protection

Verse 4.8: To deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants, as well as to reestablish the principles of religion, I Myself appear, millennium after millennium.

Krsna is saying here, that He comes to deliver the pious and annihilate the miscreants. Those are some strong words and their meaning could very easily be misinterpreted to mean that the Divine which the bhakti texts speak of is not very compassionate. Nothing could actually be further from the truth.

This verse demonstrates exactly how loving and protective the Divine actually is.

To really understand what this verse means, it's important to understand what the words "pious" and "miscreants" mean as per the Gita. The pious, are those that are trying to live by the principles of humility, compassion, cleanliness, and truthfulness. They see everyone as spiritual sparks, worthy of their respect and try to live their lives as spiritual warriors who are empowered by grace. The miscreants, simply put, are those who try to destroy and hurt those who are trying to be pious.

I'd like to share a beautiful story that illustrates this point. In the great bhakti text known as the Srimad Bhagavatam, the life of a young bhakti yogi is described. At the tender age of five, a prince known as Prahalad became a great lover of the Divine. Despite his young age, he was greatly learned and shared his knowledge of bhakti yoga with his friends. However, Prahalad's father was, quite simply put, a terror. Thinking himself to be God, Prahalad's father (who was the king) would torture anyone who would say otherwise.

In fact, his father was so power mad and deluded that he actually started despising his own son since Prahalad accepted him to be his father, not God. Prahalad was continuously tortured in different ways such as being thrown off a cliff, into a pit of poisonous snakes, and was even fed poison. Every time though, by the grace of the actual Supreme, he was saved. This infuriated his father to no end.

Throughout all these trying times, Prahalad kept his calm and his faith never wavered. Can you imagine? Despite being exposed to such horrendous treatment, from his father no less, Prahalad never wished him any ill will. After so many failed attempts at killing his own son, his father demanded from him "Where is this Supreme you speak of? Is he in this pillar?" To this, his sweet son Prahalad replied, "Of course, the Divine is in everything." When his father rushed at the pillar with a weapon to break it, the Divine appeared and saved Prahalad once again.

I love this story since it illustrates just how personal and loving the Divine actually is. It also explains why He appears millennium after millennium. The Divine doesn't have to come personally to take care of trouble-makers, but he actually does so just to interact with those who are trying to love him. In fact, that's why the words "to deliver the pious" come first in this verse since it highlights what's dear to the heart of the Supreme.

That's how protective, loving and personal the Supreme actually is. So the next time you feel lonely or stressed, just remember: protection and care are just a mantra away.

one stop shop

Verse 2.46: All purposes served by a small well can at once be served by a great reservoir of water. Similarly, all the purposes of the Vedas can be served to one who knows the purpose behind them.

For all you North Americans out there...do you live close to a Walmart? Strange question to begin today's reflection on, I know, but bear with me. I ask because more and more North American's do most of their shopping at Walmart nowadays. I bring this up not to focus on Walmart, but to focus on the "why" aspect. Why do so many people choose to shop there? Because it serves as a one stop shop! From the basics of food, clothing and furniture to all the extras including electronics, books, movies, jewellery and so much more, it can all be found there.

This is the point that Krsna is emphasizing to Arjuna using the analogy of the well and reservoir. When it comes to knowledge, the one-stop shop for everything is the Vedas. For those who are unfamiliar with the term, the sanskrit word Veda means knowledge or revelation. The Vedic literature is extremely diverse and contains detailed information on material, religious and spiritual subjects. In fact, the Bhagavad-gita is considered one of the most valued jewels of literature found in the Vedas.

So how can the Vedas provide the solution to everything one may want to know about? Because, as mentioned before, the word Veda simply means body of knowledge. It is non-sectarian in the information it provides and gives details on everything from the military arts, medicine, yoga, astrology and philosophy to getting into nitty gritty details on how one can live very comfortably.

However, the Vedas have an ultimate purpose behind them. Although one can learn to be a great yogi, mystic philosopher or just a really good person by studying the Vedas, it's true purpose is to free one from all material suffering (i.e. cycle of repeated birth, death, disease and old age). The Vedas allow one to go at their own pace, by giving a step by step approach which ultimately leads the student of the Vedas to come to the path of bhakti yoga.

But there's a secret. Since the Vedas are so broad and encompass so many subject matters, it's easy to get confused. We're so lucky to have great teachers within the bhakti yoga tradition who have distilled the essence for all of us today by highlighting those pieces of Vedic literature that can get us on the fast track. One, is the Gita and the other is called Srimad Bhagavatam .

