blind leading the blind

Verse 2.8: I can find no means to drive away this grief which is drying up my senses. I will not be able to dispel it even if I win a prosperous, unrivaled kingdom on earth with sovereignty like the demigods in heaven.

The purport to this verse is very beautiful and so I'd like to include the beginning of it here since I feel it's extremely relevant:

"Although Arjuna was putting forward so many arguments based on knowledge of the principles of religion and moral codes, it appears that he was unable to solve his real problem without the help of the spiritual master, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa. He could understand that his so-called knowledge was useless in driving away his problems, which were drying up his whole existence; and it was impossible for him to solve such perplexities without the help of a spiritual master like Lord Kṛṣṇa. Academic knowledge, scholarship, high position, etc., are all useless in solving the problems of life; help can be given only by a spiritual master like Kṛṣṇa. Therefore, the conclusion is that a spiritual master who is one hundred percent Kṛṣṇa conscious is the bona fide spiritual master, for he can solve the problems of life."

Wow. "Academic knowledge, scholarship, high position, etc., are all useless in solving the problems of life." How often have we been taught to go after these very things in order to solve our problems? If there was any doubt, it's being cleared up here. We are a completely backwards society.

As a society, we value external beauty rather than taking the time to appreciate the good qualities that are inside. We emphasize money and power over morality and truthfulness. We look for the short-cuts and easy fixes instead of taking pride in hard work and developing patience.

In short, we are a society where the blind are leading the blind. All the "role models" and celebrities of today that are being emulated do not have the answers. We are being fooled. We are easily duped and mislead by lots of gloss and shine.

Just like Arjuna however, we need to come to this realization. We need to realize that living in this material world is hard work and we actually need to come to the point of frustration. It is from these feelings that we can start to crave something more and finally start to question. "Why is everything so difficult? Why does nothing turn out the way I want it to? Even if my desires are granted, how come I'm not as happy as I thought I would be?"

See, material problems cannot be solved by material answers. The only answer to material problems is spiritual solutions. Once again, this brings us back to the concept of guru. Although we are spiritual beings, we have forgotten our true selves. In order to tap into that essence, we need someone who has realized that they are not actually the body, but the soul.

So the next time you feel that sense of frustration, don't look towards a material solution. Even if it works, it's just a temporary quick fix. Instead use this as impetus to realize that as spiritual beings, we'll never be satisfied with that which is not permanent.