it's all about reciprocation

Verse 4.11: As all surrender unto Me, I reward them accordingly. Everyone follows My path in all respects, O son of Pṛthā.

This verse can be summed up in one word: reciprocation.

If you boil down the word reciprocate, it means to return or requite. That's why I love this verse because there really isn't a topic that's more important to all of us than this one. Reciprocation is what we are searching for in our interactions with one another.

That's because living beings long to love and be loved.

It's not just about loving. It's also not just about being loved. It's both. That give and take is what makes a relationship sweet and interesting. Conversely, one of the greatest causes of anxiety, frustration and hurt results when relationships are not reciprocal. One person gives more emotionally or does more to show their care and when that is not acknowledged and returned, pain can arise in the heart.

Sometimes when persons start to practice yoga or other spiritual paths, they bring along with them the memories of those disappointing experiences. This is often why conceptions of the Divine may be a little but fuzzy because we view everything through the lens of our own experiences. Here, however, the Gita unequivocally states that the Divine also has feelings and reciprocates according to the desires and attitudes of those who not only reach out to Him, but also those who choose to ignore Him. Personally, I've always found that to be so fascinating. In observing others, often if someone is ignored by another, the person who has been ignored will reciprocate the sentiment. The Divine, however, doesn't do that.

That's where the subtlety of yoga really shines through.

In a world where everything is judged by actions, it is a paradigm shift to realize that attitude is actually more important. That's because attitude drives our actions.

The Divine reciprocates not necessarily with what we say or do but what we feel inside. That's why yoga requires introspection and deep thought. It may be easy to fool ourselves, but it's impossible to fool the Divine who is sitting in our hearts observing everything.

Furthermore, when we start expressing our gratitude to the Divine and try to cultivate the sincerity to live a life of compassion and love, we immediately start to experience reciprocation. That reciprocation may come in many different forms such as seemingly serendipitous opportunities, bringing role models into our lives and increased determination and perseverance. For those who are not interested in pursuing such a yogic lifestyle and would prefer to taste the numerous offerings the world has to offer, even then the Divine reciprocates by giving them facility. For those who would negate the existence of a Supreme Person, the Divine allows such souls to exercise their free will to pursue what they choose.

But, for those who genuinely seek to become instruments of compassion and grace, the Divine goes above and beyond by reciprocating in ways we can't even imagine. Facility, intelligence, courage, support and determination are given by the truckloads. So much so that the bhakti yogi becomes even more grateful and genuinely feels that they can never reciprocate adequately.

This is when the possibility of truly becoming selfless can actually become a reality. Such persons have the capacity to be truly selfless and expect nothing in return because they are already in a relationship with someone who is not only reciprocating with them but going above and beyond - the Divine. In this way, such a bhakti yogi just "pays it forward" and helps others.

Such is the power of the reciprocation loop. By offering our heart and attitude to the Divine we can become strong and empowered individuals who are empowered to help others. All we have to do, is try...

bhakti revealed

Verse 4.3: That very ancient science of the relationship with the Supreme is today told by Me to you because you are My devotee as well as My friend and can therefore understand the transcendental mystery of this science.

As with most things of value, there is a price to pay for getting the "real deal". For material things, that price is often money. However, to truly understand bhakti, the price is something a little different - it's the price of faith and relationship.

That's what we hear Krsna say to Arjuna today. Krsna is saying, "I am revealing this science of bhakti yoga to you because you are my friend."

That in essence sums up the secret to successfully practicing bhakti yoga - staying in the association of and developing real and genuine friendships with bhakti yogis.

Often we've described how bhakti yoga is not something that can be learned from books and texts alone. That's because....

Bhakti requires guidance because it is a transformation of heart and attitude.

Such a transformation occurs more quickly when one is in the company of those whose hearts and attitudes have changed. However, it requires that we make an investment of time and faith in developing relationships with such persons. The hearts of the great bhakti yogis are soft as butter since they are actively trying to live a life of compassion, gratitude and service. However, as with any treasure, they guard that bhakti with great attention and care.

