In the beloved story of the Bhagavad-Gita, a corrupt and narcissistic king sits on the throne. He is selfish and greedy with little concern for the welfare of the people he rules. As a result, everything is out of balance and suffering prevails.
Enter Arjuna, our main character. Arjuna is a warrior, and it has fallen to him during these difficult times to lead a battle against the forces of self-interest in order to restore wellbeing to the whole kingdom.
The whole story takes place on a battlefield. The forces of justice and sustainability lined up against the forces of corruption and greed. The forces for the good of all lined up against the forces for the good of a few at the top. This is Arjuna’s battle to fight and the outcome will be determined by his courage and strength.
These times remind me of this ancient battle. We are witnessing the destruction caused by the forces of greed, selfishness, and denial. We are witnessing the moral failure of many of our leaders and the policies they are endorsing or failing to endorse. We are witnessing the weakness in those of us who have closed our eyes and gone to sleep.
But there is another power at work. It is seen in the image of 7000 pairs of tennis shoes placed on the White House lawn. It is heard in the voices of students who will not be silenced. It is displayed in messages on signs carried by protestors. It is manifested in even the smallest actions, the daily choices, made by each, and every one of us.
Like our story in the Bhagavad Gita, there are two different forces at work, each with its own scenario for the future. And that future is being shaped by each and every one of us in the smallest of ways everyday. It is ours to live now the future we choose.
A study was done at the University of Virginia showing that 67% of men and 25% of women would rather endure an electrical shock than to sit alone is silence. Startling, isn’t it?
I have been thinking lately about a quote by T. E. Lawrence, known to many as Lawrence of Arabia. It goes like this: “All men [sic] dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds, wake in the day to find that it was vanity; but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men [sic], for they may act on their dreams with open eyes, to make them possible.”
It’s hard to miss. Another New Year has called us to social celebration and quiet reflection. We can feel the turning of time and with it the longing for meaningful change. We are in touch with hope, with possibility, and with failure. We are reminded of what might be different or at least a little better in our lives, in our world, in our character. And for most of us, this hope turns into resolutions.
In his poem called Tripping Over Joy, the poet Hafiz gives us much to reflect on regarding surrender. He portrays life as a chess game with the Divine. Most of us, he notes, take playing the game much too seriously. We can feel this seriousness in the rigidity of our shoulders or the tight set of our jaw. We can feel it in a sudden outburst of emotional turbulence. The mystic, he notes, has a very different experience.
“Don’t look for peace. Don’t look for any other state than the one you are in now; otherwise, you will set up inner conflict and unconscious resistance. Forgive yourself for not being at peace. The moment you completely accept your non-peace, your non-peace becomes transmuted into peace. Anything you accept fully will get you there, will take you into peace. This is the miracle of surrender.” ― Eckhart Tolle
“Know yourself as a breathing being.” -Pandit Rajmani Tigunait
“Who are you God, and who am I?” – St Francis of Assisi 
