Fwd: Be Cool, Draw Energy From Spiritual Devotion

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Hare Krsna.

 

 

 

Be Cool, Draw Energy From Spiritual Devotion

 

by CHAITANYA CHARAN DAS

 

Have you seen how peacefully a

child sleeps in the lap of his parent, even in a noisy, crowded local

train? The hustle-bustle disturbs everyone, but not the child, due to

his implicit faith in the protection of his parent.

 

All

of us strive diligently to overcome our many fears: financial,

familial, social, academic and physical. However, the necessary

security measures like insurances, helmets, buzzer alarms and health

check-ups fail to free us from a disconcerting sense of insecurity

within us. Why?

 

All fear

originates in an unbalanced, unrealistic material conception of life.

The material aspect of our life has its importance; we need to feed,

clothe, house and provide for ourselves and our loved ones.

 

Krishna

says in the Bhagavad Gita that when we seek our sense of identity,

self-worth, security and pleasure exclusively from our material

positions and possessions, we open ourselves to fear. Because the

material realm is characterised by constant, unpredictable changes,

which often threaten to destroy or harm whatever is dear to us.

 

We

prepare ourselves to face some of the small, predictable and

controllable changes, but still we consciously or subconsciously dread

the huge, unpredictable and uncontrollable changes.

 

How should

we overcome fear? The more things change, the more we need to embrace

the things that don’t change: “Of the material, there is no endurance

and of the spiritual, there is no cessation”. Beyond the stage of

material activity that preoccupies our mind lies a vast, unexplored

realm of spiritual tranquillity. We are spiritual beings, souls,

originally from a spiritual world, the kingdom of God, who is our

eternal loving father.

 

Currently we are occupying material

bodies and inhabiting this material world. The more we harmonise with

our spiritual nature, the more we become fearless. Understanding that

we are, at our core, spiritual and, hence indestructible, fills us with

an unshakeable selfsecurity; we recognise that worldly upheavals that

affect our material assets have no power whatsoever to hurt us.

 

By

chanting the holy names of God like the Hare Krishna mantra, we

progressively experience both our own spiritual identity and God’s

protective presence and guidance in our life. The more we enrich our

faith by chanting, the more our devotion for Krishna increases. And

when we make our life’s work a devotional offering for His service, we

focus more on the object of our service.

 

This shift of focus

releases large reserves of mental energy, which are choked by our worry

about the future. Chanting gives us the calmness to see that almost all

fears are more perceived than experienced. The more we become free from

fear of the future, the more we can fully absorb ourselves in our

present duties.

 

Spiritual

principles and practices empower us to access and utilise even our

material talents better. Ultimately spirituality is the only way to

conquer the greatest of all fears — death. For a mature devotee, death

is not a fearful termination of existence, but a joyful reunion with

God. Just as the child stays peaceful amidst chaos, let us become

tranquil amidst ups and downs by empowering ourselves with spiritual

devotion.

 

(The writer is with ISKCON, Pune)