Obsession with Life

 

अव्यक्तादीनि भूतानि व्यक्तमध्यानि भारत ।
अव्यक्तनिधनान्येव तत्र का परिदेवना ॥ 28॥

avyaktādīni bhūtāni vyakta-madhyāni bhārata
avyakta-nidhanānyeva tatra kā paridevanā

Earlier in the week I sat down to continue reading where I had left off earlier, into chapter 2 of the Bhagwad Gita. This is the verse that got me fixed. Nothing new about it. Krishna is trying to take Arjun out of grief for his loved ones. He gives a rational explanation. “ If all beings are unmanifest before birth, manifest during life, and again unmanifest upon death, what’s there to lament? 

That’s how life is!

That’s Krishna in a nutshell!

Very matter-of-factly!

Then why do we humans not see what is obvious all around us? What makes it difficult for us to accept facts of life?

We get invested into life. That is, specifically in the manifest version of life. 

What is the difference between Krishna and Arjun? 

Krishna is aware of his unmanifest presence as well as manifest presence.

Arjun is aware only of the manifest presence. 

It may be a case of a hen and an egg. Which came first? Did Arjun get invested in the manifest part because that was the only part he was aware of? Or, is he aware only of the manifest part because he is invested in it? Irrespective, this condition where one is only aware of and invested in the manifest presence is what truly is spiritual ignorance and bondage. 

In contrast, to be aware of both manifest and unmanifest presence and not be invested in either is both spiritual literacy and liberation. 

But again, this is all merely theory for ordinary people. The human mind only knows, or insists on knowing, and therefore accepts only what is manifest. The idea of the unmanifest is looked upon with scepticism and even ridicule. 

So here we are! Good or evil, humans are invested in the manifest universe. The evil mostly invested in themselves and the good ones invested more in others. Yet both invested in manifest forms. Invested means emotions come into play. With emotions come attachments and dependence. And it is this attachment and dependence that becomes the cause for grief when the inevitable moment arrives where manifest must transition to unmanifest. Mind is not prepared to let go what it has been holding on to. 

The lifelong refusal to acknowledge the unmanifest state comes in the way at that critical moment. 

We often see or hear about people who died of a broken heart. Long time married people or two people who intensely love each other die within hours or days of each other. I have even seen people and their pets follow each other in a short time. Their mind does not know how to exist in the absence of the other. That absence is never taken into consideration hence not prepared for. 

On one hand good humans are taught to love each other, deeply and passionately. And when you do that, you are not equipped with an exit strategy from that investment. Which means you have entered into an agreement to endure immeasurable pain when you are locked in a relationship of deep love for another person (or another object or another circumstance outside of you). 

History says Krishna remained in the mortal realm until 36 years after the battle of Kurukshetra. Makes me wonder, how did Arjun cope with this loss? Or was he enlightened fully to understand the eternal existence as well as non dual nature of his being, hence his identity with Krishna?

What one yearns for all life long, in that direction the mind migrates after death. Rare are those whose minds completely stop yearning for anyone or anything yet feel love for everyone. 

That leads me to think about another verse from the same chapter of the Bhagwad Gita.

( continued in the next post)