Some people conceive of spirituality as world-rejecting. They hold, “This world is the arena of illusion, wherein we are trapped by the attractiveness of worldly objects. So, we should see their attractiveness as illusion.”
Such a conception begs the question, “But we do find worldly objects attractive. Are we meant to deny our experience of reality?”
No, we are meant to deepen our experience. The world-rejecting conception of spirituality is incomplete; Gita wisdom offers a more complete understanding. It doesn’t ask us to deny our present experience; it ask us to not stay stuck there, to be open to deeper experiences of reality. To trigger such experiences, the Bhagavad-gita (10.41) shares a defining insight: everything attractive manifests a spark of the supreme attractiveness of the ultimate source, Krishna. This implies that whatever be the specific material cause for those objects’ attractiveness, underlying it is the universal cause of Krishna’s arrangement – he has, by his sweet will, invested in them a fragment of his attractiveness. Their attractiveness is meant not to agitate us materially, but to awaken us spiritually.
We can awaken ourselves by seeing those objects in the light of Gita wisdom. This light helps us see those objects as pointers to Krishna, not as competitors to him. We acknowledge their attractiveness, but we refuse to be captivated by them. Instead, we contemplate: “If a spark is so captivating, how much more captivating and fulfilling will be the whole? Why should I let the spark deprive me of the whole?” Such contemplation inspires us to redirect our attraction from the spark to the whole by practicing bhakti-yoga determinedly.
When we thus connect our present experience with Krishna, we no longer need to deny that experience, for it stimulates us to experience reality at far deeper, sweeter level.
To know more about this verse, please click on the image
Explanation of article:
Podcast:
Spiritual vision opens many new vistas of life