...the company one keeps

Verse 4.22: He who is satisfied with gain which comes of its own accord, who is free from duality and does not envy, who is steady in both success and failure, is never entangled, although performing actions.

One's desires and ambitions develop according to the company one keeps

For regular readers, you might recognize this phrase. It's one of my favorites and one that I quote often.

Today though, I viewed this phrase in a whole new light which caught me off guard. Ever feel like you've gotten all you can out of something? That you just can't learn anymore? Well...I definitely used to think that about the above mentioned phrase. So you can imagine my surprise when a new insight suddenly came to me.

I always used to think that "the company one keeps" referred to individuals. Reflecting upon the fact that lately I've been experiencing the words of the Gita come to life, suddenly a whole new context to the words "company" unveiled itself:

"The company one keeps is not only limited to the people we associate with; it also includes the books we read and the environments we expose ourselves to."

That's how subtle the soul is. When we are constantly exposed to something, we naturally become affected by it. Reading and writing about working without attachment has become such a constant fixture in my life, that I can't help but think about it more frequently!

I invite all of you to perform an experiment. Make the time for the next five days to absorb yourself in reading about one topic that uplifts you. Perhaps it can be on a quality that you hope to develop or a habit you would like to form. Spend ten minutes reading about it and at the end of the five days, take note of how often you think about it. You might be pleasantly surprised to find that you've already made some positive progress.

the bhakti experiment

Verse 4.20: Abandoning all attachment to the results of his activities, ever satisfied and independent, he performs no fruitive action, although engaged in all kinds of undertakings.

As someone who spent numerous years studying Science, the scientific method is ingrained in my head. You start off with an objective, follow it up with a hypothesis, design the tests and run the experiment, collect and analyze your observations and draw a conclusion.

You can imagine my surprise when I realized that the process of bhakti yoga is actually very scientific! Specifically, the teachings of the Gita. What may throw readers off, as I personally discovered, is the fact that sometimes the expected results are given before the objective is presented in said text. It's important to remember at such times, that this is due to the fact that Arjuna was already following the path of bhakti and that's why Krsna didn't need to get into all the details.

It's kind of like coming into a conversation when you haven't heard the beginning. You can get an idea and start to surmise what the gist of it is, but if you don't have someone walk you through the background, you'll never get the full picture. For anyone who has read the Gita on their own and tried to make sense of it, perhaps you are nodding your head in agreement.

Again, this only serves to reiterate the need for a teacher who has themselves been taught the Gita and is practically applying it in their own lives. In fact, as we will hear shortly, the need to evaluate a genuine bhakti teacher is done by observing their behavior and noting the results.

Here the conclusion obtained from performing the bhakti experiment of "working without being attached to the results" is given: one feels ever satisfied and independent. Independent from what? From the rolling waves of happiness and distress. One instead feels peaceful and calm.

Now for anyone who has worked in or run labs, you'll remember that you need to perform the experiment a minimum of three times and get the same result three times for it to be valid. From personal experience, I'll tell you - it's very rare to get the same result three times in a row! That's because the procedure needs to be followed exactly and the conditions have to be replicated perfectly. The same holds true for the bhakti experiment of working without attachment to the results.

If one doesn't follow the methods and conditions outlined in the Gita, then it is only natural that the result will not be the same. Practically this translates to: don't give up! If the experiment doesn't work for you, it could mean that something is off. Don't blame the method (as any lab researcher/scientist will tell you!), but go back and analyze what you did.

The outcomes from this bhakti experiment vary depending on what you put into it. So if you sincerely want to get the results outlined in the Gita, such as those of peace, satisfaction and happiness, you have to follow the method given accurately. Good luck and feel free to share what you come out with in the comments below!

how to read the gita

Verse 2.65: For one thus satisfied [in Kṛṣṇa consciousness], the threefold miseries of material existence exist no longer; in such satisfied consciousness, one's intelligence is soon well established.

In this one verse, Krsna is recapping everything he has presented thus far. This begs the question...what exactly has Krsna said? I invite all of you to list any and all things you remember in the comments below!

Today, however, I would like to focus on the mood in which we approach the Gita. As we're nearing the end of Chapter 2, this is a good time to ask ourselves what we hope to get out of reading this incredible yoga text. There could be numerous answers to this question. If you would permit me, however, I would like to suggest imbibing the mood offered by the great bhakti yogi, Srila Prabhupada.

For anyone who joining us for the first time today, the Gita is presenting the path of bhakti yoga. Practically speaking, it is giving us, the readers, the tools to understand who we really are, the environment we have to work with and how we can break free of the limitations we all face. Limitations such as the pain of birth, death, disease and old age.

Pretty impressive, no? To be able to solve these challenges, a spirit of discovery and enthusiasm is required. In fact, Srila Prabhupada states very aptly that the bhakti path is scientific, meaning one can apply the scientific method: test a hypothesis, perform experiments, make observations and thereby draw conclusions.

One potential hypothesis one could make is that the Gita has the ability to solve all our material problems. Based on that, the natural question arises as to how to test that hypothesis. For that, I refer to the Introduction of the Gita where Prabhupada writes: "The spirit of Bhagavad-gītā is mentioned in Bhagavad-gītā itself. It is just like this: If we want to take a particular medicine, then we have to follow the directions written on the label. We cannot take the medicine according to our own whim or the direction of a friend. It must be taken according to the directions on the label or the directions given by a physician."

How awesome is that? Having done my Masters in Biochemistry, let me tell you from personal experience - coming up with the experiments to test your hypothesis is the hardest part! We're so lucky that the Gita provides us with all the experiments and the background as to how to perform them. Literally, all we need to do is follow what the Gita says and observe what happens. Numerous persons all around the world have and are practicing the teachings of the Gita and are observing tangible results. I guess the question is - do you want to solve all your material problems or not? If so, we invite you to join us in our experiment and and try it out for yourself.