In a very recent news article I read, the headline stated: “Nearly half of Americans think they’re a better person than EVERYONE they know!”  

I personally think this is shocking and sad because it is so spiritually damaging.  I feel that it is due in large part to the influence of big tech and the way in which they affect society by eroding the finer values needed to help us live a more peaceful and happier life.  The ex-Google employee and Big Tech critic Tristan Harris, recently testified before the US Congress and said the business model of big social media companies "is to create a society that is addicted, outraged, polarized, performative and disinformed. That's just the fundamentals of how it works."  

We explore how this erosion of the quality of humility in people contributes to their unhappiness.

I was asked to answer some questions via video link last Saturday, from people attending a yoga and kirtan retreat on the Coromandel Peninsular in New Zealand.  I thought that others may also benefit from this, so am posting it.  

The questions in summary were: 

1.  What is my purpose in life ..? Why am I here?  

2. What is the point of us not remembering our previous lives? What benefit is there in not remembering them? Why can’t we remember them?  

3.  Why is the world so full of incredible suffering and pain?  

4.  When you speak of this human existence someone said t's like a jail and we will never find true fulfillment here. Why does this have such a negative lens? Is it possible to have this understanding whilst also seeing the absolutely magical and beautiful world that God has created for us?  I hope that makes sense.

The idea that there is no difference between the living being (jīva-ātmā) and the Supreme Soul (Paramātmā) leads to the erroneous conclusion that “I am God”.  This idea is promoted by many of the well-known so-called gurus who have taught in the Western world.  

The idea arises from an incomplete understanding of the nature of both the soul and of God.  It is a fact that the essence of the soul/self is Brahman (spirit), but the “essence” of the soul alone, does not give the complete picture or knowledge of the soul.  One must also come to understand my “position” and natural “function” to be incomplete knowledge.  

The “I am God” philosophy appeals to the “false ego” – this is the ultimate ego-stroking one could have, and it can lead to the highest forms of hedonism.  But the greatest misfortune for those who adopt this philosophy lies in their rejection of the existence of the highest object of love (the supremely loveable Personality of Godhead) and the chance to experience the greatest transcendental ecstasy which arises from prema - love for God.  

It is uninformed to think I am the Supreme Controller when I am obviously controlled by so many forces, and in so many ways. Nor can I ever be cognizant or aware of everything that another entity experiences, what to speak of the sum total of all the experiences of all other living beings.

Some of the verses I quoted: SPARKS FROM THE FIRE "This is the truth: As sparks of similar form spring forth by the thousands from a strongly blazing fire, so from the Absolute Truth are produced the various living beings, O gentle one, and there also do they go." - Mundaka Upanishad 2:1:1   

“As tiny sparks fly from a fire, so all the individual souls have come from the Supreme.” - Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad, 2.2.20  

THE INDIVIDUAL SOUL IS NOT SUPREME  "By turning away from the Supreme Lord, they, the jīvas, have become absorbed in the Lord’s separated energy — matter. Because of this, they are bewildered and deluded about their real identity. Due to this delusion, they are critically bound up in the terrible snare of lust and karmic activities. Their false identification with the gross and subtle bodies as their real self is the cause of their distress in material existence." - Vedānta-sūtra (35-38)  

The living entities in this conditioned world are My eternal fragmental parts. Due to conditioned life, they are struggling very hard with the six senses, which include the mind. - Bhagavad-gīta 15.7

ONE SUPREME BEING AMONG ALL BEINGS nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām  eko bahūnāṁ yo vidadhāti kāmān  nityaḥ – an eternal;  nityānāṁ – a vast number of eternal beings;  cetanaḥ – cognizant or conscious;  cetanānām – a vast number of cognizant or conscious beings; ekaḥ – one alone; bahūnāṁ – of many; yaḥ – one who; vidadhāti – He awards; kāmān – desires; He is the eternal among all eternal entities, and the chief conscious being among all conscious beings.  Among the many living entities, He is the chief, who fulfills their desires.   Śvetāsvatara Upaniṣad 6.13 & Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.2.13

Īśvara is a special Puruṣa, unlike other puruṣas, being untouched by afflictions, actions (material activity) and the fruit of actions, and latent impressions or material desires.  In Him the seed of omniscience is unsurpassed (infinite).  He is also the Teacher of all ancient teachers (sages), being not limited by time. The transcendental sound personifying Him is AUṀ.  -  Yoga Sūtra 1.25-27

AN ETERNAL BOND OF KINSHIP sa nityo nitya-sambandhaḥ prakṛtiś ca paraiva sā The same jīva is eternal and is for eternity and without a beginning joined to the Supreme Lord by the tie of an eternal kinship. He is transcendental spiritual potency. - Śrī Brahma-saṁhitā 5.21

The rest of the description can be found on Youtube. 

