Missed Chances
What chances am I missing? What opportunities am I throwing away by being casual, unthinking, lazy?
Just as the unexpected revealed Arjuna’s character, and by the Gita’s guidance, took him toward healthy choices, Gita wisdom can guide us wisely when we too encounter the unexpected.
With the rising and setting of sun / Time slowly slipping away / The touch of cool water as if speaking / Do you feel okay my friend?
The discomfort ISKCON faces due to the pandemic - individual and community-wise - is hardly comparable to the oppressions and torments of the past.
This is not a time to hold back or to put off what so deeply pains the heart, for the extent that you have loved, it is to that extent that you will feel a kind of pain that perhaps you’ve never experienced before.
How to become resilient and, despite the ups and downs, not give up on our spiritual journey, our search for the self?
A beautiful poem in glorification of Bhakti Charu Swami.
The current Covid-19 has brought collective pain, fear, and unexpected difficulties. We have to ask – what is out of balance?
The capitalist definition of God’s will for humanity was to pursue piety within productivity. After all, had recent discoveries not proven that God’s plan was for the pious to become wealthy?
"I look in the mirror / And I see this body / With this color / That I am supposed / To give up identifying with / But somehow, / I can’t seem to see / Beyond the brown."
How about some humility? How about admitting that we are not the supreme controllers, at least as of now? How about admitting that we don’t yet fully understand the mysteries of the universe.
In the news, some of the talking heads are saying it’s “a few bad apples” and others warn of a more systemic problem. Is it individuals on the police force or the institution itself? Will new laws, like no “chokeholds” etc, mean anything at all?
Should we join the protests? Should we speak out against a government that oppresses black men and women and attacks those wishing to publicly object to such racism? As devotees, should we protest at all? Is meddling in politics the business of Vaishnavas? Yet if we decline, are we not part of the apathy that perpetuates such injustice?
"Anger has been flaring, / Voices have been blaring, / To identify who's black, who's white, / And who happens to be right?"
An important lesson for us spirit souls: neither materially binding activities nor an artificial cessation of activity is what will bring ultimate joy to the soul.
Can we together try to inspire each other to live in a better way, a different way? Can we try to create a change born out of the pain of this suffering?
Over the years, abilities were developed, achievements came and accolades were received, but with it has surfaced a mentality that is calculative, complicated and corrupted. How can I turn back the clock?
We the living entities always have two options. One option is to take shelter of Krishna. And the other option is to take shelter of Krishna’s illusory energy i.e. maya. If we are not with Krishna, then by default we are with maya.
If we try to control the material energy in an attempt to enjoy material happiness and avoid material distress, one thing is certain: we will be defeated.
Though we need to make judgments when holding people accountable, we needn’t become judgmental.
"Who is going to come looking for you when you get into a tough spot? Who has permission to ask you questions about your moral boundaries? Who in your life has permission to tell you that it’s time to take a break before you crash?"
"Standing in queue / Desperately buying toilet paper to wipe away their anxiety / The fear of the uncertain and the unknown / Sticks to them with industrial strength glue"
According to the New York Times, “National lockdowns and social distancing measures are drying up work and incomes and are likely to disrupt agricultural production and supply routes—leaving millions to worry how they will get enough to eat.”
We’ve seemingly lost our freedom. But when ‘freedom’ means that everything is so available that we become complacent, what’s the benefit? If ‘restriction’ generates an appreciation and gratitude of what we’ve taken for granted all these years, where’s the loss?
