Karma Sanyasa Yoga
Chapter 5, Verse 22
ye hi saṁsparśajā bhogā
duḥkha-yonaya eva te
ādy-antavantaḥ kaunteya
na teṣu ramate budhaḥ
Those pleasures that arise from contact with external factors are sources of suffering. They have a beginning and an end. O Arjuna, the wise do not rejoice in them.
“Those pleasures that arise from contact with external factors are sources of suffering.” Worldly-minded, materialistic people are the cause of their own suffering. The enjoyment of the senses has “…a beginning and an end.” As long as the enjoyment lasts, everybody is happy, happy. However, this happiness doesn’t last long; it has an end. When this happiness ends, people become more than sad, they become depressed and miserable. A person with a mind that dwells on the external reality, can only enjoy short-term happiness.
It is like a moth that sees a light in the window at night: the moth wants to come inside, doesn’t it? Moths try to fly inside and bang themselves on the window to come towards the light. They become bewildered and continue to fly towards this light, not knowing that this light could be a flame that will roast them and be their end. But they continue to fly towards that flame. Such is the state of the mind that runs towards the external and forgets the eternal. When the mind is turned outwardly, this becomes the source of suffering, because one becomes a slave to the senses and develops greed and pride and other negative qualities. Like the moth, one ends up roasted: one brings death upon oneself. That’s why the Lord says to Arjuna, “Be wise and do not rejoice in the outside glory. Rejoice in Brahman.” Rejoice in Narayana. Rejoice in Krishna. Rejoice in God.
When the Guru tells you, “Do this sadhana and free yourself!”, you should accept his advice happily and wholeheartedly. When you do this with an open heart, you will reap the fruit of your practice. You will be freed from a very limited reality. But when you do this proudly thinking, “Ah, I am best! That’s why Guruji has given this sadhana to me. I am best, that’s why I am always invited to sit at Guruji’s table.” This is ignorance. In such ignorance, you will be like the moth, who doesn’t know that the Guru is like a huge flame that consumes everything. This huge spiritual flame of the Guru is even more dangerous than any little material flame. Therefore, don’t entertain these kinds of egoistic thoughts inside of you. Be humble and don’t let pride arise inside of you, because you’ll bring about your own downfall.
Here Lord Krishna is also reminding Arjuna that no one is responsible for your happiness or your unhappiness except yourself. You are the cause of your own happiness. When you are surrendered wholeheartedly to God, when your mind, body and spirit are fully in accordance with the Will of God, serving God, meditating on Him, this becomes the source of your true happiness and bliss! But when the mind runs towards the external reality thinking, “Yes, this is it!”, when one is finding great joy in the outside world, this will bring deep sorrow to oneself. The one who enjoys the sense objects, automatically becomes evil-minded, greedy, lustful and angry. One will have to go through enormous suffering in this life and even later on, in future lifetimes. And then one will ask, “What have I done to God to suffer so much? Why me, and not my neighbour?”
“O Arjuna, the wise do not rejoice in them.” Here Krishna says that the wise ones are above these pleasures. They see all these external pleasures, but they don’t get involved in them. They don’t rejoice in them. The wise ones also don’t participate in the downfall of others. The unwise ones will put their own ‘spice into the soup’. When there is gossip, the moment someone starts talking badly about somebody else, everybody sits up and becomes alert.
Their ears go up and they ask, “Oh, what is he saying?” Then after listening to the gossip, people will dig out whatever from wherever and add more ‘spice’ into it saying, “Ah, yes! Yes!” And others will also put their spice into it and say, “By the way, you can add this also!” Then they make it even worse! By participating in such things, you are bringing about your own downfall, because you become responsible for the suffering of others. If you don’t help others to advance, this will bring you down. But if you can enlighten someone and bring someone to God Consciousness, to realise God, to receive the Grace of God, you will rejoice in the supreme bliss.
Bhagavad Gita
