is fear of success holding you back?

Verse 3.30: Therefore, O Arjuna, surrendering all your works unto Me, with full knowledge of Me, without desires for profit, with no claims to proprietorship, and free from lethargy, fight.

Seems odd to ask, doesn't it? In fact, some of you might be incredulously asking, "Are you serious? You're fearful of success?"

The funny thing is....I think a lot of people are. Although it may seem normal to be afraid of failure, success can sometimes be even more daunting. In fact, the one quality that success and failure both have in common is:

The Unknown.

Although we may throw all of our efforts, expectations and heart into our work or project, there is no guarantee that success will look as we've envisioned or imagined it to be. Similarly, failure might lead us to face unexpected emotions, thoughts and "seemingly" unwelcome situations.

If you've ever felt this way, today's verse is for you. So far, we've been investigating the art of working without being attached to the results and the Gita has explained how we can do this in a practical way:

Working as an expression of gratitude to the Divine.

The benefit of working in this way is that one does not accrue any karma. We live an "akarmic" life which does not tie us to the temporary, material body anymore. Granted, this is the long-term benefit; so for all of you who have been wondering, "Is there any short-term benefit?" you need not look any further:

Acting without attachment allows you to become free from fear of success and failure!

No longer do you have to live in your head where the mind paints portraits of what success and/or failure might look like. Instead, by working in gratitude, we make ourselves open for Divine empowerment.

Even though we might pride ourselves on thinking big, it's absolutely nothing compared to what can manifest if we allow ourselves to become the instruments of blessings.

My personal role model who embodies this incredible mood of working in gratitude is the great bhakti yogi, Srila Prabhupada. It is he who translated and gave the world The Bhagavad Gita - As It Is. He threw all of his efforts and heart into giving all of us this incredible gift of the Gita and various other bhakti texts, coming over to America at the advanced age of 69 with only forty rupees in his pocket.

He had no fear and no expectations, because his faith was placed in something unshakable - bhakti yoga. He placed everything in the hands of the Supreme and because of that, unbelievably amazing things manifested.

The branches of a tree have the potential to grow to amazing heights since they are connected to the root; similarly, our potential for greatness is limitless if we tune in and connect to our source - the Divine. That's what yoga is all about.

air freshener anyone? living under the influence...

Verse 3.27: The spirit soul bewildered by the influence of false ego thinks himself the doer of activities that are in actuality carried out by the three modes of material nature.

There is a phrase that the great bhakti yogi, Srila Prabhupada, often uses in reference to the soul. That phrase is:

"one's constitutional position"

I love this description because it strips away everything that is irrelevant and gives us the essence. Sometimes, when things are wrapped up in nice and glitzy packages, we get distracted. Case in point - many of us are so fixated on the body with all it's functions, abilities and appearance that we may forget what's really important - the soul inside.

Equally important to realizing that we are eternal souls, is the nature of the soul. Its nature can be summed up in two words: to serve.

Everything really falls in place if we understand these two points of service and the soul. Our desire to find our true calling and contribute to the world is in fact rooted in our innate nature to serve.

But...we face a challenge. We encounter it on a minute to minute basis and may not realize that it is in direct opposition to the soul's propensity and inherent nature of service. That challenge is otherwise known as: the false ego.

The false ego is like a voracious eater and the food it subsists on is control and recognition. Now before going any further, it's important to highlight that desiring control and recognition is not wrong or negative. It does, however, become a challenge when the false ego, which is always screaming to take credit of all activities that are being performed, interferes with our inherent nature to appreciate and recognize the Divine.

In fact, the soul doesn't crave recognition, control or anything else. It simply craves eternal and ever-lasting love. Under the influence of the false ego, we get bewildered into thinking that these other externals may somehow lead to that love.

In today's verse, Krsna is very beautifully explaining how the false ego affects us. It acts as an influence. That in and of itself gives great hope for all those who want to be freed from the tyrannical demands of the false ego. If the soul is under the influence of the false ego, it implies that the soul can also become freed from it!

Just as the air takes on the smell of any environment that it passes over, similarly the soul (having been in contact with the false ego for so many lifetimes) also takes on the influence of the false ego's association.

The temptation may be there to cover up the outward manifestations of the false ego, similar to trying to cover up a bad odor with a pleasant one. However, it just doesn't work. It may be a temporary fix, but those tendencies always comes out, often at the most inopportune times!

The only way to give up the influence of the false ego is by changing our association. By practicing mantra meditation, introspection and spending time with advanced bhakti yogis, we'll start to recognize the stink of the false ego. After all, it's only when you recognize the stink that you'll want to disassociate from it! By becoming aware of the ways that the false ego lures us in, we'll learn to not only ignore it, but gradually give up it's association completely.

necessity of guidance...

Verse 2.19: Neither he who thinks the living entity the slayer nor he who thinks it slain is in knowledge, for the self slays not nor is slain.

An interesting paradigm is set forth here which one can easily be confused by. It almost appears that Krsna is saying that nobody can actually kill or harm anybody (please note- this also pertains to animals!!!) since the soul cannot be slain. This could be easily taken out of context so let's clear that up that possible confusion right here, right now.

Srila Prabhupada, one of the foremost bhakti yogis of our time, paints a beautiful analogy to help us understand this concept. If a man is living in an apartment and you somehow drive him away from that apartment illegally, what will happen? The man will have to go out and seek some other shelter. The fact remains, however, that you driving him away illegally from his rightful place of shelter. This is a criminal act punishable by law. One cannot try to justify that by saying, "Although I have driven him away, he'll find some other place." That maybe true, but since it was his legal position to live in that apartment and since you forcibly drove him away you will be tried as a criminal and punished.

