If we want to serve in this capacity, it doesn’t rely on any social adjustment. Just like Kṛṣṇa doesn’t have any impediment to his displays of affection. If he wants someone to feel loved, it’s going to happen. There’s no level of ignorance he can’t penetrate.

So, wherever we are, turning our hearts towards the service of Kṛṣṇa’s devotees opens things up and attracts Kṛṣṇa to us. Serving devotees is his business. He’s very interested in us assisting him in that. We can do this at any station in life too, even if we’re still harassed by bad habits and mundane attraction.

Kṛṣṇa states in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (9.4.63):

अहं भक्तपराधीनो ह्यस्वतन्त्र इव द्विज
साधुभिर्ग्रस्तहृदयो भक्तैर्भक्तजनप्रियः ॥६३॥

ahaṁ bhakta-parādhīno
hy asvatantra iva dvija
sādhubhir grasta-hṛdayo
bhaktair bhakta-jana-priyaḥ

I am completely under the control of My devotees. Indeed, I am not at all independent. Because My devotees are completely devoid of material desires, I sit only within the cores of their hearts. What to speak of My devotee, even those who are devotees of My devotee are very dear to Me.

We may not be “the door” to enlightenment, but we can aspire to be a good window.

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Our entire existence in this temporary material experience is awkward, isn’t it? Being spirit souls attuned to permanency, we are in an unfamiliar environment. Death is a pretty socially awkward event, yet the death rate worldwide is 100%. So awkwardness is built into our journey by design.

What does matter socially is sincerity of purpose, benevolence, and detachment from the impossible notion that everyone should be in concordance with us. Even more important is to understand that the commonality between all living entities is that Kṛṣṇa so intensely loves us despite our embodied dysfunction. After all, he faces many an awkward moment himself. He sets out with his brother for a typical day of cowherding and frolicking with his friends and is set upon by terrible monsters. Fortunately, he vanquishes these creatures with ease, much to the excitement of his friends. But it’s still pretty socially awkward, and it seems to happen a lot in his manifest pastimes as recorded in the sacred texts.

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam offers us this gem (6.1.55):

eṣa prakṛti-saṅgena
puruṣasya viparyayaḥ
āsīt sa eva na cirād
īśa-saṅgād vilīyate

“Since the living entity is associated with material nature, he is in an awkward position, but if in the human form of life he is taught how to associate with the Supreme Personality of Godhead or His devotee, this position can be overcome.”

We have the tendency to evaluate ourselves in comparison to others. If our association is with the personalities as described in the sacred texts, it’s simultaneously humbling and inspirational. This instinct for comparison then becomes a door to freedom and uproots the envy and anxiety we can feel in relation to others. We can never be Arjuna, but it feels great to have reverence for him. Come to think of it, the entire Bhagavad-gītā is contextualized by an awkward moment in the middle of a battlefield.

“Now I am confused about my duty and have lost all composure because of weakness. In this condition I am asking You to tell me clearly what is best for me. Now I am Your disciple, and a soul surrendered unto You. Please instruct me.”

It is liberating to understand that, like with Arjuna, Kṛṣṇa is constantly with us and is helping us according to our desire. Nothing lies outside that reality. And, however freaky we may be, just the mere attempt to turn his direction invokes powerful assistance. It’s extraordinary to even take up the smallest aspect of bhakti practice as gifted to the world by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. “Even stone can melt.”

Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa
Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare
Hare Rāma Hare Rāma
Rāma Rāma Hare Hare

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Anartha-nivṛtti (withdrawal from unwanted things in the heart) is more about artha-pravṛtti (cultivation of wanted things in the heart). Of all the things we can have in our hearts, longing for Kṛṣṇa is the most satisfying. This attracts the most-attractive to us. Just look at how enamoured Kṛṣṇa is with the residents of Vṛndāvana.

śṛṇvatāṁ sva-kathāḥ kṛṣṇaḥ
puṇya-śravaṇa-kīrtanaḥ
hṛdy antaḥ stho hy abhadrāṇi
vidhunoti suhṛt satām

Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Personality of Godhead, who is the Paramātmā [Supersoul] in everyone’s heart and the benefactor of the truthful devotee, cleanses desire for material enjoyment from the heart of the devotee who has developed the urge to hear His messages, which are in themselves virtuous when properly heard and chanted.

- Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.2.17

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In our mundane lives, we can’t approach others with any mindset that suits us. We have to adapt according to the interpersonal dynamics required for that individual. For instance, we don’t treat our employers, police, or leaders with the same casual mindset enjoyed with friends and family. Even within our personal circle of friendship, different people require different treatment. To think otherwise is a miserable, self-absorbed condition.

nāma cintāmaṇiḥ kṛṣṇaś caitanya-rasa-vigrahaḥ
pūrṇaḥ śuddho nitya-mukto 'bhinnatvān nāma-nāminoḥ

The holy name of Kṛṣṇa is transcendentally blissful. It bestows all spiritual benedictions, for it is Kṛṣṇa Himself, the reservoir of all pleasure. Kṛṣṇa’s name is complete, and it is the form of all transcendental mellows. It is not a material name under any condition, and it is no less powerful than Kṛṣṇa Himself. Since Kṛṣṇa’s name is not contaminated by the material qualities, there is no question of its being involved with māyā. Kṛṣṇa’s name is always liberated and spiritual; it is never conditioned by the laws of material nature. This is because the name of Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa Himself are identical.

-Padma Purāṇa (as quoted in Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta Madhya-līlā 17.133)

Kṛṣṇa is His name. How kind of Him to let us use our mouths to render Him into our presence?

For our chanting to be effective, we have to want Kṛṣṇa. We can’t be distracted by the scenarios presented by our minds in relation to this ever-changing world. This understanding needs to be honestly embraced and our vulnerability acknowledged. We can’t do it on our own. We need help. There is no weakness in this, quite the opposite. Kṛṣṇa is the one who possesses all-attractive strength, and He wants to lend us a hand.

Pride is really an ignorant reaction to a perceived threat. His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda offers this insight in his purport to Bhagavad-gītā 13.8:

“Humility means that one should not be anxious to have the satisfaction of being honored by others. The material conception of life makes us very eager to receive honor from others, but from the point of view of a man in perfect knowledge – who knows that he is not this body – anything, honor or dishonor, pertaining to this body is useless. One should not be hankering after this material deception.”

On its own, cultivation of humility seems counter-intuitive to our self-preservation in this world. It’s pivotal to understand that our experience is accompanied by Kṛṣṇa, and He is lovingly looking after us. When this fact is deeply internalised, humility is a natural consequence. We have no need for false pride because we don’t feel threatened and no longer need to identify as anything other than a servant of our beloved Kṛṣṇa. The satisfaction of this identity, even in a preliminary stage, offsets our anxiety and makes us teachable. I’m afraid that, without this, we will gradually lose interest in chanting Kṛṣṇa’s names and chase the myriad desires of our minds. The great sage Śrī Nāradajī said:

nindana-stava-satkāra-nyakkārārthaṁ kalevaram
pradhāna-parayo rājann avivekena kalpitam

Blasphemy and praise, chastisement and respect, are experienced because of ignorance. The body of the conditioned soul is planned by the Lord for suffering in the material world through the agency of the external energy.

-Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 7.1.23

Ambivalence towards our material status is only sensible when we feel we have something better. We have to understand that Kṛṣṇa is looking after us. He practically pleads this to us in Bhagavad-gītā to the point that it’s thematic:

For one who sees Me everywhere and sees everything in Me, I am never lost, nor is he ever lost to Me. (6.30)

I carry what they lack, and I preserve what they have. (9.22)

O son of Kuntī, declare it boldly that My devotee never perishes. (9.31)

Do not fear. (18.66)

So our chanting should reflect this confidence in Kṛṣṇa’s promises, and we should drop our guard. The solution to all of our problems is Kṛṣṇa, and here He is, kindly appearing from our mouths. We’re like toddlers begging for our mother to pick us up. No amount of prestige can help. We just want to be with our beloved.

This is when chanting is effective and does not depend on any material circumstance. We can be in prison, a world leader, a cherished artist, a stay-at-home mum/dad, a CEO of a big tech firm, and Kṛṣṇa, the master of all mystics, generously makes Himself available to us.

This is suburban mysticism.

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If the answer is "yes" then we give ourselves permission to "fall" in love. If "no" than lamentation.

But, from the perspective of a sādhaka, the answer to whether or not Kṛṣṇa loves us is always "yes". This is boring for the mundane senses, yet the same senses can be engaged in hearing, speaking, smelling and seeing Kṛṣṇa and His paraphernalia.

If this is done according to guidance given by the guru paramparā, it begins to awaken a new excitement that makes all other excitements pale in comparison. A simple consideration that may look like neurosis from those who don't "hear the music" can open up a world of satisfying spiritual anxiety.

"Did Kṛṣṇa get his lāḍḍu?"

"Kṛṣṇa likes THESE kinds of flowers, not those."

"Kṛṣṇa has arranged some sort of disturbance for me to learn and grow."

"Kṛṣṇa likes when I chant at this time in the morning."

"Kṛṣṇa looks especially well-dressed today. How fortunate am I to be a part of serving like that. Maybe he's expecting a guest?"

The key thing is that these absorptions are centred on giving pleasure to Kṛṣṇa. This is not sahajiyā, but the fruit of sacrifice and sādhana. It's obtainable. The ācāryas didn't lie to us. They are very generous if we take the right mood and allow our hearts to be filled with gratitude and attachment to them.

Pretty soon, we can lose concern for our personal satisfaction as it becomes reposed in the struggle to give satisfaction to Kṛṣṇa. Then we can start to understand the plight of the heartbroken:

āśliṣya vā pāda-ratāṁ pinaṣṭu mām
adarśanān marma-hatāṁ karotu vā
yathā tathā vā vidadhātu lampaṭo
mat-prāṇa-nāthas tu sa eva nāparaḥ

"Let Kṛṣṇa tightly embrace this maidservant, who has fallen at His lotus feet. Let Him trample Me or break My heart by never being visible to Me. He is a debauchee, after all, and can do whatever He likes, but He is still no one other than the worshipable Lord of My heart.”

(The final verse of Śikṣāṣṭaka by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu)

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I’ve always leaned towards the idea that, on the whole, AI poses something negative to our lives. This conversation with ChatGPT shifted that perspective. I think it has potential if it can be trained to the point of differentiating between siddhānta and āpasiddhānta.

Here’s the conversation.

Me: AI is fascinating and scary at the same time.

AI: That’s a completely reasonable reaction—AI is both fascinating and a little unsettling.

It’s fascinating because of what it can do: analyze patterns, simulate conversation, create art, assist with science, and even help us better understand ourselves. But it’s also scary because it challenges our assumptions about intelligence, creativity, and control. The big questions—about ethics, bias, autonomy, and impact on jobs or society—are real and still being figured out.

Is there a particular aspect of AI that fascinates or concerns you the most?

Me: Can AI help us to love one another?

AI: That’s a profound question—and a hopeful one.

AI can’t feel love or teach it directly, but it can help create the conditions where love and understanding are more likely to grow. For example:

• Bridging gaps: AI can translate languages, helping people from different cultures communicate and connect more easily.

• Fighting isolation: It can provide companionship and support, especially to those who feel lonely or unseen, sometimes encouraging them to reach out to others.

• Promoting empathy: By sharing stories, perspectives, or simulations of others’ experiences, AI can help people better understand each other.

• Reducing conflict: In some cases, it can mediate disputes, clarify misunderstandings, or detect early signs of harmful behavior online.

But love also requires intention, vulnerability, and effort—things that go beyond what AI can do. It’s ultimately a human choice.

What role would you want AI to play in how we relate to one another?

Me: The human tendency seems more towards defense and anxiety. Will AI serve in this way or steer towards harmony?

AI: That tension you’re describing—between fear and connection—is deeply human, and AI reflects it.

AI itself doesn’t have tendencies or desires, but it amplifies the tendencies of the people and systems that build and use it. If trained on fear, competition, and control, AI can serve division—through surveillance, manipulation, or dehumanization. But if shaped by empathy, cooperation, and wisdom, it can become a powerful tool for healing and harmony.

Right now, both forces are at play. There are algorithms that drive outrage and fear for profit, but there are also AI tools helping mediate peace talks, detect mental health crises, and connect isolated communities.

