Skip to main content

CLOSE YOUR EYES AND OPEN

Don't build your house in shifting sand, build it on a solid rock foundation." - Paraphrased from the teachings of Jesus Christ.

As I close my eyes to chant japa and open my eyes a little while later, I notice that something has changed. Either someone who was chanting along has got up and left or someone new joins the chanting. As I close my eyes to chant in the Kirtan on the beach and open my eyes a little while later, I notice that the scene has changed. As I go outside Goa for a few days for any trip and come back, I notice that things have changed, some more development has happened. As I meet a child I know after a few years, I notice that he or she has gone through a lot of changes. Change after all is constant factor in this world. Just by observing life and being aware of the happenings around, one can learn about the truths of life.

Srimad-bhagvatam mentions the story of a King called Muchukunda who once was summoned by the demigods to lead a war on their behalf. When he finished his duties there and returned to the earthly realm, he saw that millennia had passed (due to the time difference between the heavenly and earthly realms) and he was shocked to see that literally everything and everyone had changed. If things change and shift every few moments, one can imagine the changes and shifts that occur after passage of millennia. 

As William Shakespeare writes in his famous play - "All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances." Just like in a play or a drama scenes keep changing and shifting similarly, in this world scenes keep shifting and changing. Let the shifting scenes of this world remind us to shift our focus on the un-shifting, steady, rock solid, spiritual principles of the spiritual world. And, if we live our life based on these spiritual principles then rest assured, one day when we close our eyes and open it, we will see that we have reached an extraordinary place where everything is constant and nothing changes.
- Achyut Gopal Das

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

TWO DECADES OF HARE KRISHNA

"Sometimes the longest journey we make is the sixteen inches from our heads to our hearts." -  Elena Avila Coming December 2019 marks 20 years of my consistent and daily chanting of 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna Maha-mantra, one of the prerequisite for a committed practitioner of Krishna consciousness. I started, chanting 16 rounds in December of 1999 and now, 20 years have passed by so quickly. One thing that helps me, be focused in spiritual life is watching the passing of the imperceptible time. How weeks turn into months, how months turn into years and how years turn into decades is a great wonder of life. This article is in no way to glorify my two decades of chanting Hare Krishna but it is just meant to share my little thoughts and my little experiences in my spiritual life at this junction in life. I feel so grateful to Krishna and His wonderful devotees who have been extremely kind to me by showering their grace...
Post a Comment
Read more

CHANNELISING MIND'S CURIOSITY

We all have heard the saying "The grass looks greener on the other side". The mind by nature is never satisfied, always looking for "what others have that I don't have". It is always curious to find newer and newer ways of enjoyment and material nature seems to understand our mind by offering us unlimited varieties to enjoyment. There seems to be no end to the fascinations that are available in this world. Why is the mind always looking for newer ways to enjoy? Because it soon gets bored of what it has. It looks for release from this boredom through newer experiences. But the problem is that as soon as we get the new experience that we are looking for, it's not a long till that also becomes old and boring. The point we miss to understand is that " the newness that material nature provides in its variegated forms are all the same oldness packaged in new ways. " As they say - Old wine in a new bottle. But we never really believe this fu...
Post a Comment
Read more

REQUEST TO & FROM A MOTHER

  Today on the occasion of Mother's Day, I went to meet the cow, our mother to wish her for Mother's Day and make a request to her. I requested her to shower her blessings and mercy on her children who are suffering so badly due to the deadly covid virus. The good news for all of us is that, she mercifully agreed to shower her heartfelt blessings, prayers, mercy on all her children. After all, that's the heart of a mother - always wanting and desiring best for her children. I was elated, my mission accomplished - now, the suffering of humanity will reduce. As I was leaving, the cow also had one personal request. She requested me with tears in her eyes to request her children not to abuse, exploit and slaughter her mercilessly. I could literally feel her pain and suffering as she made this request. This was the pain of a mother. Tears swelled up in my eyes. I didn't know what to reply her. I did tell her that I will pass on her request to her other children and I walked ...
Post a Comment
Read more