It Could be You

“I know I’m a sinner, but make me a winner!” I guess most people have had a little gamble on the national lottery. In the US, legal gambling totals more than 25 billion dollars a year. If you include undocumented wagers it could double or even triple that. Practitioners in our tradition are encouraged to follow certain restrictions which aid their spiritual development. One such recommendation is to refrain from gambling. Many people I meet are often confused by that. Why is it so bad? Surely, a little flutter here and there can’t be harmful? After all, you have to be in it to win it.

We all know the famous saying; money is the root of all evil. There are now over 1 million compulsive gamblers in the US. For some, when it comes to gambling, enough is never enough, and the risk of greed and insatiable desires is uncomfortably high. When money is at stake, perfectly respectable citizens seem to have a spell cast over them. In Las Vegas, the nurses at one local hospital began to bet on how long critically ill patients would live for. Some became so anxious about the bets, that they actually switched off life support machines. One nurse in particular, who styled herself, 'the angel of Death,' allegedly turned off equipment on at least six critically ill patients. Since the advent of gambling, per capital crime in the Atlantic City area has tripled. Unfortunately, the ill effects of gambling on society and the individual are well-documented.

There is also a deeper reason why spiritualists avoid gambling. When one gambles, a certain mentality is cultivated – the mentality of minimum work, maximum gain. A more responsible citizen understands the principle of duty – equal work, equal gain. However, the mentality of the spiritualist is in another dimension completely. They are cultivating the mentality of maximum service, with no desire for any personal gain or reward. Why? Because to selflessly serve is the most rewarding and satisfying experience in life.

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Bring out the Best

A prominent disciple of A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (founder of the modern day Hare Krishna movement) was once asked what the most amazing quality in his spiritual master was. “One thing stood above everything else” he quickly replied. “Prabhupada was able to go beyond all the problems, difficulties and issues that someone had in their life, and would find a spark of spiritual enthusiasm and sincerity”. As he continued you could sense a deep feeling of gratitude “But that’s not all. He would then take that spark, fan it, and make it into a huge fire that consumed all the negative things in that persons character”. When I heard that, it summed up spiritual leadership for me.

I once heard a leadership guru who exclaimed “catch your people doing something good – catch them doing something right!” It’s easy to point out mistakes, inadequacies and deficiencies in people – there are plenty of them (and we probably have quite a few ourselves). But how often do we see the good, and consciously vocalize and appreciate that? I was reflecting how to criticize and point out mistakes is so easy. It’s so natural that we don’t even have to think about it. However, when it comes to appreciation we have to rack our brains, plan exactly what we will say, and then muster up enough courage to glorify that person!

This doesn’t mean a spiritual leader lives with his head in the clouds, turning a blind eye to all the problems that need to be addressed. Rather, it’s about building relationships with people and putting things in perspective by developing a wholesome understanding of their character. The Bhagavad-gita explains how every soul is invested with certain unique qualities – as we bring out these qualities in others, we will see the qualities within ourselves also manifest. Bring out the best in others, and Krishna brings out the best in you.

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IQ, EQ, SQ

IQ (Intelligence Quotient) tests are famous for assessing our logical, mathematical and linguistic skills. We all wish we were in that top bracket of Mensa elite who have an IQ in excess of 140 – unfortunately only 0.5% of the population make it! One who has developed intelligence has a great capacity to receive information, process it and analyse it. They are able to think in an abstract way, and also learn significant lessons from experience. However, research has shown that intelligence is not sufficient. The most intelligent people are not always the most successful and happy people in the world. Interestingly, they aren’t necessarily the people that change the world either (although some of them have).

Psychologists and neuroscientists are increasingly talking about the need for Emotional Quotient (EQ). According to them, EQ is a basic requirement for successful utilization of IQ. Those with high EQ’s are able to effectively handle their own emotions, and simultaneously interact and relate with others successfully. Animals and humans have a tendency to act irrationally when certain emotions arise in their consciousness. In times of stress, anger and anxiety, intelligence is difficult to access. Thus, EQ deals with the human side of life and how we effectively function in the environments surrounding us.