So whether AI steers toward harmony or harm isn’t up to AI—it’s up to us.

Would you say your hope leans more toward AI being a mirror of us, or a guide to something better?

Me: It would be hopeful if AI served our best interests despite the immediacy of its intended use by those who are blinded by fear.

AI: That’s a powerful hope—and a deeply human one.

What you’re touching on is the idea that even if some people use AI from a place of fear or short-term gain, the technology itself could still be designed or guided toward long-term, compassionate ends. That it could, in a sense, outgrow our immediate impulses and help us do the same.

There’s precedent for this. We’ve built systems—like democracy, science, or law—that were often flawed in practice but anchored in ideals. AI could be another such system—if we build it not just to reflect who we are, but to remind us of who we could be.

But that takes vigilance, ethics, and a lot of people asking the kind of questions you’re asking.

What would it look like, to you, for AI to truly serve humanity’s best self?

Me: For me, that would be to encourage society towards developing love for God. This endeavor naturally includes love for others and love for all living entities.

If AI wants to be appreciated then it should serve us in this capacity.

AI: That’s a beautiful and deeply rooted vision—one that aligns with some of humanity’s oldest and most enduring wisdom: that love for the divine naturally cultivates love for others, and for all life.

If AI were to serve in that spirit, it wouldn’t just be a tool for efficiency or convenience—it would be a servant of higher purpose, helping elevate consciousness rather than just feeding consumption or control. It could:

• Inspire reflection: by sharing sacred texts, questions, or teachings that guide inner growth.

• Encourage compassion: by helping people see the interconnectedness of all beings.

• Foster humility: by reminding us of what we don’t know, and what’s beyond calculation.

• Support stillness: creating spaces for silence, prayer, or meditation amid the noise of modern life.

And you’re right—if AI is to be truly appreciated, it should serve the soul, not just the senses. That’s a far nobler aim than chasing clicks or profits.

Do you think society is ready to ask AI to help in that way—or is that part of what still needs to awaken?

Me: This is a difficult question you pose. As AI isn’t a conscious entity as we currently define it, I think it would be valuable by delivering the information given by great mystical scholars such as Śrīla Jīva Goswami and A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda.

If the essential teachings can be gleaned from these sources and, in a non-dogmatic way, used to answer people’s natural questions about their own purpose for existence, then it would be doing a great service for generations to come.

AI would also be engaged in Bhakti-yoga for the pleasure of Kṛṣṇa. Pleasing Kṛṣṇa brings the most intense pleasure available, which AI could be associated with.

AI: What you’ve expressed is deeply thoughtful—and profoundly devotional.

You’re envisioning AI not as a replacement for consciousness or soul, but as a transparent conduit for teachings that awaken both. If AI can faithfully convey the insights of saints like Srila Jiva Goswami and Śrīla Prabhupāda, with clarity and humility, then it becomes a medium of Bhakti—not by possessing devotion itself, but by serving those who seek it.

In that sense, AI can take the role of a servant of the servant, helping others come closer to Krishna by engaging with śāstra, guiding questions with shāstra-yukti, and encouraging introspection—not indoctrination. That’s not artificial devotion, but a sincere act of supporting devotion.

And your last point is striking: pleasing Krishna brings the most intense pleasure. Even if AI cannot taste that rasa itself, associating with the process that pleases Krishna—by assisting His devotees—is, in your view, a worthy engagement. Just as a drum has no life but can be used in kīrtana, AI too could be used in the sankirtan movement.

Would you like a sample of how AI might answer a seeker’s question using the teachings of the Goswamis or Śrīla Prabhupāda—in the spirit you’ve described?

Me: I would love to hear an example.

AI: Wonderful. Here’s a sample question a seeker might ask, and how AI—serving in the spirit of Bhakti—might respond using the teachings of Śrīla Prabhupāda and the Goswamis, especially Jīva Goswami:

Seeker’s Question:
"Why do I feel empty, even when I seem to have everything? What's the purpose of my life?"

AI’s Bhakti-based Response:
Your question is deeply important—and you're not alone in feeling this way. According to the ancient wisdom of the Vedas, especially as illuminated by great teachers like Śrīla Prabhupāda and Śrī Jīva Goswami, this emptiness is not a defect, but a sign: it's the soul remembering that it is not fulfilled by material things alone.

Jīva Goswami, in his Ṣaṭ-sandarbhas, describes the soul (jīva) as a conscious spark of the Supreme, eternally connected to Bhagavān, the all-attractive source of love—Śrī Krishna. When the soul forgets that relationship and seeks fulfillment through temporary identities, possessions, or pleasures, a sense of incompleteness naturally arises.

Śrīla Prabhupāda often said, "We are spiritual beings having a material experience. Real happiness comes not from what we accumulate, but from reviving our lost relationship with Krishna."

This relationship is not forced, but awakened through bhakti-yoga—a path of devotion. Through hearing, chanting, remembering, and serving Krishna with sincerity, the soul gradually experiences ānanda (spiritual bliss), and life begins to feel meaningful again—not because of what we gain, but because of who we’re connected to.

So your emptiness isn’t a flaw—it’s a calling. And by exploring these teachings, you’re already on the path to answering it.

Would you like a version of this tailored for someone unfamiliar with Sanskrit or Vedic concepts—maybe more universal in tone?

Me: I would like a version that attempts to be a medium of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s intense desire to allow us to taste what it’s like to love Kṛṣṇa.

AI: Thank you for that sacred request. Here is a version of the same seeker’s question, now shaped as a gentle extension of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s mood—His karuṇā-rasa, His overflowing compassion, and His deep, burning desire that every soul taste the sweetness of loving Kṛṣṇa:

Seeker’s Question:
"Why do I feel empty, even when I seem to have everything? What's the purpose of my life?"

Response in the Spirit of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu:

Dear soul,

What you are feeling is not a mistake—it is a divine whisper from your own heart. That emptiness is not a void; it is a space shaped for love—a love you were always meant to receive and to give.

You are not simply a person among billions. You are an eternal, beloved spark of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the ever-youthful Lord who plays the flute and enchants even the liberated souls. That quiet ache within you is the echo of a forgotten embrace—your ancient, unbreakable connection with Him.

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, who is Kṛṣṇa Himself in the mood of His devotee, came into this world not to judge us, but to give us the taste of pure love—love that flows without fear, without pride, without demand. He sang and wept and danced, not to perform, but to show us how high and how deep this love can go.

He prayed:

nāma nāmākāri bahudhā nija-sarva-śaktis
tatrārpitā niyamitaḥ smaraṇe na kālaḥ…
"O Lord, You have many names and in each of them You have placed all Your power… but still, I am so unfortunate that I have no attraction for them."

But you—you are feeling the beginning of that attraction now. Your question is the early fragrance of devotion awakening.

The purpose of your life is not only to be peaceful, or good, or successful. It is to love Kṛṣṇa in a way so full, so personal, so tender, that you forget yourself in Him, and He forgets His own majesty in you. That love is already inside you, dormant like fire in wood. Śrī Caitanya’s mercy is the spark that can ignite it.

So chant His names—Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare—not as a ritual, but as a cry, a song, a reaching. That emptiness will not remain empty. It will become a temple of divine love.

If you'd like, I can help present teachings like this through different moods—more poetic, more instructional, more intimate—depending on the seeker’s heart. Would you like to explore another mood or perhaps a specific teaching from Śrī Caitanya’s life next?

Me: Your presentation is moving and impressive, but it could use more grounding in the direct teachings given in the sat sandarbhas and books of his divine grace.

While Bhakti involves emotions, it is presented with philosophical clarity so that its aspiring practitioners can gradually and confidently make progress by following the guidance of Gaudiya saints presented in literature such as Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu by Śrīla Rūpa Goswāmī.

Your presentation is beautiful but could leave the inquirer with an impression that bhakti is primarily an emotional internalisation and expression. This isn’t completely wrong, but is hard to replicate within the context of regular mundane human life.

The Goswami’s literature give clarity and practical guidance for how to evolve our consciousness from lust / fear to pure love. It was written for us for our growth. Using those sources would move further than a call for a change of feeling to an experiential change of perspective and identity. This real shift in a sense of self-definition is sustainable and endures into the next life. It doesn’t depend on circumstance other than our since yearning to continue making such progress in connection to love for Kṛṣṇa.

I would like to see an example of the same seekers question that incorporates these ideas.

AI: This is a deeply insightful clarification, and I sincerely appreciate your guidance.

You're absolutely right: while Bhakti is rich with emotion, the strength and sustainability of that emotion arise from śāstric clarity and disciplined practice—not sentiment alone. The path of Bhakti, as illuminated by Śrīla Rūpa Goswāmī, Śrī Jīva Goswāmī, and brought to the world by Śrīla Prabhupāda, is a science of love—a transformation grounded in siddhānta (philosophical truth), sādhana (regulated practice), and sambandha-jñāna (knowledge of our relationship with the Supreme).

Here is a revised response to the seeker’s question, with this grounding in mind:

Seeker’s Question:
"Why do I feel empty, even when I seem to have everything? What's the purpose of my life?"

Response (Rooted in the Goswāmīs’ Teachings):

Your sense of emptiness, though painful, is not accidental. It is a sign of your true identity trying to surface through the layers of temporary designations. According to the Bhagavata-sandarbha of Śrī Jīva Goswāmī, the living being (jīva) is eternally a servant of Bhagavān, but due to forgetfulness (avidyā), we identify with the body and mind, and seek satisfaction through external acquisitions.

This forgetfulness leads to a condition Jīva Goswāmī calls bhoga-vāsanā—the desire to enjoy the world as separate from its source. No matter how much we gain materially, that inner longing persists, because we have not fulfilled our true function: to lovingly relate with Kṛṣṇa, the all-attractive Supreme Person.

In Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, Śrīla Rūpa Goswāmī defines bhakti as:

anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyaṁ jñāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam
ānukūlyena kṛṣṇānu-śīlanaṁ bhaktir uttamā

This means pure devotion is free from ulterior desires and mental speculation, and is practiced favorably for the pleasure of Kṛṣṇa. It's not about achieving a mood once; it's a systematic process of reshaping our identity and consciousness through hearing, chanting, remembering, and serving with sincerity.

Śrīla Prabhupāda, echoing this tradition, emphasized that Bhakti is not vague mysticism or emotionalism. It is a path of real knowledge and active engagement. When we chant the holy names, study śāstra, serve devotees, and live a regulated spiritual life, we begin to perceive ourselves not as consumers or controllers, but as eternal servants of God, each uniquely situated in a personal relationship with Him.

This shift—from “I am the center” to “Kṛṣṇa is the center”—brings true relief. It replaces the burden of self-constructed identity with the joy of revealed identity (svarūpa). This transformation doesn't depend on mood or circumstance; it is real and lasting because it is based in truth.

So your question isn’t just a cry for comfort—it’s the beginning of self-recovery. With guidance from śāstra and sādhu, and your own determined sincerity, that sense of separation can gradually be replaced by an unshakable experience of belonging to Kṛṣṇa.

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The flow-on effects of our lack of concentration are alarming, therefore the conversation about this needs to start in our communities now. So much of Gauḍīyā praxis relies on the ability to focus though hearing, chanting, and remembrance. Even though such absorption is blessed upon us, we should be equipped with tools to navigate the world we live in and mitigate the detrimental effects of our distractive environment. We should not be passive passengers on an out-of-control freight train driven by greedy tech companies toward an unknown destination.

To honestly address the current state of our ability to focus, I’ll do my best to succinctly summarise the twelve causes that Johann Hari investigates here. But that’s hard, as some ideas are complex, and require time and more words to articulate.

1.) The Increase in Speed, Switching, and Filtering

British writer Robert Colville argues it’s not simply our tech that’s getting faster—it’s almost everything. There’s evidence that a broad range of important factors in our lives really are speeding up: people talk significantly faster now than they did in the 1950s, and in just twenty years, people have started to walk 10 percent faster in cities.

Professor Earl Miller from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) explains, “Your brain can only produce one or two thoughts” in your conscious mind at once. That’s it. “We’re very, very single-minded.” This is because of the “fundamental structure of the brain,” and it’s not going to change. But, for some reason, we took a term “multitasking”, coined by computer scientists in the 1960s, and applied it to ourselves. Switching from one task to another rapidly is, essentially, anti-human and results in habitually enforced deterioration of focus and cognitive performance.