Similarly the same truth applies here. This is the greatness of realized and pure bhakti yogi practitioners. They can make seemingly confusing and intricate concepts so easy to understand.

The law, in this case, is a universal one propounded by numerous traditions, philosophies and religions: Thou shalt not kill. So, if one tries to drive another living entity out of his/her dwelling (i.e. their material body), what will happen? That soul be subject to another birth in another body according to their past karma. Though that soul will find another body to inhabit, it still holds true that you drove that soul of it's body illegally (i.e. the law states that thou shalt not kill). That means that you will be subjected to the laws of karma and will be held accountable and be punished for this crime.

This simple verse illustrates the complexities and nuances of bhakti. It is so easy to take things out of context if one does not have a proper guide to teach them. Still not convinced? Let's try to put this in a way that's extremely relatable. If you are really close to somebody and they say something, isn't it only natural that you will understand the subtexts that may underline their tone, choice of words and mood? That you will be able to glean what they really mean although others may not get it? Similarly, only those who are close to Krsna and who truly understand him, like Srila Prabhupada, can truly explain to us what Krsna is saying.

Remember, the Gita is a conversation so we can't just think to come into a conversation between two extremely close friends and hope to understand it on our own. We need a guide who is also dear to Krsna to explain it to us. Bhakti is all about personalism, so it's important to understand how to practically apply that even in the study of such great bhakti texts, like the Gita.

consciousness

Verse 2.17: That which pervades the entire body you should know to be indestructible. No one is able to destroy that imperishable soul.

Consciousness. Today I had a realization about a very deep phrase one of the greatest bhakti yogi's, Srila Prabhupada, said regarding the practice of bhakti yoga. He said, "First be conscious. Then be Krsna conscious." Until today, I think I only understood that verse on a superficial level.

I used to think that this meant we needed to be aware of everything that was going on around us. Let me frame that for you. In the times we live in, multi-tasking is the "must-have" quality for anyone to succeed. The sad thing is that we forget about what we lose in the exchange. Sure, it's great to be able to do a lot of things simultaneously, but ultimately that means that we are not actually focused on anything at all. Our attention and energy is divided which means...our consciousness is also divided. We are not aware of any one thing that is going on because we get so easily directed by all the other things that are on our to-do list.

So that was my understanding of the phrase, "First be conscious. Then be Krsna conscious." By becoming more aware (and present) of what was going on in front of me now, this would mean that I would have a greater chance of seeing Krsna in those very things. I see now that although that is true...it's only the tip of the iceberg.

In this verse, we hear about that which pervades the entire body - the soul. And what is the symptom of the soul? Consciousness. By this effect, "First be conscious" now takes on a whole new deeper meaning. It means: realize that you are the soul. When you realize you are the soul then naturally you can be Krsna conscious.

Of course, one can say "Easier said than done" and that's absolutely true...and that's where practice of becoming aware and being present in everything that we do or say comes in handy. It makes us aware of the superficiality that we assign such importance to. It is the practical application that we can engage in so that we can ultimately realize the truth: we are not the body, we are the soul. What happens when we realize that we are the soul? All the petty things that used to bother us won't anymore and we can focus on what's most important: becoming conscious of God (Krsna).

just ask

Verse 1.39: With the destruction of dynasty, the eternal family tradition is vanquished, and thus the rest of the family becomes involved in irreligion.

In the case of spirituality and religion, tradition often plays a huge role. Dress, customs, food, practices - all of these can be considered part of tradition.

For practitioners of any spiritual path, this is oftentimes a source wonder. Why should we follow tradition? Aren't the principles more important? What's the reason behind this?

As opposed to the "Just because you should" or "Because I said so," answer that is often spouted, bhakti has an answer. The general answer to this question is that these spiritual traditions act as tools to help connect us with the goal of bhakti which is to re-establish our relationship with God and serve him with love. I give the general answer here for the sake of brevity, but rest assured for those who have very specific questions, very specific and detailed answers are available.

Ok, so we receive an answer, but then why is it so difficult to accept it sometimes? What most of us are blind to is the fact that our material perceptions and viewpoints often become incorporated into any practice we take up, like that of bhakti yoga. In many ways that's very dangerous because it prevents us from practicing the path of bhakti authentically.

Think about it. Sometimes the thing we most resist doesn't come from what is being presented, but is due to an experience we have had on the material level. That clouds our judgement. If we take family tradition, for example, if one rejects or was never exposed to it in their own lives, then it may pose a problem when they encounter it in the bhakti lifestyle.

Srila Prabhupada, the translator of the Bhagavad-gita as it is, and one of the foremost bhakti practitioners of our time, presents a solution to these challenges an aspiring bhakti yogi may face. Srila Prabhupada writes in a purport found later in Chapter 4 of the Gita that, "Blind following is condemned".

I remember when I first read that. It really struck me and the scientific minded part of me was jumping for joy. Yes! As a person who always asks the question "Why?" I had received confirmation that this was not only appropriate but encouraged. Of course as an aspiring bhakti practitioner the attitude in which questions are posed are really important. So it was even more helpful that Krsna actually speaks on this and teaches us that one should inquire with great sincerity from a reputable source (i.e. legitimate spiritual teacher or guru). Wonderful.

That's the beauty of practicing devotional service. There's an answer to any and every question you could ever dream of asking. So I encourage everyone, don't hesitate to ask. You'll never find what you're looking for if you don't inquire.