For most of us, our best friends are those that we have spent a lot of time with since it is only then that both sides start trusting each other and start to speak from the heart. Similarly, the heart of the bhakti yogi is revealed when a relationship based on respect and affection is established.

For anyone who wants to get to the heart of bhakti, the best way to do so is by securing a place in the heart of a bhakti yogi.

moments of emptiness

Verse 3.42: The working senses are superior to dull matter; mind is higher than the senses; intelligence is still higher than the mind; and he [the soul] is even higher than the intelligence.

We live in a world of contradictions. Although we are supposedly more connected than ever due to cell phones, internet, social media and so many other tools, many are noticing that their relationships are getting increasingly impersonal. Despite advances in technology that are supposed to be making our lives easier, we find more people out of work these days due to those very systems and instruments. Maybe the most frighting of all - in spite of so much knowledge available out there, it seems that many people are more confused than ever...about everything!

Living with confusion and uncertainty without proper guidance or a path inevitably leads to looking for shelter in all the wrong places. It's at these times that mass consumerism and lust can easily sway our troubled hearts.

It's so easy to take shelter in the senses as they serve to distract us from what many of us feel inside:

Our heart is crying out for more.

There lies the problem for many. What is that "more" that the heart is crying out for? If we don't know, we continue to try to find "it" in so many different ways. For some, it may mean finding new and novel ways to give pleasure to the senses. Frustrated or bored with that, it could mean turning to philosophy or speculation and trying to engage and stimulate the intellect. If that fails, then others may turn to philanthropy or even solitude.

To no avail, many who face this emptiness try to hide it under the cover of being busy, yet never really feel satisfied. But we learn to play the game and put on a happy face, right?

Well...for those who are tired of this useless game, a solution is given today. However, it requires a shift in consciousness to say:

"I'm done with living with that gnawing feeling of emptiness and frustration that I've pushed into the recesses of my heart. I'm also done with deluding myself that temporary happiness is enough and am ready to recognize that I deserve eternal happiness and will do what it takes to get it!"

That shift in consciousness will allow us to make another crucial change. Our energy tends to be focused on the senses and how to satisfy them. When we transfer our attention to the intelligence and feed that, a whole new world opens up. By feeding the intelligence with spiritual knowledge, like that given in the Gita, we start to fill in a much needed gap.

Remember that proper guide or path that may be missing? Here it is. The intelligence is supposed to act as the guide by taking shelter of an empowered teacher and being absorbed in the wisdom of bhakti yoga (i.e. the process to connect through love). This way, if the mind tries to take us down our usual path of trying to get a quick fix, the intelligence can actually step in and provide the proper guidance and support that needed to get out of that vicious cycle; furthermore, it will help us on our quest to achieve eternal happiness.

Ultimately, the only thing that will make us happy is genuine and meaningful soul-soul connections. The soul craves relationship, love and service. When it is covered by lust it mistakenly thinks it can get that by ignoring the one person who can give all of that - the Divine.

The path is clear. All it requires is a change of consciousness. The question remains - do you want eternal happiness and are you ready to do what it takes to get it?

cleaning the heart

Verse 2.71: A person who has given up all desires for sense gratification, who lives free from desires, who has given up all sense of proprietorship and is devoid of false ego — he alone can attain real peace.

Wow! That's quite a list, isn't it? In fact, it's overwhelming. Just giving up the desire for sense gratification is hard enough, what to speak of being devoid of the false ego and giving up a sense of proprietorship. It sounds amazing, but be honest. Is there a part of you that thinks "Is this even possible?"

If so, you're not alone.

Sometimes those who have been practicing bhakti for a long time, what to speak of those just being introduced to it, feel like it's just all too much. That's why it's important to know that this is only practical and possible if we recognize and accept a couple of things.