To some extent computers have the power of IQ. One could argue that animals have the power of IQ and EQ. So what sets humans apart? This is where the notion of SQ comes in – Spiritual Quotient. IQ and EQ help us in our present situations, but SQ is all about transformation. The spiritualist has the power to question on a deeper level – who am I, what are my needs, what goals should I be pursuing, and what will really make me happy. They may seem like simple questions, but if we analyse ourselves, how many times are we busily engaged in pursuing things without really questioning whether they are necessary, fulfilling and really adding value? Our lives are often centered around asking the question ‘how’, but SQ is all about asking the question ‘why’.

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Design Your Destiny

Recently I was observing commuters on the London Underground all reading the daily tabloid. I noticed several people eagerly flick to the horoscopes to discover their fortunes for the week. The idea that there are higher forces governing our fate in this world is definitely a captivating one. In reality what is actually affecting us? Is it the stars and the planetary movements? Maybe the cosmic ‘gods’ are crafting the roller-coaster journey through life? Could it ultimately be the will of a Supreme Person? More importantly, what power do we have to design our own destiny?

Imagine a scale which had ‘complete free will’ on one side and ‘complete fate’ on the other. Neither would seem reasonable explanations according to our daily observations. Despite our best efforts, things don’t always work out as we would like. Leaving aside the results of our activities, even if we analyze our power to decide how we act, we seem to have limited free will. How many times have you been impelled to do something you really didn’t want to do? On the other hand, we can’t say everything is predetermined. Clearly we’re not simply robotic entities playing the cog in a universal machine that moves according to its own design. Our desires and actions seem to mould our future. Social scientists and psychologists have conducted various studies addressing this.

According to Bhagavad-gita, life is an interplay of fate (karma) and free will. Karmic reactions are prompted by our previous activities, evaluated under the supervision of the Supreme Person, and predicted in our life by astrological charts. According to our karmic bank balance, we are faced with certain situations in the present. Astrological movements are not deciding our fortune, but rather giving a report of how our karma will be dispensed. Of course, within every situation we have free will to decide our future situations since karma is simply creating the context within which we exercise our free will in this life. Thus, in the ultimate sense, we all have the power to design our own destiny.

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90-10 rule

Tom Hanks’ famous line in ‘Forest Gump’ is quite accurate. “Life is like a box of chocolates” he said, “you never know what you’re gonna get!” Regardless of what life situations arise, however, the introspective spiritualist knows how to use them to make favorable and progressive steps in the spiritual journey. Martial techniques explain how to channel the force of the person attacking to you to gain advantage. Modern psychologists call it the 90-10 secret – 10% of life is made up by what happens to you, but 90% of life is decided by how you react. The ancient wisdom of India also gives some deep insight:

- In success, develop gratitude for those around us that made it possible
- In failure, see it as a stepping stone to better things and never lose hope
- In appreciation, develop an appreciation for those who offer kind words
- In criticism, find something constructive and relevant that you can work on
- In friendship, increase the mood of selfless service and never take others for granted
- In conflict, fight the ego and try to see from the perspective of the other

These all may seem like quite utopian reactions. It all makes sense on paper, but in the heat of the situation, things look quite different – other responses seem far more natural. However, to cultivate such disposition, means to nudge out all negativity from our consciousness. After all, negativity is like burning coal – as we hold it, ready to throw at someone else, we ourselves are burnt in the meantime.

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Patience... bitter sweet...

I shaved my head the other day. It’s impossible to perceive the hair growing on a moment-to-moment basis, though the growth is clearly noticeable after a few weeks. While cruising above the clouds in an aeroplane it’s difficult to appreciate just how fast you are traveling. A few hours later, as you end up on the other side of the world, things become more apparent. A tiny stream in the mountain ranges can drop away at a solid rock and it seems insignificant. However, if you return there after 100 years you may be surprised to find a huge dent.