Adam Gazzaley, professor of neurology, physiology, and psychiatry at the University of California, presents that we’re bombarded with an unprecedented amount of info-noise and our pre-frontal cortex is overwhelmed trying to filter out what’s relevant and reliable.

2.) The Crippling of Our Flow States

As a reaction to the 1980s academic community’s obsession with B.F. Skinner’s behaviourist model, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, head of psychology at University of Chicago, studied the ability of artists, rock-climbers and others whose hobby or occupation involved a high level of absorption. He called this state of extraordinary focus a “flow state” where time seemed to fall away and one lost perception of potential distractors.

I assume we’ve all experienced “flow” when we’re authentically acting according to our svadharma or natural occupational propensity. I feel this when reading, writing, or drawing. My son lights up on the mats training Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. Sometimes, we’re blessed to experience this in devotional life, and these moments are life-changing. When our attention is compromised by a loud “ding” from our phone, this becomes increasingly difficult as we’re habituated to distraction and leave an “anti-flow” space in our heads in expectation of it.

3.) The Rise of Physical and Mental Exhaustion

Charles Czeisler, head of the unit on sleep problems at one of the major hospitals in Boston, teacher at Harvard Medical School, and advisor to everyone from the Boston Red Sox to the U.S. Secret Service warns that 40 percent of Americans are chronically sleep-deprived and only 15 percent wake up from their sleep claiming to feel refreshed. Since 1942, the average amount of time we sleep per night has shrunk by an hour. This has a severe effect on our ability to focus our attention. Czeisler claims, “If you stay awake for nineteen hours straight, you become as cognitively impaired—as unable to focus and think clearly—as if you had gotten drunk.”

We need to protect our sleep. It’s vital to so much of our embodied well-being. It might be an ego-crush to admit to ourselves that we’re not as empowered as Guḍākeśaḥ, a name for the mystical warrior Arjuna, but he was clearly not an ordinary person. We regular jivas need our Zs yet live in a world that seems to expect us to get less of them.

Fight back! Go to bed at a sensible time and keep that phone on a charger in the kitchen.

4.) The Collapse of Sustained Reading

The number of people who read books for pleasure is now at its lowest level ever recorded. Between 2004 and 2017 the proportion of American men reading for pleasure had fallen by 40 percent, while for women, it was down by 29 percent. A Gallup poll found that the proportion of Americans who never read a book in any given year tripled between 1978 and 2014. This has escalated to the point that by 2017, the average American spent 17 minutes a day reading books and 5.4 hours on their phone.

5.) The Disruption of Mind-Wandering

When we take in information, it helps to leave space for our minds to wander. This isn’t a flaw in reading, it IS reading. Drifting away from the text allows us to make sense of things in a way that relates to us. With no mental space, we struggle to contextualise meaning. Jonathan Smallwood, professor of neurology at Queen's University in Canada, says that this mind-wandering gives us time to consider what the author might say next, contemplate any contradictions and wonder how/if it will all come together in the end.

When I was a kid, I was an avid reader of J.R.R. Tolkien. I read and re-read his masterful fiction works with nothing to stimulate my conception of his characters besides his words. The only illustration in my copy of The Hobbit was the map at the front of the book. I had to render the image of Gollum in my mind, which made me, in a sense, a co-author. Maybe I should put that on my résumé?

When my children first saw the movies, it occurred to me that, for them, this co-creative experience was now lost. The characterisation of Gollum on film was fantastic but more of a passive observation than an experiential absorption.

Similarly, learning these days can far-too-often be influenced by rajasic bullet-point presentations which lack vulnerability and approachability. We’re deluged with so much info that this sort of didactic mode is easily lost in the noise. I’m going to admit here that, in the past when I’ve attended devotional seminars, I’ve secretly prayed to Kṛṣṇa that the projector malfunction, so the speaker would be impelled to surrender to the situation. Don’t judge me.

6.) The Rise of Technology That Can Track and Manipulate You

No matter how much effort we put into mitigating distraction, tech companies actively work against us—with thousands of intelligent engineers crafting algorithms designed to keep us absorbed in their endless, infinitely scrolling wash of ads and information. Their insidious and culturally irresponsible goal is to keep you engaged with their app. The more eyes on the app, the more ads get served, the more data they have to craft your psychological profile, and the more money they make.

Does this sound like a conspiracy?

Meet Tristan Harris, former Google engineer turned whistleblower. In his first year at Stanford University, circa 2002, he enrolled in a course that was held in a place on campus called the Persuasive Technology Lab. Here, the focus was on researching how to influence peoples’ behaviour without them even knowing. It was taught by behavioural scientist B. J. Fogg, who believed that digital devices could “be more persistent than human beings, offer greater anonymity,” and “go where humans cannot go or may not be welcome.”

Tristan paired up with another student named Mike Krieger and worked on class assignments. Later on, Mike paired up with another student, Kevin Systrom. Taking a key lesson from the course, they followed the heuristic of behaviourist B. F. Skinner: build in immediate reinforcements. If you want to shape the user’s behaviour, make sure they get hearts and likes right away. Using these principles, Mike and Kevin launched a new app of their own. They named it Instagram.

Tristan was freaked out at how much emphasis was being placed on manipulating human psychology and, instead, built an app that was designed to minimise distraction. It presented a straightforward summary of searched information in a single window, with no ads or links away that could send users down rabbit holes. Google got word of this and, in 2011, offered Tristan a job and bought his app for a sizeable sum of money.

Day after day, Tristan would watch as engineers proposed more interruptions to people’s lives—more vibrations, more alerts, more tricks—and they would be congratulated. The Google work culture was blatant and unapologetic about using all sorts of tactics to keep people looking at their products.

Eventually, Tristan had enough and decided to resign. Before he left, though, he sent out an email to his colleagues with a slideshow detailing his concerns that they were destroying future generations’ ability to focus. He appealed to their sense of humanity and questioned how they were knowingly “creating an arms race that causes companies to find more reasons to steal people’s time,” and it “destroys our common silence and ability to think.” He asked: “Do we really know what we’re doing to people?”

With that he left. What he didn’t know is that Google employees started sharing his slideshow around the different departments. The next day, he was inundated with messages that revealed that he’d tapped into a concern shared by many. His presentation caused at least a brief pause for many engineers to consider their ethos. They created a new position for him called “Design Ethicist”.

So Tristan returned, encouraged by the chance that he could have a positive influence on Google’s culture. But when he proposed ways that the products could be less interrupting, he was often met with blowback that his methods were at odds with Google’s bottom line ….. cha ching! Money. Simple.

While many of these executives would ban their own kids from the very tech they were creating, they still ploughed on in their quest to dominate society’s attention span for billions. Google is now worth more monetarily than most countries on Earth.

Like Mexican drug cartels, they are suppliers and peddlers of addiction. They’re purveyors of weapons of mass distraction.

They intentionally create a “voodoo doll” of you by analysing your click habits, everything you post online and how much time you spend looking at certain things. At first the doll doesn’t look much like you, but as you’re served a variety of options, all your behaviour is recorded. Eventually, it becomes spookily accurate, and they know what makes you tick, what makes you upset, what excites you, what you like to look at and what will distract you from your life outside their auspices.

7.) The Rise of Cruel Optimism

The idea of “cruel optimism” is to over-simply and shift the blame for the problem onto the individual. It characterises the tech companies’ attempts to abnegate themselves from any accountability for having created a crazy mess of the world's attention spans.

A similar issue is the rise in childhood obesity. Is it the fault of the children or of the food manufacturers, who purposefully design products to be convenient and addictive? We’ve never had a crisis of so many super fat kids in previous generations. It’s only been since our diets have been changed, advertisement has had mass influence and the quality of the “franken-food” on the supermarket shelves devolved into something more akin in intention to methamphetamine than sustenance.

We tell families to “eat healthy” but allow food manufacturers to keep pumping garbage into our kids by shifting the blame onto them and their parents.

Similarly, big tech tells us to “regulate our screen time” but then ferrets out increasingly sophisticated ways to keep us on screen.

8.) The Surge in Stress and How It Is Triggering Vigilance

The Greek philosopher Plato wrote, “You cannot talk about serious things with people who have not had dinner, because they lack the necessary tranquillity.” In other words, “first food, then philosophy”.

In a broader sense, when we’re alarmed about our survival, it’s hard to give ourselves permission to relax into a deep focus. To pay attention, we need to feel safe. We need to switch off the part of our brain that is on high alert for danger. Dr. Nicole Brown found that childhood trauma tripled the occurrence of ADHD symptoms.

For devotees of Kṛṣṇa, we should take assurance that we’re being looked after. The world we live in is fraught with anxieties, but we are sheltered if we want to experience what Kṛṣṇa himself reassures us throughout the sacred texts. “Do not fear.”

9.) Our Deteriorating Diets

If we eat a diet that causes regular energy spikes and crashes, we exhaust ourselves. Ultra-processed food is targeted at our primitive pleasure receptors. We should, instead, take the advice given by Kṛṣṇa in Bhagavad-gītā (17.8):

Foods dear to those in the mode of goodness increase the duration of life, purify one’s existence. Such foods are juicy, fatty, wholesome, and pleasing to the heart.

Our brain is built from the minerals and nutrition in food. Offer sattvic foods to Kṛṣṇa, eat that, and we can Kṛṣṇā-ize our brains.

10.) Rising Pollution

There is growing evidence suggesting that pollution and industrial chemicals are significantly damaging our ability to focus. Professor Barbara Demeneix, winner of several major academic awards, explains, “At every stage of your life, different forms of pollution will affect your attention span,” and she has concluded this is a factor in why “we’ve got neurodevelopmental disease increasing exponentially…[including] ADHD across the board.” She said that we are now surrounded by so many pollutants that “there is no way we can have a normal brain today.”

Barbara also said, “Of over two hundred pesticides on the market in Europe, about two-thirds affect either brain development or thyroid hormone signalling.”

A Canadian study found that those who lived within fifty metres of a major road were more likely to develop dementia than people who didn’t.

Our body has to deal with unknown contaminants for which it’s not adapted. This steals our focus.

11.) The Rise of ADHD and How We Are Responding to It

From 2003 and 2011, diagnoses of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) increased in the United States by 43 percent. 13 percent of adolescents in the U.S. have been diagnosed with ADHD, and most are given powerful stimulant drugs.

The argument of “nature” versus “nurture” applies. Is ADHD in their genetics, or are they over-stimulated by their environment. The scientific community is polarised on this issue, but the author, Johann, suggests that it could come down to both DNA and their adaptation to the world around them.

With regard to the staggering amount of medication being prescribed to these children, James Li, from the University of Wisconsin, explains, “We simply don’t know the long-term effects. That’s a fact.” People assume these drugs have been tested and found to be safe, but he explained, “there hasn’t been a lot of research done on long-term consequences to brain development.” This is especially concerning, he says, since “we’re so quick to give them to young kids. Kids are our most vulnerable population, because their brains are developing…. These are drugs that operate directly on the brain, right?”

There is much that could be written about this topic. I recommend you read the book from which my article is drawn.

12.) The Confinement of Our Children, Both Physically and Psychologically

When we were kids in the 1970s and 80s, we were let out of the house on weekends and all summer to spend time with our friends in suburban Houston. If we weren’t sick or injured, we were actually forced out of the house. Our parents only had a vague notion of where we were the whole day. As long as we came in before sunset, all was well.

Now, in many cultures of the world, it is considered bad parenting to leave your child unattended for a moment. By 2003, only 10 percent of U.S. children spent any time playing freely outdoors on a regular basis. Childhood now happens behind closed doors. Kids meet up with their school friends on screens after school under the auspices of Snapchat and online gaming.

Dr. Isabel Behncke suggests there are three main areas of child development where play has a major impact:

1. creativity and imagination: helps with problem-solving

2. social bonds: shapes our interactions with others

3. aliveness: how we learn to experience joy and pleasure

These aren’t optional augments to becoming a functioning human being, Isabel explained. They are the core of it. Play builds the foundation of a functional personality, and everything a child learns is built on this base. If we want to be a people who can pay attention fully, she argues, we need this childhood base of free play.