So go on and open up a page of the Bhagavad-gita today and experience how it can become your one-stop guide to yoga and discovering yourself!

a requested verse on forbearance

Recently I posted up beautiful verse from one of the most amazing bhakti texts we are fortunate to have, the Srimad Bhagavatam. One of my friends liked the verse so much that she asked me to write about it. I eagerly took the opportunity since the Bhagavatam has always been there for me like a trusted and loyal friend and deserves to be honoured and recognized for being so invaluable.

The reason why I love the Bhagavatam so much is that it explains philosophy through stories. For someone who doesn't like to be told what to do (i.e. me!), this is such an effective teaching tool. Instead of saying "Do this," the reader gets to hear about great personalities who faced the consequences of making certain choices (whether they be positive or challenging) This way, if the aspiring bhakti wants to, (remember, we always have free choice!) they can learn from someone else's experience and benefit greatly. In essence, they won't have to realize things the hard way!

The verse I posted was this one: The devotees of the Lord are so forbearing that even though they are defamed, cheated, cursed, disturbed, neglected or even killed, they are never inclined to avenge themselves. Srimad Bhagavatam 1.18.48

There are so many things that could be said about this verse, but you know what? One can only speak/write according to one's realization. I am in NO position to say anything on this verse from the application perspective since I can only hope to aspire to become like this one day. One thing I can do, however, is give the back-story to this verse so that I can remember and honour a very great bhakti yogi - King Pariksit.

The story of his birth, in fact, is so incredible that I'm tempted to start there, but we'll save that for another day. Once, King Pariksit was out in the forest hunting. After a long day and feeling incredibly fatigued, he and his entourage started searching for water. In his quest to relieve his thirst the King happened upon the hermitage of a well-known sage called Samika. There the sage, along with many others, were sitting in deep meditation.

The king, who was incredibly thirsty, approached the sage and requested for some water. He was met with silence. I think everyone can relate to this, right? You've had a long day at work, waited for your bus for an hour, trudged through a blizzard and all you want when you get home is a glass of water and as you're taking off your shoes you ask a family member to get you a glass and you're totally ignored. Well this is how the King felt. In fact, he felt extremely insulted as the sage didn't even get up to properly welcome him or offer him a seat. Instead, the King felt that he was being ignored. Feeling insulted and angry, the King picked up a dead snake and lay it on the sage's shoulders and left.

Returning to his palace, the King being greatly pious and a sincere bhakti yogi, started contemplating his actions. Just like we often get confused and start pondering our actions after doing something rash, the King too started wondering if the sage actually had been in meditation or had simply been ignoring him. This is the consequence of anger. It robs us of our intelligence.

During this time, the son of the sage Samika heard about what had happened to his father. He, although young in age, had great power. He could not tolerate this dishonour done to his father and out of anger, cursed the King saying " On the seventh day from today a snake-bird will bite the most wretched one of that dynasty [King Pariksit] because of his having broken the laws of etiquette by insulting my father." He returned to the hermitage where he saw his father and out of grief started crying.

The sage slowly came out of his meditation hearing his son's cries and when he saw the snake lying around his neck, casually brushed it aside and asked his son what was causing his distress. This reaction by the sage is so telling. He did not ask why the snake was around his neck, but casually brushed it away as though nothing had happened.

When the sage found out what his son had done, he started to lament. The sage said, "The Emperor Pariksit is a pious king. He is highly celebrated and is a first-class devotee of the Personality of Godhead. He is a saint amongst royalty, and he has performed many horse sacrifices. When such a king is tired and fatigued, being stricken with hunger and thirst, he does not at all deserve to be cursed." The sage predicted, "Due to the termination of the monarchical regimes and the plundering of the people's wealth by rogues and thieves, there will be great social disruptions. People will be killed and injured, and animals and women will be stolen. And for all these sins we shall be responsible."

The sage knew that due to his piety the King actually had the ability to counter-curse his son and somehow save himself from his fate. However, the sage also knew that the King would never do such a thing since he was a first-class bhakti yogi who would never use such power for his personal benefit.

This is where this verse comes in. These are the words spoken by the great sage Samika in glorification of King Pariksit. Just see. Normally it is the sages who are glorified, but here a sage is glorifying a King. This is the power of bhakti yoga. Anyone can become exemplary and a great lover of God despite one's station.

As for King Pariksit, can you imagine being in such a position? You are condemned to death actually have the power to do something about it, but you choose not to? Instead, you accept your fate as being deserving of the action that you performed. In fact, what does Pariksit do after hearing of the curse? He abandons everything, goes to the forest and seeks out a bona fide spiritual master who teaches him the purpose of life. The Srimad Bhagavatam that we now hold in our hands are the words that were spoken to King Pariksit in his quest to know the highest purpose of life.