The aspiring spiritualist must recognize the absolute necessity of patience in their practice. There may sometimes be doubts over whether any transformation is occurring, whether there is really any change of heart, but determined practice over years will surely bear fruit. According to the Bhagavad-gita, souls have passed through many chapters of existence, repeatedly seeking happiness in the wrong places and cultivating perverted worldviews. Our misdirected desires and deep-rooted conditionings will naturally take time to transform. They are like warm soft beds in the winter – easy to get into, very difficult to get out of!

The Roman writer Phadreus once remarked “patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet”. There are times when we may feel far from spiritual, but to patiently continue, knowing that spirituality is not just a momentary emotion but rather a lifetime's mission, is the advice of great teachers. The spiritual path is full of inspiration, insight and amazing fulfillment – but this is only available to those who are willing to also embrace the not-so-glamorous need for patience.

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Artificial Intelligence

Every living being, human or animal, performs basic bodily activities. They all eat, sleep, mate and engage in protecting their life situation. Of course, the intelligence of man has allowed our civilized society to pursue these four fundamental activities in a more refined manner. Animals eat and sleep quite modestly, whereas man has created luxurious facilities to relish such activities. Animals may engage in the sexual act in an unmannerly way, whereas humans have developed innumerable social subtleties which surround their union. Animals may use their claws and teeth to defend their homes, whereas man has created weapons of destruction and innovations like insurance policies.

However, we can’t ignore the problems. In today’s world, people have to take drugs to cure insomnia and sleeping troubles. Eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia are widespread, sexually transmitted diseases and promiscuity-related social problems are well documented, and threats of terrorism, political instability and natural disaster thwart our sense of security. For all the intelligence we have applied to making life more pleasurable through these basic activities, it actually looks like we have created more problems and complexity!

Desires to derive pleasure from artificial sources create artificial problems. We try to solve such problems with artificial solutions, which ultimately seem to escalate the problems. To improve our standard of living and sense of comfort is not a sinful desire. However, it may be considered wasteful to engage all our time and intelligence in developing temporary arrangements to improve activities that even animals perform. According to Bhagavad-gita our intelligence is meant for finding fulfilment and happiness from activities which transcend these basic demands.

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Its all in the mind

Excluding extreme cases, nobody really wants to die. Furthermore, we’d all like to live a happy life. These innate desires within us are ultimately frustrated in this world, since death and unhappiness are inevitable realities. Philosophers like Ludwig Feuerbach thus concluded that religion could be explained psychologically. According to them, if one is willing to buy into religion they can escape their deepest fears and live in blissful ignorance of their mortality and suffering. Spirituality or religion, he argues, has no solid divine grounding, but rather is just a response to drives from the unconscious mind. Just believe… and you will get what you always wanted – immortality and eternal happiness.

Over the centuries, different thinkers have reduced spirituality to something designed for the weak – people who are unable to deal with the anxieties and uncertainties of the ‘real world’. Philosophers like Freud built on such ideas which considered religion to be a childish delusion concocted by mankind. Atheism, on the other hand, was seen as a grown-up realism. The attractiveness of religion and the strength of its grip on the human mind was thus seen to be rooted in the psychological issues of the individual.

One may question, however, why the yearning for immortality and happiness is common to every entity in the universe? Instead of minimising our deepest and innermost desires to be simply imagination and wishful thinking, it may be worth exploring where such universal longings come from? Maybe such desires reveal to us something about our higher nature and self? The fact that we are thwarted in our attempts to fulfil such desires may also expose deficiencies in our worldviews and ways of living. Feuerbach and Freud may have done well to explore these questions first.

Another small point. While speaking of the unconscious mind pushing one to believe in an ‘imaginary God’, we should also consider how the unconscious mind may also push one to quickly reject God. Eliminating any spiritual element to life liberates us of ultimate responsibility, frees us to exercise full independence over our decisions and directions in life. In trying to remove God from the picture, maybe we are trying to become God ourselves - the autonomous, independent entity who is not answerable to anyone. Interesting how the human mind works.

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