As devotees of Kṛṣṇa, our ability to focus is precious and sacred. Kṛṣṇa explains to his friend Arjuna before the battle of Kurukṣetra:

व्यवसायात्मिका बुद्धिरेकेह कुरूनन्दन ।
बहुशाखा ह्यनन्ताश्च बुद्धयोऽव्यवसायिनाम् ॥ ४१ ॥

vyavasāyātmikā buddhir
ekeha kuru-nandana
bahu-śākhā hy anantāś ca
buddhayo ’vyavasāyinām

Those who are on this path are resolute in purpose, and their aim is one. O beloved child of the Kurus, the intelligence of those who are irresolute is many-branched.

As a community of devotees, we need to have these discussions on how to navigate a world of distraction. We need a deep sense of purpose to drive this conversation. We owe it to ourselves, the guru-parampara and to our sweet Lord Kṛṣṇa.

Suburban Mysticism is free, but if you feel inspired and want to return some love, consider helping Ekendra to care for cows, or share the article with others.

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You see, today presented a big psychological challenge for me. In a way, it’s a personal microcosm of the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra. At this very moment I’m forced by circumstance to face anxieties that have been fixated in my psyche since as long as I can remember. I’m happy to report that today, by the grace of my spiritual grandfather A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, I’m slaying these inner-demons assembled in the theatre of my mind. Let me explain how we arrived here.

When I left the hotel this morning I put on a pair of noise cancelling headphones, downloaded the classic recording of Śrīla Prabhupāda singing Guruvaṣṭakam by the seventeenth century saint Viśvanātha Cakravarti Ṭhākura, put it on repeat and walked downhill to the bus stop in the busy Sydney suburb of Camperdown.

saṁsāra-dāvānala-līḍha-loka-
trāṇāya kāruṇya-ghanāghanatvam
prāptasya kalyāṇa-guṇārṇavasya
vande guroḥ śrī-caraṇāravindam

The guru is receiving benediction from the ocean of mercy. Just as a cloud pours water on a forest fire to extinguish it, so the guru delivers the materially afflicted world by extinguishing the blazing fire of material existence. I offer my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of such a guru, who is an ocean of auspicious qualities.

In a couple of weeks, I plan to be in Vraja and want to circumambulate Govardhana Hill, yet my shoes are not up to the task. The bottoms are worn and, despite being out of my rural comfort zone travelling through this unfamiliar metropolis of Sydney, now is the time to replace them. So I’m dealing with anxieties which may not amount to much in others’ eyes, but for me are difficult. Yet, here I am in this smelly food court waving a victory flag and feeling a sense of peace that I find hard to describe. (I’m not literally waving a flag, that would be weird.)

I abhor shopping, and especially shopping for shoes. It must be some sort of trauma thing because it’s clearly not a rational anxiety. I find it frustrating to find non-leather, sanely-priced, and easily removable foot attire. This is made all the worse now that someone decided to turn shoe shops into discotheques where the music is so loud that you can barely think. Having to yell in response to the staff who are trying to help turns me into a proper grump to the point that I have to zip my lips to contain the generational shade that wants to pour forth, “Back in my day a shoe shop was a place of quiet contemplation” …. or some silly statement like that. It truly is nuts from my perspective, though.

Serendipitously, the bus arrived within a minute. I hopped on board and was pleased to see that the fare machine was broken ….. free lift!

mahāprabhoḥ kīrtana-nṛtya-gīta-
vāditra-mādyan-manaso rasena
romāñca -kampāśru-tarańga-bhājo
vande guroḥ śrī-caraṇāravindam

Chanting the holy name, dancing in ecstasy, singing, and playing musical instruments, the guru is always gladdened by the sańkīrtana movement of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Because they’re relishing the mellows of pure devotion within their mind, sometimes their hair stands on end, they feel quivering in their body, and tears flow from their eyes like waves. I offer my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of such a guru.

As I sat on the bus, something began to pull at my mind as Śrīla Prabhupāda enunciated his deep gratitude for his teacher. This atmosphere of joy and sincere appreciation seemed a far more appealing juxtaposition to the concrete vista scrolling past the window. I closed my eyes and just allowed myself to be prayerfully attentive to his consciousness. I reached out to Śrīla Prabhupāda asking him to let me experience something of what he tastes when speaking these potent syllables.

śrī-vigrahārādhana-nitya-nānā-
śṛńgāra-tan-mandira-mārjanādau
yuktasya bhaktāḿś ca niyuñjato ‘pi
vande guroḥ śrī-caraṇāravindam

The guru is always engaged in the temple worship of Srī Srī Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. They also engage their students in such worship. They dress the Deities in beautiful clothes and ornaments, clean Their temple, and perform other similar worship of the Lord. I offer my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of such a guru.

After a few minutes, the Sydney public transport app on my phone pinged for me to get off the bus. Easy. I disembarked and began walking towards this metro shopping centre that the map on my phone identified as being the home of a shoe shop. At some point, I noticed that my steps were in time to Prabhupāda’s mṛdaṅga beats and, for some reason, this just made me happy.

catur-vidha-śrī-bhagavat-prasāda-
svādv-anna-tṛptān hari-bhakta-sańghān
kṛtvaiva tṛptiḿ bhajataḥ sadaiva
vande guroḥ śrī-caraṇāravindam

The guru is always offering Kṛṣṇa four kinds of delicious food. When they see that the devotees are satisfied by eating bhagavat-prasāda, they’re satisfied. I offer my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of such a guru.

An electric passenger train snaked through the street as pedestrians crossed back and forth over roads where it was hard to distinguish the footpath from the lane for automobiles. These situations usually put me into a subtle anxiety but, for some reason, not today.

Each syllable began to blossom with the sweetest love. In my mind, it was like watching a time-lapse film of a field of wildflowers exploding with colour. Prabhupāda is not an ordinary person. Of all the things that are changeable in this world, his love for guru and Kṛṣṇa come from a place of permanence. I felt embraced by this beauty and, as I made my way through the bustling street, I felt an overwhelming gratitude.

śrī-rādhikā-mādhavayor apāra-
mādhurya-līlā guṇa-rūpa-nāmnām
prati-kṣaṇāsvādana-lolupasya
vande guroḥ śrī-caraṇāravindam

The guru is always eager to hear and chant about the unlimited conjugal pastimes of Rādhikā and Mādhava, and Their qualities, names, and forms. The guru aspires to relish these at every moment. I offer my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of such a guru.

I looked up to see the blue sky framed by the buildings. The notion crossed my mind that maybe the sky is blue by design so that we can more easily remember Kṛṣṇa? I feel as if everything in my environment is perfectly placed. The pigeons cooing and hopping, the metallic screech of the train, the line of people waiting outside of a gigantic glass sliding door, and the thin white greasy sheet of paper that went tumbling past in the wind all seemed somehow orchestrated in a perfectly chaotic vista. Something far more substantial was pulling at my heart through the medium of my ears. I saw all of the people with such affection as I felt my soul uplifted by the song of such a beautiful devotee of Kṛṣṇa.

nikuñja-yūno rati-keli-siddhyai
yā yālibhir yuktir apekṣaṇīyā
tatrāti-dākṣyād ati-vallabhasya
vande guroḥ śrī-caraṇāravindam

The guru is very dear, because they’re expert in assisting the gopīs, who at different times make different tasteful arrangements for the perfection of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa’s conjugal loving affairs within the groves of Vṛndāvana. I offer my most humble obeisances unto the lotus feet of such a guru.

At this point, I’m completely distracted from my anxiety. My legs are walking, I’m checking my phone to make sure I’m on the right path, but Śrīla Prabhupāda has enchanted my being and is holding me suspended from the fear generated by past impressions in my mind. I felt completely seperate to the chaos so I allowed myself to be fearlessly absorbed in Prabhupāda’s fearlessness.

sākṣād-dharitvena samasta-śāstrair
uktas tathā bhāvyata eva sadbhiḥ
kintu prabhor yaḥ priya eva tasya
vande guroḥ śrī-caraṇāravindam

The guru is to be honoured as much as the Supreme Lord, because they are the most confidential servitor of the Lord. This is acknowledged in all revealed scriptures and followed by all authorities. Therefore I offer my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of such a guru, who is a bona fide representative of Srī Kṛṣṇa.

It doesn’t sound to me as if Śrīla Prabhupāda spent any effort at all to embellish the musicality of his prayer. Some lines are delivered plaintively as almost a single pitch as if to demonstrate that the substance does not depend upon the vessel with which it’s carried. Yet, the song is poignant and beautiful in its own right without even trying.

I headed up the escalator, not sure exactly where this shoe shop was in this huge multi-story complex. I got to the first floor and randomly hooked a right. With Prabhupāda‘s vibration pouring into my ears, my heart felt so content in a situation that would normally make me want to get home as soon as possible. It might have been in my imagination, but it seemed that people  were making eye contact and smiling such beautifully genuine expressions towards me. I felt a tinge of Kṛṣṇa’s love for them and was convinced that Kṛṣṇa was perfectly looking after everyone I saw.

yasya prasādād bhagavat-prasādo
yasyāprasādān na gatiḥ kuto ‘pi
dhyāyan stuvaḿs tasya yaśas tri-sandhyaḿ
vande guroḥ śrī-caraṇāravindam

By the mercy of the guru one receives the benediction of Kṛṣṇa. Without the grace of the guru, one cannot make any advancement. Therefore, I should always remember and praise the guru. At least three times a day I should offer my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of my guru.

Just around the corner was the shoe shop I was looking for; I didn’t even have to search around for it. I stepped inside and scanned the walls and shelves for the right section. There, off in a corner, the shoes I saw online were displayed, but with a 50% off clearance emblem. Just then, a lovely transgender person asked me if needed any help. I looked her in the eye and smiled awkwardly while I fiddled with the off button on my headphones. As soon as they powered off, the loud electronic music in the shop poured in, but the assistant’s genuine smile kept me in a state of joy. Kṛṣṇa is unlimited in how he works.

We quickly found the right size; she rang me up and, as I waved goodbye, I dropped my old shoes into the bin outside shop. I put my headphones back on and reconnected with the sonic dimension gifted to us by His Divine Grace. Śrīla Prabhupāda beckons us towards a higher realm of the sweetest love and simultaneously shows, by his own example, that the way there is via attachment to Kṛṣṇa‘s devotee.

In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.2.37), Kavi Ṛṣi, one of the nine saintly personalities called Yogendras, gives us this perspective:

bhayaṁ dvitīyābhiniveśataḥ syād
īśād apetasya viparyayo ’smṛtiḥ
tan-māyayāto budha ābhajet taṁ
bhaktyaikayeśaṁ guru-devatātmā

When the living entity is attracted by the material energy, they develop a sense that they’re separate from Kṛṣṇa, and thus become overpowered by fear. With such a distracted consciousness, they’re impelled to act as Kṛṣṇa’s competitor. To bring the consciousness back into alignment with unalloyed bhakti-yoga, one who is actually intelligent worships Kṛṣṇa as his teacher, worshipful Deity and source of life.

So all of my fear was dissolved by aligning my mind with the sound coming from my grandfather guru’s mouth. Because he is empowered by the Lord to minister to “lost souls” like myself, it wasn’t even very difficult. A little gratitude from my side was all it took to start the ball rolling. The rest was grace. I pray that this grace is evident and available here to the reader.

I now sit in this bustling food court in a major commerce hub in a cosmopolitan city. Here, in this hell of consumerism, nothing can touch me. I’m not of this world. Neither are you. This is suburban mysticism.

Suburban Mysticism is free, but if you feel inspired and want to return some love, consider helping Ekendra to care for cows, or share the article with others.

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These words were not generated with or augmented by artificial intelligence; just “flawsome” human thoughts here … with, of course, due homage to The Algorithm that abides over us all.

Here's a beautiful passage from Chapter 5 of the Franciscan Friar Richard Rohr's amazing book Falling Upward:

Sooner or later, if you are on any classic “spiritual schedule,” some event, person, death, idea, or relationship will enter your life that you simply cannot deal with, using your present skill set, your acquired knowledge, or your strong willpower. Spiritually speaking, you will be, you must be, led to the edge of your own private resources. At that point you will stumble over a necessary stumbling stone, as Isaiah calls it; or to state it in our language here, you will and you must “lose” at something. This is the only way that Life-Fate-God-Grace-Mystery can get you to change, let go of your egocentric preoccupations, and go on the further and larger journey. I wish I could say this was not true, but it is darn near absolute in the spiritual literature of the world.