So, how does this apply to us? Well if you're like me, just hearing these stories over and over again is so helpful. One day, by constantly hearing and remembering such exemplary acts, we can pray that it will sink in and we can actually implement this lesson at a time when we are tested. The situation may come in the form of someone speaking ill of us, when we are neglected or even if we are cheated etc... Instead of becoming upset and looking to avenge the wrong that has been done to us, we'll remember King Pariksit and patiently endure. We'll choose forbearance.

good and bad

Verse 2.6: Nor do we know which is better — conquering them or being conquered by them. If we killed the sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra, we should not care to live. Yet they are now standing before us on the battlefield.

I always find it incredibly amazing when things just line up in place. Some may call it coincidence, serendipity or luck, but I am more convinced then ever that it is direct reciprocation from God. The only thing we need to do is wake up and pay attention! Something that I certainly need to work on. :)

I bring this up because today's verse talks about duality and wouldn't you know, I was just listening to a talk on duality this morning. For those who may not understand what the bhakti texts speak of when they refer to duality, it is the aspect of labelling things as good or bad, hot or cold, black or white etc... Duality is something that surrounds us and is a large part of the material experience we are undergoing. There is a beautiful verse in the Vedic text called Caitanya Caritamrita that speaks on duality which I'd like to refer to here. The text is spoken in Bengali and I'll include it since it's so beautiful:

'dvaite' bhadrābhadra-jñāna, saba — 'manodharma'
'ei bhāla, ei manda', — ei saba 'bhrama' (CC. Antya. 4.176)

The translation is as follows: "In the material world, conceptions of good and bad are all mental speculations. Therefore, saying 'This is good' and 'This is bad' is all a mistake."

What I've always found of interest in this verse is the translation to the word 'manodharma' which means "religion of the mind." Have you ever thought that of your mind as having its own religion? Well, it does! And that religion is to categorize things as good or bad. See when the mind is trapped in the illusory conception of life (i.e. seeing everything separate from God), then its only frame of reference is to see everything in relationship to the body. Hence, the religion of the mind is different for every living entity since its frame of reference is itself. "Itself" here being the material body and not the true self- the soul.

It's a valuable lesson to keep things in perspective. We all go through moments, minutes, months and even years of feeling confused, hurt, resentful and misunderstood. When we feel this way it's because we are seeing good and bad in relationship to something that is only temporary - i.e. our material body. We get so worked up, no? Then we feel justified to act in a way that is unbecoming of a true lady or gentlemen.

I've taken to running my own personal experiment. I've stopped trying to label things that are and aren't happening to me as good or bad. Instead, it's simply an "experience". Although I'm still in the initial stages of my research, I notice that my mind isn't as disturbed as it normally is. Instead of boiling up inside and feeling that/it/he/she is good or bad, I consciously try to simply observe the situation, note the feelings that come up (bhakti is not about becoming numb or emotionless!) and try to look for the root cause of my emotions. Every single time, I've come to the conclusion that when I start to label something as good/bad it's because I'm perceiving the situation a certain way in relation to my body. I'm either feeling that I don't get enough credit, honour, glory, am misunderstood....the list can go on forever.

If we could only look for the lesson, life really wouldn't be so complicated. I'll end today by relating a small story that my spiritual teacher shared in a class today.

Close to thirty years ago, my guru was living in an asrama and was heading up a project to distribute bhakti texts across North America. The asrama received a new leader in charge and for whatever reason he would take to putting down my spiritual teacher. My teacher related how much this hurt his heart. He never told anyone, but at a certain point in time it was starting to become unbearable (i.e. he felt the situation was really "bad"). However, he was praying to Krsna to please help him and it just so happened the person who was insulting him went away for a few days. During that time, my teacher was asked to give a series of classes on a beautiful bhakti text called the Srimad Bhagavatam.

The story and texts he was asked to speak on were in relation to a great bhakti yogi who was being insulted. There, that bhakti yogi responds to the insults by saying that he is not affected since all the insults are in relationship to his body and not his true self - the soul. So why should he feel hurt or disturbed, since it actually has no meaning! My spiritual teacher felt such relief in these words and in fact from that day forward started to feel grateful to the person who was insulting him!!! He felt that, "This person is helping me to realize that I am not this body." When this person came back to the asrama, my teacher started noticing that this person stopped insulting him after some time. In fact, years later, this person actually came and apologized profusely to my teacher.

I find this experience so inspiring. It goes to show that everything we undergo here in this material world is simply happening to teach us that we don't belong here. The body we are in right now is not our permanent residence and so everything that we undergo that is seemingly good/bad is simply a tool to help remind us of that.

So the next time you feel something is good/bad, try not to engage in the religion of the mind. Instead, look for the beautiful lesson that is actually of value - we are spiritual beings having a material experience.