Intelligence means keeping accessible not just the factors that push us toward transcendence but also those that pull us.
When we aspire to grow spiritually and attain the ultimate transcendental reality, we soon realize that the journey can be arduous, demanding, and exhausting. To sustain ourselves, we need to keep accessible all the resources that can help make the journey easier. Just as we would carry essential equipment on a challenging trek up a mountain, we need to ensure that we have resources to aid us on our spiritual journey.
The Bhagavad Gita (3.43) emphasizes the need to use our intelligence to anchor ourselves steadily on the transcendental platform. Through intelligence, we can understand that resources fall into two main categories: those that push and those that pull.
Resources that Push Us These include tools and motivations we can draw upon when the journey becomes tough, and our emotions turn from supportive to oppositional. Such resources may include:
Philosophical convictions about the reality, beauty, and joy of transcendence.
Social expectations from our spiritual community or personal vows and commitments to persist in our journey.
Experiences of the emptiness and deceptiveness of mundane existence, reminding us of the necessity of seeking spiritual substance.
Articulating these points in our own words and keeping them fresh in our memory can help motivate us to push ourselves, especially when we feel like giving up or slowing down.
Resources that Pull Us The Bhagavad Gita (6.44) mentions that some seekers are irresistibly drawn toward transcendence due to past spiritual practices or divine grace. Pull factors may include:
The mercy of the Divine, who longs for us to reconnect in a bond of love.
Emotional experiences that arise from deep within, such as an ineffable longing for a higher reality or more meaningful happiness.
Elements that activate these emotions, such as devotional songs, sacred temples, the beauty of nature, or the inspiration of saints and seers.
Pull resources often engage our emotions, making the struggle to transcend less burdensome. However, it is important not to over-rely on them, as the fickle nature of the mind and emotions can lead to inconsistency in progress.
Balancing Push and Pull Factors If we rely solely on push factors, our spiritual journey may become unnecessarily difficult, as we are constantly battling against our emotions. On the other hand, over-reliance on pull factors can lead to an erratic journey because emotions, influenced by the mind, can be temporarily overridden by superficial feelings.
By using our intelligence to conduct a systematic overview of our spiritual journey, we can ensure we have access to both types of resources. Push resources help maintain steady progress, while pull resources make the journey smoother.
Summary:
- To progress on our spiritual journey, even when our emotions oppose us, we need access to push resources.
- To avoid constant emotional struggle, we also need access to pull resources that activate deeper spiritual longings.
- By using intelligence to review our journey, we can leverage push resources for steady progress and pull resources for a smoother experience.
Think it over:
- What resources can push you toward transcendence? List three such resources.
- What resources can pull you toward transcendence? List three such resources.
- What is the risk of over-reliance on either push or pull resources? How can we balance the use of both types of resources effectively?
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03.43 Thus knowing oneself to be transcendental to the material senses, mind and intelligence, O mighty-armed Arjuna, one should steady the mind by deliberate spiritual intelligence [Kṛṣṇa consciousness] and thus – by spiritual strength – conquer this insatiable enemy known as lust.
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