17 May 2023
Our main Content of the year: Prince Arjuna’s questions to Bhagavan Krishna
- What are we all striving for in our own lives? What is the Happiness all of us are looking for?
- How do we know we are happier? More in the here and now (not in the anxiety of the future or regrets of the past)
- This results in the quietude of mind
- How do we know happiness doesn’t come from fulfilling our desires?
- Everytime we fulfill a desire the so-called “happiness” is fleeting
- There are a seemingly endless number of desires- chasing one after the next– there’s no end in sight
- A genuine seeker comes to the realization that the mind will become quiet with right action
- What is wrong action? Trying to escape from one’s responsibilities- doing things purely for the sake of pleasure
- Trying to escape from responsibilities- selfish action, takes us further away from the goal of Joy
- Likes/dislikes lead to engaging in certain actions which reinforce our desires
- Our brain then makes the association with the like/desire and it can turn into an addiction
- So how do we be free of this endless cycle?
- Engaging in action which is not propelled by likes/dislikes but by fulfilling responsibilities which will purify the mind
- From Prince Arjuna and Bhagavan Krishna’s dialogue, we also understand that prioritization is key- how do we know which responsibilities are the most important? The ones from which we grow the most
- Each of our roles in life have a set of responsibilities and depending on the stage of life can be prioritized differently- for example, in high school, being a student is more important responsibility than being a friend
- When we engage in our responsbilities we can do it while complaining/being miserable or we can reframe differently: this helps us connect with or Dance with the Divine
- How can we become independently joyous? To know ourselves as we truly are– to the point where we don’t need anything external– that which can’t be taken away from us is who we really are– this is consciousness- with any thoughts become the observer. (i.e. i am not angry but i am experiencing an anger thought)
- An Enlightened person knows they are the witness without effort