Just recently a friend was down in the dumps feeling like they were going nowhere fast on their bhakti path. They were starting to recognize that there was so much work to be done upon seeing various unwanted qualities bubbling up to the surface.

Firstly, this is normal. In fact, if one starts to see those anarthas (the sanskrit word for undesired things, qualities or traits), it means the process of bhakti is working! In fact, it's a cause for celebration.

It's like cleaning your room. Once you start the process of cleaning, you start to realize how much stuff you actually have (that is, if you're a pack rat like me!). The secret to successful room cleaning, which I've realized over the years, is to not stop mid-cleaning!!! You know that moment when everything is scattered around you and all you want to do is run or move? It's hard, but that's the moment when you need to keep going! If you don't, it's really really hard to get momentum to continue. It's not impossible, it's just more challenging.

It's in those moments that the mind starts to freak out and puts up all kinds of obstacles like: "You have better things to do, you don't have the energy, you'll never finish etc,". This leads the mind to stating what to some, may be the most frightening fact - "You may have to throw out some things."

"WHAT? I have to give up some of my precious clothes and junk which I never realized I even had before I started cleaning but don't want to because I'm attached? I never signed up for this!!!"

This, at the root, is one of the most challenging facets of bhakti. Recognizing we have unwanted qualities/habits and then realizing that we may be hanging on to them. Even though we may logically know that they are holding us back, we've become so accustomed to them (like we may have become so accustomed to our messy room), that the thought of letting them go is too foreign. How will we live our lives without them?

That brings us to the second point we need to remember - the bhakti process takes time. We may have to go undergo several rounds of the cleaning process and each time we may be able to let go of one other thing. The important thing is to celebrate the victories, even if they are small. They may seem insignificant, such as watching a half hour less of your favorite tv show and spending that time reading the bhakti texts, but they are important.

So don't give up hope! Although cleaning may take some effort- it's worth it. That process will leave us with clean and beautiful hearts.

weakness

Verse 2.3: O son of Pṛthā, do not yield to this degrading impotence. It does not become you. Give up such petty weakness of heart and arise, O chastiser of the enemy.

Weakness of heart tends to get in the way of doing our duty. I recognize this everyday. The moment you commit to something, immediately you are tested. To give a small but illustrative example, my intention and personal promise has been to write something on a verse of the Gita everyday (notwithstanding severe illness). However, almost everyday I have to fight to keep this mini-vow. Sure, there are days when I'm actually "itching to read and write" but normally, not so much.

Similarly, we have a duty to respect each and every living entity, but sometimes it can be difficult. Although we may not like it, a spider or ant has just as much a right to inhabit the space we occupy as we do. But we don't recognize this very often. The reason for that is weakness of heart.

Weakness of heart is a very broad subject, but here I'd like to focus on lack of determination and proper guidance. If one is not guided properly, it is very easy to be swayed. I see this all the time in the practice of bhakti yoga. My spiritual mentors and role models have all been guided so expertly in their own cultivation of bhakti that nothing can stray them from the path. Hence, when I interact with them, I constantly feel inspired and enthused. I also feel my own faith grow tremendously. However, those who like to "do what the spirit moves them" are often easily won over by different philosophies, ideas and honeyed words. That is why I always try to remind myself of one of my favourite phrases from the Gita speaks on this point directly, "One's associations and ambitions develop according to the company one keeps."

With that guidance automatically comes focus. If cannot stand up for and believe in our convictions then its is very easy to be unfocused. Conviction brings about focus because it allows the path to become clear.

In this material world we live in, the two prevalent things we encounter is a lack of proper guidance and a lack of proper focus. Here we see Arjuna undergoing the same confusion we experience (often daily!). Arjuna is not sure what the proper path is to take and hence he doesn't know what to do.

So, we can all learn from Arjuna how to defeat these petty weaknesses of heart. We too can ask for guidance from a bona fide and authoritative source (i.e. the bhakti yogi who walks the talk) and ask for encouragement and support so that we too may become convinced and focused to do the right thing.