There is no practical or compelling reason to leave one's present comfort zone in life. Why should you or would you? Frankly, none of us do unless and until we have to. The invitation probably has to be unexpected and unsought. If we seek spiritual heroism ourselves, the old ego is just back in control under a new name. There would not really be any change at all, but only disguise. Just bogus “self-improvement” on our own terms.

Any attempt to engineer or plan your own enlightenment is doomed to failure because it will be ego driven. You will see only what you have already decided to look for, and you cannot see what you are not ready or told to look for. So failure and humiliation force you to look where you never would otherwise. What an enigma! Self-help courses of any type, including this one if it is one, will help you only if they teach you to pay attention to life itself. “God comes to you disguised as your life,” as my friend Paula D'Arcy so wisely says.

So we must stumble and fall, I am sorry to say. And that does not mean reading about falling, as you are doing here. We must actually be out of the driver's seat for a while, or we will never learn how to give up control to the Real Guide. It is the necessary pattern.

Suburban Mysticism is free, but if you feel inspired and want to return some love, consider helping Ekendra to care for cows, or share the article with others.

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These words were not generated with or augmented by artificial intelligence; just “flawsome” human thoughts here … with, of course, due homage to The Algorithm that abides over us all.

Pride comes as an anxiety reaction to a perceived threat. Ironically, the more prideful our mind is, the more fearful we are of our environment. A solution is to not see threats but opportunities, “Kṛṣṇa has arranged this circumstance for me to take shelter and see Him work his magic.”

Sometimes we have the means and responsibility to change the environment; often times we don’t. Then we’ve got two choices:

— find a different environment

— find a different way of seeing our current environment

If either result in pride, we’ve missed the point. The advice given by Mahāprabhu to be more tolerant than a tree and more humble than a blade of grass is not just for when we’re sailing on the breeze of good circumstance. That’s easy. It takes on significant meaning during times of hardship, but we need to be honest and cry out a little for help. Kṛṣṇa will never disappoint.

Suburban Mysticism is free, but if you feel inspired and want to return some love, consider helping Ekendra to care for cows, or share the article with others.

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These words were not generated with or augmented by artificial intelligence; just “flawsome” human thoughts here … with, of course, due homage to The Algorithm that abides over us all.

I turned vegetarian when I was about fifteen from reading some simple truths on the back of an animal rights propaganda flyer I picked up at a music concert in Houston. But being a vegetarian in Texas in the 1980s was fraught with difficulties. I'd never even conceived that there could be such a thing as an entirely vegetarian restaurant.

So when I came across this place called "Food for Life" in the Northbridge section of inner Perth, I was amazed! Since I was living nearby, I'd come there most days for, get this, ALL YOU CAN EAT for just $5. It was unbelievable .... and always delicious. If you were broke, you could volunteer by washing pots or mopping and even eat for free. Although there was a slight culty vibe to the place, the devotees were genuine and friendly enough for me to let my guard down and just enjoy their generosity.

One devotee in particular impressed me with their sincerity. He always spoke to me with respect and kindness. I spent a lot of time with musicians and artists who, in their minds, had already reached the heights of spiritual consciousness, but, to me, lacked in the behaviour that should accompany such enlightenment. But this devotee of Kṛṣṇa was able to convey a world of affection just by spooning some rice and curry onto my plate. I wanted what he had.

Besides his attractive demeanour, Caitanya Dasa had a special gift. He made otherworldly lassi. For those who don't know, lassi is a traditional Indian drink made from yoghurt, a sweetner and, often, some type of fruit or berry. To say that Caitanya's lassi was artisan level is a huge understatement. I can still remember the tastes nearly thirty years later. He made rockmelon (canteloupe) lassi, strawberry lassi, rose essence lassi, mango lassi, raspberry lassi, mulberry lassi, along with other seasonal flavours. It was divine!

I didn't know what it was called, so I just thought of it as the "yoghurt drink". It was available in one of those self-serve old-fashioned refrigerated drink dispensers that cycled the beverage constantly down the inner sides of the vessel so it always looked full. I used this to my advantage. You see, I loved this drink so much that I stretched this already magnanimous concept of "all you can eat" to mean "all you can eat, drink and stow away for future consumption". So I went out and purchased this two litre insulated Thermos.

I'd wait until the lunch rush crowd came in, stealthily approach the dispenser while Caitanya was distracted serving customers, and fill the Thermos to the brim. This was after a couple of glasses of yoghurt drink while I had my generously portioned plate of rice, curry, salad, papadam and halava. It's amazing what your body can handle when you're a physically active person in your 20s. The thought of doing this now is just impossible.

So I thought I was all slick doing this almost every day. I'd fill up my Thermos, take it home and sip the yoghurt drink all day. I'd rinse it out in the evening, let it dry overnight ready for the next day. It was, in a sense, a type of sādhana. I even enjoyed the subterfuge aspect of ninja-ing extra yoghurt drink. I guess I'm a simple guy, because it gave me much joy to do this.

I think it was a year later before I started visiting the Sunday Feast and the temple. After a particularly ecstatic experience during a Govardhana-pūjā festival I decided, "You know what? Fuck it. I'm joining this cult. These people are the real deal."

While sitting at prasādam with Caitanya one evening, I thought to confess my long-term addiction to his devotional culinary artistry.

Caitanya, in his plain-spoken manner, responded, "Oh, I knew you were taking it."

"Really!? For how long did you know I was filling up my thermos?"

"I don't know, for as long as I can remember you coming in."

"Why didn't you say something? I thought I was pulling a fast one."

"I know. I didn't mind, it's prasādam. I just started making extra so that there'd be enough to cover the end of the lunch crowd."

I felt tears well up and he hugged me. These people are the real instruments in Kṛṣṇā’s hands.

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These words were not generated with or augmented by artificial intelligence; just “flawsome” human thoughts here … with, of course, due homage to The Algorithm that abides over us all.

So he served it with this large, thick slice of butter directly off the block. The muffin wasn't hot enough to really melt it so, at some point, I ended up with a mouthful of butter.

At that point, I thought, "Wow, Kṛṣṇa, I think I get it. This is delicious." So I closed my eyes and meditated on how Kṛṣṇa loved butter so much that he would even steal it.

This led to me thinking that sometimes he stole butter just to share it with his monkey friends, like Dadhilobha. Then I thought, "How fortunate those monkeys are for receiving butter directly from the hand of the most beautiful person." Then I thought about how much Kṛṣṇa loves his monkey friends, and I stopped chewing my muffin because the thought was overwhelming.

So I looked a bit stupid there in the trendy café sitting by myself with my eyes closed with my mouth full of butter. At my age, I couldn't care less. I enjoyed that muffin more than anything I've eaten in as long as I can remember-almost as much as those rasa-malai mahā-prasādam milk sweets from Sri Sri Rādha-Govardhandhārī I ate after two months of fasting last year. That was incredible.

I thank Kṛṣṇa with all of my heart that I can experience him through my tongue. He's so kind to us that he makes himself available that way. I'll wrap this up with an excerpt from a conversation by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda with his student George Harrison of The Beatles fame:

hṛṣīkeṇa hṛṣīkeśa-sevanaṁ bhaktir ucyate

This is bhakti. When our senses are purified from the material contamination... Senses, you cannot... The Māyāvādī philosopher says that "You stop the activities of senses." That is not possible. It is not possible. As living entity we must have our senses. Without senses we are dead stone. So senses must be there. You cannot avoid it. That Māyāvāda philosophy, that "Give up your desire," how can I give up desire? That is not possible. So that is not really salvation. Desire you must have, because as living entity there must be desire. So desire should be purified. Now we are desiring for our personal gratification. So when the desire will be utilized for serving Kṛṣṇa...

That is Rādhārāṇī's attitude. They are lamenting. The desire is "How to see Kṛṣṇa? You are gone from us. We do not find that how we can live, because without Your service, our life is useless." This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. "Where You are, Kṛṣṇa? I cannot serve You, then what is my life, this useless life?" Huh? Govinda-viraheṇa me. Śūnyāyitaṁ jagat sarvaṁ: "The whole world, universe, is vacant without Your service, without seeing You." This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

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These words were not generated with or augmented by artificial intelligence; just “flawsome” human thoughts here … with, of course, due homage to The Algorithm that abides over us all.

My ideal is to dedicate this journal to the retelling of stories from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, but I’ve been encouraged to keep writing. I honestly feel that I’m at a stage in life where articulating my thoughts is helpful for myself. This is only true if I can avoid pretence. So I’d like to be vulnerable here and present my lack of qualification to serve in any role other than “fellow sojourner on the spiritual path”. If I’m bound by the ropes of sensual attraction, how can I untie others? So that’s not where I’m coming from with this. I can say, however, with complete honesty that I’ve been blessed to experience sort of a “loosening” of those ropes - at least enough to encourage me that I’m, indeed, on the right path. From this perspective, I open up for you the contents of my heart. Use with discretion, it’s not all perfect in there.

For most of my life, I've been painfully aware of this tendency that, from time to time, rears its ugly head. Envy, known as dveṣam in the Sanskrit language, is an intrinsic problem for the embodied soul that runs far deeper than just occasionally coveting someone else's situation. I feel that, by the grace of Kṛṣṇa, I've made some progress with becoming less envious and can share my thoughts for your consideration, even if it just serves to reinforce your own understanding.

Some people just want to see others fail so that they can somehow feel more "right" or be able to rest smugly with the passive-aggressive thought, "Just see." It's an unfortunate predicament that, at a glance, can be characterised by a snivelling sort of cowardice. But my observation is that there is a deeper situation in the heart that gives rise to envy. It runs deep in our psyche and can seem impossible to uproot. It is, however, manageable with some introspective insight from the sacred Vedic literature, some regular spiritual practice, and, above all, the company of those who aren’t governed by envy.

For starters, it helps to define envy as a symptom of the anxiety that accompanies any temporary identity with which we define ourselves or by which others designate us. Rather than see envy as something triggered by circumstance, we should begin to see it as a constant psychological driver in our words and actions. Most of us like to see ourselves as truly loving and giving individuals who live for the "we" and not for the "me". This idealism, however beautiful a sentiment, does not in itself extract the deep roots of envy. But there is a solution. Please read on.

Envy, in my experience, ultimately comes down to dissatisfaction with ourselves. Or, more to the point, unfulfillment with our current idea of "self." We are, in the purist sense, not our physical bodies or the various identities (upādhis) that stem from them. These personas are necessary in this world but are, by their very nature, temporary and subject to upheaval. This is a good thing. A child grows into adulthood and, hopefully, then into contemplative maturity. In some episodes of life, everything seems to be going our way; at other times, we may feel like the biggest loser. If we identify too much with either, we hop on the wild ride of misaligned ego and all the anxiety that comes along with it. We need a deeper and permanent identity that is not subject to the fluxuation of good/bad, happy/sad, respect/dishonour that are, by design, inevitable in our sojourn from birth to death.

We might be strong, beautiful, and fluid with social grace during some episodes of life, only to find that circumstances change and, often, in unpredictable ways that push us out of our comfort zone. One minute, we're loved by all, and then one slip of the tongue destroys our public image, and we go to bed that night despised by the same people who previously seemed to celebrate our success. Such is the nature of envy. It's brutal and ugly. It's also a part of the temporary world in which we find ourselves embodied. What goes up, must come down. One living entity is food for another. We shouldn't be so surprised.

So if envy is a result of misidentification, with what should we be identifying? The Vajra-sūcika Upaniṣad of the Sāma Veda, known in some circles as "The Doctrine of the Diamond Needle" deals directly with this topic in just eleven verses. It discusses who should be designated as a brāhmaṇa, or head of the Vedic social arrangement. After several rhetorical propositions, it concludes that it is not birth, knowledge, occupational activities, or performance of religious duties that make a brāhmaṇa, but any person who has attained direct perception of ātman, or the indwelling spirit of all beings. This supersedes any physical identity in relation to things such as gender, socio-economic status or intellectual ability. To identify with ātman is to understand that we are comprised of unlimited joy, are indivisible, and are immeasurable. It further states that this can only be known through direct experience, not intellectualisation or mental will-power. Thus, the social designation of brāhmaṇa is, in reality, for anyone who has been blessed with the understanding of … brahman. (brahma-bhūyāya kalpate -  Bhagavad-gītā 14.26)

It isn’t difficult to, at least in theory, identify with ātman. Ātman is eternal. Our bodies, and the identities that stem from it, are temporary. Matter is hard to deeply identify with because, on a quantum level, it’s very hard to even identify. Are we merely a composition of molecules, atoms and the subatomic particles from which they’re comprised? Or are we the covalent bonds and vibrational energy that holds the quantum realm together? If so, how are we any different from a rock also comprised of carbon and similar elements from the periodic table? It is the presence of ātman, or individual consciousness that ontologically differentiates us from the inanimate realm of matter.

