action, adventure movie star

Verse 2.72: That is the way of the spiritual and godly life, after attaining which a man is not bewildered. If one is thus situated even at the hour of death, one can enter into the kingdom of God.

We all want to live eternally. I'm talking about eternal, ever-lasting happiness where we are not subject to birth, disease, old age and death, not the "live eternally in the material world where we are subjected to temporary happiness and distress".

It's natural and normal for all of us to feel this way because that is our rightful position. The soul is eternal, full of knowledge and is always happy. Why else do you think there's a thriving multi-trillion dollar cosmetic industry out there that's promising the ever-elusive fountain of youth? They are selling us an illusion of happiness and eternality. If we can look younger, some of us can fool ourselves that we are not aging (i.e. getting closer to death).

"Just wear this make-up, use this skin-firming cream or even better, get this botox injection! No one will ever be able to tell how old you are." That's the message we are bombarded with daily. Having read Chapter 2, we can now understand why we may feel tempted to buy into this propaganda - because we want to get back to our original nature.

The thing is, experiencing the incredible qualities that are inherent to the soul doesn't come cheap. For lifetimes, we have been playing into the illusory material spell of temporary fixes. Short term fixes which just fail to satisfy our innermost longings.

Now, for many of us, we are being given this priceless gift of yoga. An opportunity to connect, not just with our true selves, but with the Supreme. It's a process that takes time, effort, determination and guidance. It's filled with excitement, adventure, new discoveries and incredible moments. On the flip side, it's also filled with challenges that come in the form of our own minds and past experiences. At such times, we may stumble and fall, want to throw a tantrum, quit and just go back to "the way things used to be".

Good to think of yourself as staring in your own action, adventure movie when facing with those moments. The hero (you) can't really be a hero if they don't face obstacles. They always have trusty friends who help them (in this case, bhakti mentors and even the Gita) and have their moments of crises that re-define them (moments of doubt and helplessness). The goal (for all of us who are aspiring to be the hero in our personal movie) is the same - to re-establish a loving relationship with the Supreme. The process is the same but the path is individual and unique. After all, each movie has to be different, or else it'll get too boring!

We may encounter unwanted and unwelcome guests, get lost in the forest or feel helpless. Don't worry! It's all part of the plot twists. Just know that persevering on will get us our hearts' desire - to love and be loved, eternally and happily.