणि सर्वशः
अहङ्कार-विमूढात्मा
कर्ताहम् इति मन्यते

prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni
guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ
ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā
kartāham iti manyate

“The bewildered spirit soul, under the influence of the three modes of material nature, thinks himself to be the doer of activities, which are in actuality carried out by nature.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 3.27)

Shri Krishna teaches that the helplessness is primarily because of two endpoints. One is attraction, which is interest or desire. The other is aversion, which is merely the opposite of attraction. We run from one end to the other, like batsman in a cricket match. We are so deluded by the intensity of the interest or aversion that we fail to recognize what is taking place.

The wise person does not look for a permanent solution in a temporary place. They advise in favor of seeking real happiness. Not relief that we have somehow survived a calamity. Not a rescue from a brief moment of terror. Not a change in setting, where the setting comes with an expiration date. Real and meaningful change. Happiness that touches the soul. Happiness that is not based on conditions. Happiness that does not require negotiation.

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)

I cannot save what I have gathered in my brief time in this world, but my consciousness will stay with me. If I choose the option of worship, in moving towards the highest being of all, in what is known as upasana, then my needs will be accounted for. The object of worship provides whatever is missing. He maintains whatever is already there, for the purpose of furthering and strengthening that worship. What more could I ask for?

In Closing:

What a terrifying day!
Too many children at play.

Throwing around every toy,
My entire house to destroy.

That settled negotiation at end,
Out of my office to send.

To entire life experience apply,
How only on Krishna can rely.

Categories: stories

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