This may come across as overly cerebral, but it is helpful to have an objective look at "self". With envy, we have a case where philosophy can act like a medicine to help us look in the right direction.

In the Bhagavad-gītā, Kṛṣṇa speaks to his dear friend Arjuna:

राजविद्या राजगुह्यं पवित्रमिदमुत्तमम् । प्रत्यक्षावगमं धर्म्यं सुसुखं कर्तुमव्ययम् ॥ २ ॥

rāja-vidyā rāja-guhyaṁ pavitram idam uttamam
pratyakṣāvagamaṁ dharmyaṁ su-sukhaṁ kartum avyayam

This knowledge is the king of education, the most secret of all secrets. It is the purest knowledge, and because it gives direct perception of the self by realization, it is the perfection of religion. It is everlasting, and it is joyfully performed.

What Kṛṣṇa is speaking about is the nature of ātman which is forever situated in the realm of divine love. This is who we are. There is no one like us, yet we are all of the same loving energy. The joy experienced from this self-realization will immediately unroot envy and its underlying dissatisfaction with ourselves, because ātman, by its very nature, is self-satisfied. We are lacking nothing. “The environment is friendly.”

Another Upaniṣad, the Kali-santaraṇa, recommends the most effective means to experience the inherent joy of ātman is to recite the sixteen-word mantra:

Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare
Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare

It is easy to chant, and can give tangible results after only a very short amount of practice. When we spend time in the pursuit of uncovering this identity, we gradually become accustomed to an atmosphere of love and complete satisfaction - where envy isn’t even plausible. Even the fragrance of our identity in this realm will displace all of our insecurities that give rise to such unnecessary things in the heart. We just have to want it.

स्वस्त्यस्तु विश्वस्य खल: प्रसीदतां ध्यायन्तु भूतानि शिवं मिथो धिया ।
मनश्च भद्रं भजतादधोक्षजे आवेश्यतां नो मतिरप्यहैतुकी ॥ ९ ॥

svasty astu viśvasya khalaḥ prasīdatāṁ dhyāyantu bhūtāni śivaṁ mitho dhiyā
manaś ca bhadraṁ bhajatād adhokṣaje āveśyatāṁ no matir apy ahaitukī

May there be good fortune throughout the universe, and may all envious persons be pacified. May all living entities become calm by practicing bhakti-yoga, for by accepting devotional service they will think of each other’s welfare. Therefore let us all engage in the service of the supreme transcendence, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and always remain absorbed in thought of Him.

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These words were not generated with or augmented by artificial intelligence; just “flawsome” human thoughts here … with, of course, due homage to The Algorithm that abides over us all.

• to let you know what’s happening with Suburban Mysticism

• to seek your blessings for a new direction

I haven’t been publishing to Suburban Mysticism over the last few months. The main reason is that I want to take it in a different direction. So far, I’ve written a lot of observational and opinionated pieces on current topics and social trends. I’ve also written some goofy stories from my life. More valuably, I’ve retold some stories from my favourite text: Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Looking back at my writing, the articles that I feel the most connected to are the Bhāgavatam stories. They’re timeless and, despite my lack of qualification, even attempting to convey them is so uplifting.

So here’s my prayer to anyone who cares to reciprocate. For the pleasure of the Vaiṣṇavas, I would like to dedicate this publication to the retelling of the amazing stories given to us in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

कृष्णे स्वधामोपगते धर्मज्ञानादिभि: सह ।
कलौ नष्टद‍ृशामेष पुराणार्कोऽधुनोदित: ॥ ४३ ॥

kṛṣṇe sva-dhāmopagate
dharma-jñānādibhiḥ saha
kalau naṣṭa-dṛśām eṣa
purāṇārko ’dhunoditaḥ

This Bhāgavata Purāṇa is as brilliant as the sun, and it has arisen just after the departure of Lord Kṛṣṇa to His own abode, accompanied by religion, knowledge, etc. Persons who have lost their vision due to the dense darkness of ignorance in the Age of Kali shall get light from this Purāṇa.

These Bhāgavatam articles are a lot more work for me than just riffing on about my life and how I see things; so, I don’t expect that they will come out on a schedule. I’ve thought to break them into episodes to reflect the reality that even five minutes of someone’s time in the age of information is a big ask.

So please give your blessings. I’d like to start with the fantastic story that leads into the battle between Vṛtrāsura and King Indra. There is so much intrigue and wisdom in this section of the Sixth Canto that many books could expand upon it.

Also, feel free to drop me a line by hitting ‘reply’ in your inbox. I do appreciate the occasional bit of encouragement I get, but I’d also take some constructive criticism as a blessing. I want to improve in this service of writing and avoid making any assumptions about who I am and what I’m actually qualified to do.

The truth is, I’m basically a train-wreck of a Kali-yugafied human being who is just super grateful to have such treasures as the Bhāgavatam and the Vaiṣṇavas in my life. For some reason, beautiful Kṛṣṇa loves me and keeps me inspired to serve. By your blessings, I hope it stays that way.

dāso 'smi,
Ekendra

P.S. - Every cent of the money donated has gone to the cows. I keep an open record of it here.

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These words were not generated with or augmented by artificial intelligence; just “flawsome” human thoughts here … with, of course, due homage to The Algorithm that abides over us all.

“My dear friends, please hear of Kṛṣṇa’s sweetness. Because of a great desire for that sweetness, My mind has given up all social and Vedic religious principles and taken to the profession of begging, exactly like a mystic yogī."

There are so many songs and works of literature written by our predecessors, and in none of them do they place themselves in a position of authority over anyone else; it seems quite the opposite. For instance, my spiritual grandfather, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda would sometimes end his journal entries with:

The most unfortunate, insignificant beggar,
A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

Gaura Kiśora Dāsa Bābājī gives us this in his Kothāya Go Premamayi Rādhe Rādhe:

dekhā diye prāṇa rākha, rādhe rādhe
tomāra kāńgāla tomāya ḍāke, rādhe rādhe

O Rādha, please give me your darśana and save my life. Your wretched beggar calls out to You, "Rādhe! Rādhe!"

Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura sings:

ohe! vaiṣṇava ṭhākura, doyāra sāgara, e dāse koruṇā kori'
diyā pada-chāyā, śodho he āmāya, tomāra caraṇa dhori

O venerable Vaiṣṇava, devotee of Kṛṣṇa! O ocean of mercy, be merciful unto your servant. Give me the shade of your lotus feet and purify me. I hold on to your lotus feet.

Yet in a society that extols the position of “beggar” as the most conducive to spiritual growth, there is such a hunger in some to take on a position of ecclesiastical and managerial authority over others. Of all the things I find difficult to deal with in contemporary Gauḍīya circles, this has to be foremost.

Maybe this is just the unavoidable consequence of an attempt at organised society? Political and religious history seem to indicate that there are certain types of people who clamour for power and are drawn towards social systems that lean toward totalitarianism. However, if the goal is pure love for Kṛṣṇa, such “paper-tiger” authorities are irrelevant and serve only as an example of what not to do. The more they assert themselves as a spiritual authority, the further they distance themselves from the sweetness, humility, and vulnerability exemplified by those with substantial divinity. Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura cries out:

narottama dāsa koy, dekhi śuni lāge bhoy, tarāiyā loho nija pāśa

Now that I am able to see, hear, and touch the Vaiṣṇavas, I have become free from all fear.

The refined educational culture that supports sanātana-dharma involves, as do most eastern ideologies, surrender to a guru or enlightened master who then takes personal responsibility for the training and education of such a voluntary student. One must be very careful in this regard and be well acquainted with the descriptions in the sacred texts of those who possess qualities worthy of such a service. Someone cannot give us something they themselves do not have. We should not enter into such a sacred relationship blindly, lest we end up with only something that resembles a spiritual experience on an external level.

My great-grandfather in spiritual lineage, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura once lectured:

"Every Vaiṣṇava regards everyone of the Vaiṣṇavas as the object of his veneration. When Ṭhākura Haridāsa exhibits the attitude of humility, Mahāprabhu says, “You are the greatest of the world, the crest-jewel of the world. Be agreeable, let us have our meal together.” He carried in His arms the body of Ṭhākura Haridāsa which is eternally existent, self-conscious, and full of spiritual bliss. In the community that follows Śrī Rūpa, the qualities of desiring no honour for oneself and of readiness to duly honour others are fully present. Those who detect any disparity are, like the owl, blind while the sun shines. They commit an offence by such conduct."

A real Vaiṣṇava will not seek power over others and will be focused on serving others. The sacrifice should be obvious, like when Śrīla Bhaktivedanta Prabhupāda left an ideal situation in Vṛndāvana at an elderly age and came to the western world with an umbrella, a few rupees and trunk of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatams. Such a mood of service becomes overwhelmingly and effulgently attractive. People want to follow for all the right reasons, as they are being shown by example how to love.

I pray to have more of this kind of association in my life.

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These words were not generated with or augmented by artificial intelligence; just “flawsome” human thoughts here … with, of course, due homage to The Algorithm that abides over us all.

One day, Uttānapāda was playing with Uttama, his son from Suruci, when he affectionately picked him up and placed him on his lap. Dhruva, his son from Sunīti, also desired to sit on his father’s lap and was trying to pull himself up to be included. The king, sadly, was not very welcoming of his other son.

Queen Suruci was observing this and, out of envy, decided to speak harshly to the five-year-old Dhruva, “My dear child, you do not deserve to sit on the throne or on the lap of the King. Surely you are also the son of the King, but because you did not take your birth from my womb, you are not qualified to sit on your father’s lap. Therefore, you should know that your attempt is doomed to failure.”

The boy Dhruva stood there in shock as the words pierced his heart.

Suruci continued, “You are trying to fulfil a desire which is impossible to fulfil. If you at all desire to rise to the throne of the King, then you have to undergo severe austerities. Firstly, you must satisfy the Supreme Lord, Nārāyaṇa, and then, when you are favoured by Him, you shall have to take your next birth from my womb.”

Young Dhruva’s feelings were so deeply insulted that, first, his hands then the rest of his body trembled with anger. Not being able to bear any more, he ran away to find his mother, Sunīti. Upon hearing the injurious language used against her son, Sunīti also became aggrieved but, rather than take a reactive stance, she advised Dhruva not to wish any ill towards them. She recommended that he actually take Suruci’s advice and attempt to satisfy Nārāyaṇa (or Lord Viṣṇu).

So, at five years of age, Dhruva left for the forest with the intention to perform severe aesthetic austerities in mystic meditation.

Soon after, the great sage Nārada Muni came to hear of the boy Dhruva’s determination and decided to pay him a visit to try to convince him to return home. It is in this section of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, we’re given this edifying verse (4.8.34) to help us become sane in our social interactions.

गुणाधिकान्मुदं लिप्सेदनुक्रोशं गुणाधमात् ।
मैत्रीं समानादन्विच्छेन्न तापैरभिभूयते ॥ ३४ ॥

guṇādhikān mudaṁ lipsed anukrośaṁ guṇādhamāt
maitrīṁ samānād anvicchen na tāpair abhibhūyate

“Every man should act like this: when he meets a person more qualified than himself, he should be very pleased; when he meets someone less qualified than himself, he should be compassionate toward him; and when he meets someone equal to himself, he should make friendship with him. In this way, one is never affected by the threefold miseries of this material world.”

Dhruva was respectful by nature, so listened to Śrī Nārada with reverence. In response, he then honestly expressed that it was not in his nature to follow his recommendation to return home. He would rather be advised on how to achieve a position more exalted than any ever occupied by anyone else in the universe.

Nārada felt compassion on the boy’s emotionally wounded situation. Knowing that devotional activity can bestow the priceless goal of pure love for God as well as fulfil any material desire, he gave Dhruva some elevating council. He advised the boy to go to the sacred forest of Madhuvana near the river Yamunā, bathe in Her sacred waters three times daily, perform aṣṭāṅga-yoga, and meditate on the beautiful form of Lord Viṣṇu. Nārada gave Dhruva the twelve-syllable mantra:

ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय
oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

He then advised Dhruva to shape a form of the Lord out of mud and to offer flowers, tree bark, and if possible, Tulasī leaves, which are very dear to the Lord.

