(The article is based on the teachings of the Bhagavad-gita Chapter 5 Verse 29.)

In our fast-paced techno-centric lifestyle, social media promises to fulfill our social needs. Updates about friends make us feel less lonely. A substantial friend count gives us a sense of community.

No doubt, social media can help us find good friends. But it can also become a compulsive need, wherein our agitation on being disconnected far exceeds whatever gratification we get on being connected.

Worse still, in searching compulsively for more friends, we miss the best friend. The Bhagavad-gita (05.29) declares that God, Krishna, is our best friend – by connecting with him, we experience the supreme peace. He is the one friend who is always with us, being ever-present in our heart, waiting for us to turn towards him. In fact, he is calling us right now through the words of scripture. Unfortunately, we are so busy reading news about friends on social media that we have no time to hear his call.

Some people may object, “But social media can also be used to connect with God. We can get speedy devotional updates.”

Yes, social media can and should be used thus. But, still, connection with God is not just a matter of getting updated about events – it is essentially about getting upgraded in our consciousness. To upgrade our consciousness from the material level to the spiritual level, we need to focus on God, without being distracted by unending updates.

To help us focus on him, God makes himself accessible through the spiritual media of prayer and meditation. Through prayer, we send messages to God. And through meditation, we hear his messages. When such connection sensitizes us to his enriching presence in our heart, we realize that even the latest social media are no match to these timeless spiritual media in fulfilling our longing for friendship.

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A person in full consciousness of Me, knowing Me to be the ultimate beneficiary of all sacrifices and austerities, the Supreme Lord of all planets and demigods, and the benefactor and well-wisher of all living entities, attains peace from the pangs of material miseries.