lost in the forest

Verse 2.52: When your intelligence has passed out of the dense forest of delusion, you shall become indifferent to all that has been heard and all that is to be heard.

I love the analogy that Krsna gives here of the intelligence passing through the dense forest of delusion. It's so vivid. One can clearly imagine a dark and thick forest which is overpacked with trees so tall that they block out the sun and make it difficult to find a way out.

We are like wayward travellers who have gotten lost in that forest. Due to habituation, we identify ourselves with the scenery and surroundings. Over time, we forget that the forest is not our true home and that in actuality we are travellers. We are travellers who are passing through this forest with the goal of getting back home to our loving family.

In the meantime, although we are attacked by all kinds of disturbances in the form of anger, greed, lust and envy etc., we are ignorant of a way out. In fact, our mind and false ego, who we look to as friends, often serve to only mislead us further. The false ego does so by deluding us to believe that our home is in the forest and the mind does so by only thinking of satisfying the senses.

It seems we are doomed....until, an expert guide who has received perfect knowledge as to how to navigate the treacherous paths, traps and darkness comes to help us. We now have the free will to choose that guidance or to continue spending our time chasing after the fleeting glimpses of happiness while simultaneously trying to avoid distress.

So what do you choose? Are you going to stay in the forest or are you ready to go home? If you're tired of living out of a suitcase, the Gita is lighting up the path.