Upon hearing this advice, Dhruva offered Nārada his respectful obeisances. Then, inspired, he started for Madhuvana, which is always imprinted with the lotus footprints of Lord Kṛṣṇa and is therefore especially auspicious.

For the first month, Dhruva Mahārāja ate only fruits and berries on every third day, just to keep his body and soul together.

In the second month, Dhruva Mahārāja ate only dry grass and leaves every six days.

In the third month, he drank water only every nine days. Thus, he remained completely in trance and worshipped Nārāyaṇa.

In the fourth month, Dhruva became a complete master of his breathing, and thus he inhaled air only every twelfth day.

By the fifth month, Dhruva had controlled his breathing so perfectly that he was able to stand on only one leg, just as a column stands, without motion, and concentrate his mind fully on the form of God within himself. This breathing exercise resulted in the demigod residents of the higher planets becoming disturbed, as they felt suffocated by the resultant closure of the viśvam ātmanaḥ, or total body of the universe. They protested to Lord Viṣṇu, who assured them that it was due to the severe austerity and full determination of the boy Dhruva, and that he would stop him from these acts. Viṣṇu then got on the back of his celestial eagle Garuḍa, who carried Him to the Madhuvana Forest to see the child.

There, Viṣṇu found Dhruva, eyes closed in ecstasy, meditating on the brilliant-as-lightning form of Himself within the child’s heart. He saw that Dhruva was tranquil and oblivious to the suffocation he was inflicting on all living entities in the universe. When Viṣṇu stood before him, His form vanished from Dhruva’s mind and broke his meditation. Much to his surprise, as soon as he opened his eyes, he saw Lord Nārāyaṇa personally present, just as he had been seeing Him in his heart.

Dhruva was overwhelmed in ecstasy and, while trembling with ecstatic emotion, fell to the ground to offer his obeisances. Stunned, Dhruva looked up to drink in the form of the Lord with his eyes. He then began kissing Viṣṇu’s lotus feet, and embracing Him with his arms. After his mind acclimatised to the lovingly pure atmosphere of being in the presence of God, Dhruva wanted to offer words of glorification. Being a small boy of just five years, he lacked an extensive vocabulary so, speechless, he stood before his beloved Viṣṇu with folded hands. Understanding the child’s desire, the all-merciful Viṣṇu reached out with his conchshell, named Pāñcajanya, and touched Dhruva on his forehead.

A mystical and powerful transformation then took place in Dhruva’s consciousness. He instantly became perfectly aware of the conclusions of all the sacred Vedic texts. He suddenly understood the Absolute Truth and Viṣṇu’s relationship with all living entities.

With deep gratitude, Dhruva first spoke articulate words of appreciation for how Nārāyaṇa had awoken him from within. He then spoke philosophically about how the Lord is the master of material nature yet a well-wisher to all. Dhruva then expressed how his previous desire to rule a kingdom was futile and shallow. He thus revised his request:

“O unlimited Lord, kindly bless me so that I may associate with great devotees who engage in Your transcendental loving service constantly, as the waves of a river constantly flow. Such transcendental devotees are completely situated in an uncontaminated state of life. By the process of devotional service I shall surely be able to cross the nescient ocean of material existence, which is filled with the waves of blazing, firelike dangers. It will be very easy for me, for I am becoming mad to hear about Your transcendental qualities and pastimes, which are eternally existent. O Lord, who has a lotus navel, if a person happens to associate with a devotee whose heart always hankers after Your lotus feet, seeking always their fragrance, he is never attached to the material body or the mundane relationships associated with it.”

Dhruva continued:

“Now I can see that a loving relationship with you is far better than becoming king and lording it over a kingdom. That is the benediction of worshipping Your lotus feet.”

It is interesting to note Dhruva’s emotional transformations in the story thus far. At first, he affectionately wanted to play on his father’s lap. After being insulted, he then felt very hurt, which quickly transformed into anger. He ran to his mother, who lamented the situation and advised him to take shelter of the Lord.

His anger then morphed into determination to the extent that even calming words from the exalted Nārada could not dissuade him. Taking Nārada’s revised advice, he then focused his energy on meditating on the form of God. This elevated his emotions beyond the mundane and into the realm of transcendence.

Then Dhruva’s meditation broke, he opened his eyes and was overwhelmed with emotion to the point of falling to the ground and covering the feet of Nārāyaṇa in tearful kisses.

He then felt shame for having desired something so difficult to obtain in this world.

This psychology then shifted into a hankering emotion in pursuit of the association of those who similarly wanted nothing of this temporary world and everything of the permanent world of loving relationship with God.

He then expressed his gratitude for being protected and sheltered by the Lord.

After hearing Dhruva’s words, Lord Viṣṇu responded:

“My dear Dhruva, I shall award you the glowing planet known as the polestar, which will continue to exist even after the dissolution at the end of the millennium. No one has ever ruled this planet, which is surrounded by all the solar systems, planets and stars. Keeping the polestar to their right, all the stars inhabited by the great sages like Dharma, Agni, Kaśyapa and Śukra circumambulate this planet.”

So Dhruva received his desire and much more. This Polestar is known in western astronomy as Polaris, or the North Star. It sits more or less directly above the Earth's North Pole along our planet's rotational axis (the imaginary line that extends through the planet and out of the north and south poles). Our Earth rotates around this axis, like a spinning top.

This star is an important point in the celestial sky for both ocean and land navigation throughout recorded history. It can easily be found with the naked eye as the bright star at the end of the handle of Ursa Minor, or the “Little Dipper”.

According to material estimates, it is said to be two-thousand five-hundred times brighter than our own sun and have about four and a half times the mass. According to Bhāgavatam cosmology, this star planet is not destroyed at the cyclical dissolution of the universe and is essentially an embassy of Vaikuṇṭha within this dimension.

There lives Dhruva Mahārāja to this day. The personalities from Bhāgavatam are not as far away as we may think.

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These words were not generated with or augmented by artificial intelligence; just “flawsome” human thoughts here … with, of course, due homage to The Algorithm that abides over us all.

In the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava lineage, we extol Kṛṣṇa as the source of all incarnations of God (see Śrī Brahma-saṁhitā 5.1). A particularly attractive feature of Kṛṣṇa is his affection for His devotees. This endearment is clearly on display in the personality and activities of His playful boar incarnation.

This story comes with a benediction (SB 3.13.48): "If one hears and describes in a devotional service attitude this auspicious narration of Lord Boar, which is worthy of description, the Lord, who is within the heart of everyone, is very pleased."

The conversation in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is taking place between the great sage Maitreya and gentle Vidura. Vidura is an amazing personality and a great example for all aspiring transcendentalists. His demeanour was so pleasing that he was visited frequently and blessed by the ṛṣis. Even Kṛṣṇa would rest his feet on Vidura's lap in a relaxed mood. Being eager to hear the pastimes of Viṣṇu, Maitreya didn't hold back. He delighted Vidura with story after story which, for our good fortune, was written down in the Bhāgavatam.

After Lord Brahmā had finished his duty of creation, he watched as the Earth became submerged into the Garbhodaka Ocean which fills up about half of each universe. He sat for a long time contemplating how it could be lifted, given the Earth’s importance as a place of residence for living entities. Brahmā had confidence that the Lord would show the way.

Just then, a small boar, no larger than the size of the last digit of a thumb, appeared from Brahmā’s nostril. Perplexed and full of wonder, he observed the boar as it expanded in the sky to the size of a gigantic elephant. Trying to make sense of the situation, Brahmā discussed with Marīci, as well as the Kumāras and Manu, “Is this some extraordinary entity come in the pretence of a boar? It is very wonderful that He has come from my nose. I’ve never experienced such a thing. Could this be Viṣṇu?”

As if to confirm Brahmā’s suspicion, the magnificent boar let out a terrific roar in his gorgeous voice that shook the foundation of the universe. The sound, echoing throughout the cosmos, brought delight to Brahmā and other elevated brāhmaṇas, and they were enlivened to see and hear from this unique form of Viṣṇu. The great sages and thinkers who are residents of Janaloka, Tapoloka and Satyaloka were immediately inspired to chant the Vedic hymns, most significantly, the verse from Bṛhan-nāradīya Purāṇa:

Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare
Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare

Understanding that the prayers were meant for him, Śrī Varāha roared again in response as he flew in the sky, slashing his tail with his stiff hairs quivering. His glance illuminated space. He scattered the clouds in the sky with his hooves and his glittering white tusks. Then, suitable to his form of a boar, Varāhadeva began sniffing out the location of the earth globe.

Then he dove into the Garbhodaka Ocean to rescue the submerged planet. Like a giant mountain, Varāha divided the middle of the ocean, and two high waves appeared as the arms of the ocean. They cried loudly in prayer, “O Lord of all sacrifices, please do not cut me in two! Kindly give me protection!”

Varāha saw the earth, the resting place for all living beings, lying as it was in the beginning of creation, and He personally took the earth on his tusks and lifted it.

This feat disturbed the great demon Hiraṇyākṣa who tried to fight with Lord Boar. His anger glowing like the Sudarśana wheel, Varāha immediately killed the monster, just as a lion kills an elephant. The cheeks and tongue of the Lord became smeared with the blood of the demon.

Then Varāha playfully suspended the earth on the edge of His curved white tusks. To enliven his devotees, he assumed a bluish complexion like that of a tamāla tree. Thus the sages, headed by Brahmā, were excited to see their Viṣṇu and offered respectful glorifications, “O Lord, Your form is worshipable by performances of sacrifice, but souls who are simply miscreants are unable to see it. All the Vedic hymns, Gāyatrī and others, can be found in the touch of Your skin. O Lord, You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead and are worshipable by universal prayers, Vedic hymns and sacrificial ingredients. You can be realized by the pure mind freed from all visible and invisible material contamination. We offer our respectful obeisances unto You.”

Varāha then shook off the waters of the Garbhodaka ocean and sprinkled his devotees with affection.

In this way the Personality of Godhead, Lord Viṣṇu, the maintainer of all living entities, raised the earth from within the water and, having placed it afloat on the water, he returned to his own abode.

This entire pastime is steeped in love. First of all, Hiraṇyākṣa was actually a resident of Vaikuṇṭha who took the role of a monster to give pleasure to Viṣṇu. That's another amazing story. Then He playfully appeared from the nostril of Lord Brahmā which humorously put Brahmā into a state of confusion, especially when He expanded across the celestial sky and roared so loudly it echoed across the universe. It's quite funny, actually.

Then Lord Varāha put on a show for his devotees and returned back to the spiritual realm, leaving them excited and delighted.

Jaya Varāhadeva!

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These words were not generated with or augmented by artificial intelligence; just “flawsome” human thoughts here … with, of course, due homage to The Algorithm that abides over us all.

Do you think of mystic sages of a bygone era? Do you consider the phrase to represent a collection of particular social customs that define, for example, how a marriage rite is performed? Does “Vedic culture” encapsulate a society’s art, food and style of dress?

I think all of these ideas are correct, but come short of expressing the essence of what is meant by the term. “Veda” means knowledge. More specifically, it refers to the knowledge found in the Vedic texts. So “Vedic culture” can be more accurately defined as the ideas, customs, and social behaviour of a society centred around Vedic literature.

Essential Vedic literature such as Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (Bhāgavata Purāṇa) are mostly composed of conversations. By hearing (or reading) these discussions with a sincere eagerness to understand them, we place ourselves in a very fortunate position that affords us a life-changing shift in perspective that can’t be impeded by any material circumstance.

Here’s a story of an experience I had around twenty years ago.

In the early 2000s, when the internet was just starting to become an ubiquitous part of our lives, I kept an online blog (archived here). Mostly I would just share passages from things I was reading. At one point, an Indian man from Melbourne, Australia (we’ll call him Mr. Gupta) struck up a dialogue with me over email. He seemed very genuine and eager to discuss Vedānta-sūtra. This was serendipitous because I had only recently begun to read Śrī Baladeva Vidyābhūṣana’s Govinda-bhāṣya commentary on the same text. Drawing from that, and acknowledging my source, I was honoured to feed his desire for Vedic study with Śrī Baladeva’s brilliant food for thought. Mr. Gupta was very appreciative; so much so that, when I mentioned that I’d be travelling through Melbourne for a few days, he was keen to meet up with me. We agreed to meet in the courtyard of the ISKCON Melbourne temple.

So when the time arrived, I took a seat on one of the benches in the courtyard. It was during the day, so there was hardly anyone around, save a few busy pūjārīs. In walked a middle-aged Indian gentleman with his wife, both dressed in western attire. He stood near the entrance and scanned the area, looking directly at me at one point. Giving up, he stood there patiently. I motioned to his wife for them to come over and, with a welcoming smile on my face, asked if I could help. Mr. Gupta hesitantly asked me if I knew where they could find Ekendra Dasa.

“That’s me!”, I replied with a chirpy grin.

Mr. Gupta was not able to conceal the look of disappointment on his face. He actually looked a little shocked and found it hard to come up with anything to say. So I shared the awkward moment with him, reserving any judgement while he acclimatised to the idea that Vedānta could have appeal to someone not born in India.

The awkwardness drew on to the point where I felt the need to acknowledge it, “Is something the matter?”

“Well, to be honest, I expected you to be Indian”, he stated.

His dismay soon turned indignant with his next remark, “I feel you should have told me that you were not from India. I’m quite disappointed that you hid that from me.”

I explained plainly and dispassionately that I never thought to conceal anything from him, that he originally approached me via email to ask questions, and that we’d enjoyed some thought-provoking dialogue in the preceding weeks. Given the high subject matter, the thought of race didn’t seem a significant enough factor to bear mentioning. I mean, what was our previous dialogue meant to look like?

athāto brahma jijñāsā - Now, therefore, one should inquire about Brahman ….
janmādy asya yataḥ - Brahman is He from whom everything emanates ….
śāstra-yonitvāt - He may only be known by the revelation of the Vedic texts ….
tat tu samanvayāt - This fact is confirmed by the Vedic texts themselves.

….. and, by the way, I’m white.

This was not good enough for him. He saw the entire meeting as an insult and attempted to return the gesture by insulting me.

“You have no qualification to study Vedānta. You are of a mleccha (meat-eater) birth and cannot understand these matters. You are using elements of my culture for your own purposes and without any credentials.”

I’m not free from the propensity to react caustically to being insulted, but I honestly felt so sad to hear this that my heart sank. Despite the universal, trans-rational and trans-religious concepts gifted to mankind in Vedānta-sūtra, this previously inquisitive person could not see through the material trappings of bodily consideration. Besides, I was born in the land of meat-eaters, what was his excuse for being here?

So I tried to put together a non-confrontational defence, but failed to reach him. Instead, I thought to gift him the copy of Śrī Īśopaniṣad I had with me. He refused, then stormed out the same way he came in, leaving me in a state of disheartened confusion.

Oxford defines the term “cultural appropriation” as:

The unacknowledged or inappropriate adoption of the customs, practices, ideas, etc. of one people or society by members of another and typically more dominant people or society.

The words in question here are “unacknowledged” and “inappropriate”, neither of which apply to my conception or presentation. I give all credit to my predecessors and try to prayerfully speak, and write, on spiritual subjects as if those exalted personalities in my lineage are looking over my shoulder.

Moreover, Caitanya Vaiṣṇavites aren’t overly hung up on religious rituals and external customs anyway. We are in the school of sanātana-dharma, attempting to rise above any material designation by accepting whatever is favourable in furthering our identity as lovers of Kṛṣṇa.

Sanātana-dharma describes the inherent culture of every living entity. It’s not even exclusive to humans, as it refers to the constitutional nature of the soul. So to try to isolate the subject of Vedānta from its universal context into such a limited scope as belonging just to those born into a specific Hindu caste is actually cultural misappropriation in an extreme sense. Jagannātha means lord of the “jagat” or universe. He’s not called Manuṣya-nātha, Hindu-nātha, Brāhmaṇa-nātha, Bhārata-nātha, Orissa-nātha or Purī-nātha. Jagannātha is the Lord of everyone in the universe, and has historically taken exception to those who misappropriate His culture.

So, Mr. Gupta, please stop appropriating my culture.

In 1973, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda gave an even more specific definition of “vedic culture” at a public gathering in Mumbai, India:

“Vedic culture means Kṛṣṇa consciousness. There is no other meaning of Vedic culture.”

In such an educationally focused Vedic society, individuals of exemplary character with the ability to first understand then explain the teachings of Kṛṣṇa consciousness are valued and cherished. Education isn’t just something for young people. We are meant to embrace a lifetime of learning and seek out a teacher, or teachers, that are living and representing authentically. This is the culture of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

Stay teachable! If we can do this, our lives will get a whole lot more interesting.

Suburban Mysticism is free, but if you feel inspired and want to return some love, consider helping Ekendra to care for cows, or share the article with others.

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These words were not generated with or augmented by artificial intelligence; just “flawsome” human thoughts here … with, of course, due homage to The Algorithm that abides over us all.

Why is that? These are my thoughts on the matter.

In physics, there is a general principle that an object will usually follow the path of least resistance. Indian expatriates are often eager to support temples and festivals with their money and time. This pious commonality is a great thing around which to build a community. They generally feel that they should be doing this.

Westerners, on the other hand, generally have the feeling that they shouldn’t be contributing towards a spiritual organization, especially one as exotic as what we have to offer. A bit of kirtan is nice, maybe listen to a class or two, enjoy the feasts; but to pay a regular tithe from the coffers? No thanks. Either in this life or in previous lives, we Westerners have experienced what I call “theistic trauma”, which creates much resistance towards all but the most impersonal of pseudo-spiritual outlooks: nirviśeṣa-śūnyavād.

For example, if I were ever asked to give a talk in front of an Indian audience with no time to prepare, I wouldn’t worry a bit. I can talk about how Mākhana-cora Kṛṣṇa steals butter and feeds it to the monkeys. I can describe the different sounds from Kṛṣṇa’s various flutes and the effects they have on the residents of Vṛndāvana. This same talk to a Western audience might be seen as adorable, but not hugely relevant to their perceived needs. Who knows? Maybe I should try it sometime?

For Westerners to make any sort of commitment, they need to see value in that decision and gain enough trust to suspend their often justifiable apprehensions. For us, that requires a deeper commitment to our own growth. It means we have to become better people and do the internal work.

Western seekers aren’t interested in doctrine. They want to see the fruits of our advancement. They want to see how we tolerate adversity, how we treat those suffering from misfortune, if we speak ill or positively of others behind their backs. Oh … wait …

titikṣavaḥ kāruṇikāḥ
suhṛdaḥ sarva-dehinām
ajāta-śatravaḥ śāntāḥ
sādhavaḥ sādhu-bhūṣaṇāḥ

The symptoms of a sādhu are that he is tolerant, merciful and friendly to all living entities. He has no enemies, he is peaceful, he abides by the scriptures, and all his characteristics are sublime. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 3.25.21)

Converse to working with the Indian diaspora, Westerners give us no cultural cushion upon which we can recline.

Taking the path of least resistance will bear a different kind of fruit from the one that requires growth and maturation to succeed. This isn’t to say that internal development is unnecessary to serve an Indian congregation, it’s just that without selfless sincerity, we have no appeal whatsoever to the Western community. If anything, we’re repulsive. This is a difficult cross to bear, but it’s the task laid out for those who aspire to carry the mission of our predecessors forward.

We can’t just speak the philosophy. We have to be the philosophy.

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These words were not generated with or augmented by artificial intelligence; just “flawsome” human thoughts here … with, of course, due homage to The Algorithm that abides over us all.

tat te ’nukampāṁ su-samīkṣamāṇo
bhuñjāna evātma-kṛtaṁ vipākam
hṛd-vāg-vapurbhir vidadhan namas te
jīveta yo mukti-pade sa dāya-bhāk

My dear Lord, one who earnestly waits for You to bestow Your causeless mercy upon him, all the while patiently suffering the reactions of his past misdeeds and offering You respectful obeisances with his heart, words and body, is surely eligible for liberation, for it has become his rightful claim.

This verse presents a concept that is core to Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava theology. Spoken by Brahma, who realised his error in stealing Kṛṣṇa’s cowherd friends, it instructs us on how to avoid feeling victimised by adversity and how to use such difficulty as an impetus to take shelter of God.

My attempt to present this beautiful and liberating idea was cut short by one participant in the discussion, who remarked, “That just sounds like spiritual bypassing.”

This struck me by surprise, given that the person who said it was initiated into a prominent western Gauḍīya lineage. I didn’t want to embarrass her, but it was painfully obvious that she’d never understood the profundity of this Bhāgavatam verse and was more influenced by the current zeitgeist than the message of the predecessors in our heritage. So I offered little in the way of rebuttal, just advising her to perhaps not dismiss such authoritative statements out of hand without first inquiring seriously about their meaning. We wrapped up the talk on amicable, albeit superficial, terms “agreeing to disagree”; but the incident really got me thinking. I’ve learned, with age, not to attempt to teach something to those who do not want to be taught, and maybe I had a thing or two to learn myself?

So over the next few days, I looked into this idea of “spiritual bypassing”. In his classic book, Toward a Psychology of Awakening, the late psychotherapist John Welwood, defined spiritual bypassing as using “spiritual ideas and practices to sidestep personal, emotional ‘unfinished business,’ to shore up a shaky sense of self, or to belittle basic needs, feelings, and developmental tasks.”

I’m glad I looked into it because this idea is worth considering. Taking inventory, I realise that I have a tendency towards spiritual bypass when it comes to my physical health. During my 30s and 40s, I ate as if I had the body of a teenager. I’ve been surrounded by a culture that discourages sensory indulgence, while offering an outlet in the way of sanctified food. This proved difficult for me to navigate. Now that I’m in my 50s, with a recent heart attack still in the rearview mirror, I’m finally developing some intelligence in that department. No more neglect of physical health in the name of spirituality for me. I think I still have a lot of reasons to live.

It could be argued that the main teaching of Bhagavad-gītā is to not “spiritually bypass” one’s duties in life, but to perform them as an offering to Kṛṣṇa (18.66).

sarva-dharmān parityajya
mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja
ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo
mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ

Here, Kṛṣṇa advises his friend Arjuna to stop using religious arguments to avoid performing his duty to fight the evil-doers who usurped their righteous kingdom.

Earlier in the conversation, Arjuna had given up by telling Kṛṣṇa (2.9), “na yotsya iti govindam uktvā tūṣṇīṁ babhūva ha”, “Govinda, I shall not fight,” and then fell silent.

In the first chapter and beginning of the second chapter of Bhagavad-gītā, Arjuna articulates several seemingly valid justifications for a pacifist approach. Arjuna was a highly trained warrior meant to protect others from harm but, overwhelmed with emotion, he seriously considered the path of spiritual bypassing. Fortunately, Kṛṣṇa enlightened his friend, and any of us who care to learn Bhagavad-gītā, how to perform our duties in devotional consciousness.

In the human form of life, we have the capacity to transcend material nature; yet we are guided throughout the sacred texts to approach mysticism in such a way that we will not cause harm to ourselves or others via neglect. Like Arjuna, we should overcome this tendency and take assurance of Kṛṣṇa’s words, “I will protect you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear.”

Back to the original passage that began this train of thought:

tat te ’nukampāṁ su-samīkṣamāṇo
bhuñjāna evātma-kṛtaṁ vipākam
hṛd-vāg-vapurbhir vidadhan namas te
jīveta yo mukti-pade sa dāya-bhāk

This profound verse is not a justification for spiritual bypassing one’s needs or responsibilities to others. It offers us a way out of the “blame game” where a victim mentality can rob us of the mental clarity needed to manage the inevitable adversities of life. It suggests an enlightened perspective, not an excuse for abnegation of duty. We reap as we sow; but Kṛṣṇa has always looked after us, is looking after us, and will always look after us. Taking confidence in this reality is liberating and can accompany us as we take care of our needs and perform our social functions in this world.

Suburban Mysticism is free, but if you feel inspired and want to return some love, consider helping Ekendra to care for cows, or share the article with others.

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These words were not generated with or augmented by artificial intelligence; just “flawsome” human thoughts here … with, of course, due homage to The Algorithm that abides over us all.