The day following this talk was the 534th anniversary of the appearance of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the “Father of Kirtan”, so I was asked to speak about him.  

In the talk I referenced several quotes from the Vedas about him, predicting his appearance over 4,500 years prior to that day.  I also referenced 3 of the 8 prays he personally wrote, all of which I am sharing here.  

गौरः सर्वात्मा महापुरुषो महात्मा महायोगी त्रिगुनतितः  सत्त्वरूपो भक्तिं लोके कश्यति  gauraḥ sarvātmā mahā-puruṣo  mahātmā mahā-yogī tri-guṇātītaḥ  sattva-rūpo bhaktiṁ loke kāśyati "Lord Gaura, who is the allpervading Supersoul/Paramatma, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, appears as a great saint and powerful mystic who is above the three modes of nature and is the emblem of transcendental activity. He disseminates the science of devotion throughout the world." — Caitanya Upaniṣad  

पुण्यक्षेत्र नवद्विपे भविष्यामि शचिसुतः puṇya-kṣetre nava-dvīpe bhaviṣyāmi śacī-sutaḥ " I shall appear in the holy land of Navadvipa as the son of Sacidevi." — Kṛṣṇa-yāmala-tantra      

कलौ संकिर्तनरंभे भविष्यामि शचिसुतः kalau saṅkīrtanārambhe bhaviṣyāmi śacī-sutaḥ "In the Age of Kali when the sankirtana movement is inaugurated, I shall descend as the son of Sacidevi."  — Vāyu Purāṇa 

अथ वाहं धरधमे भूत्वा मद्भक्तरुपधृक मायायां चा भविष्यामि कलौ संकिर्तनागमे ॥ atha vāhaṁ dharādhāme bhūtvā mad-bhakta-rūpa-dhṛk māyāyāṁ ca bhaviṣyāmi kalau saṅkīrtanāgame "Sometimes I personally appear on the surface of the world in the garb of a devotee. Specifically, I appear as the son of Saci in Kali-yuga to start the sankirtana movement."— Brahma-yāmala-tantra

य एव भगवन् कृष्णो रधिकाप्राणवल्लभः  सृष्ट्यादौ स जगन्नाथो गौर आसीन महेश्वरी ॥  ya eva bhagavān kṛṣṇo rādhikā-prāṇa-vallabhaḥ sṛṣṭy ādau sa jagan-nātho gaura āsīn maheśvari "The Supreme Person, Sri Krishna Himself, who is the life of Sri Radharani, and is the Lord of the universe in creation, maintenance and annihilation, appears as Gaura, O Mahesvari."— Ananta-saṁhitā  

कृष्णवर्णं त्विषाकृष्णं संगोपङ्गस्त्रपर्सदं । यज्ञैः संकीर्तनप्रयैर यजन्ति हि सुमेधसः ॥३२॥ kṛṣṇa-varṇaṁ tviṣākṛṣṇaṁ sāṅgopāṅgāstra-pārṣadam yajñaiḥ saṅkīrtana-prāyair yajanti hi su-medhasaḥ “In this age of Kali, those who are intelligent perform the congregational chanting of the names of Hari, worshiping the Supreme Person, who appears in this age always chanting the glories of Krishna. That incarnation is yellowish or golden in hue and is always associated with His plenary expansions, and personal expansions, as well as devotees and associates.”— Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.5.32)

सुवर्णवर्णो हेमाङ्गो वरन्गश चन्दनाङ्गदि । संन्यासकृच्छमः शान्तो निष्ठशन्तोपरायणः ॥ suvarṇa-varṇo hemāṅgo varāṅgaś candanāṅgadī sannyāsa-kṛc chamaḥ śānto niṣṭhā-śānti-parāyaṇaḥ “The Lord [in the incarnation of Gaurasundara] has a golden complexion. Indeed, His entire body, which is very nicely constituted, is like molten gold. Sandalwood pulp is smeared all over His body. He will take the fourth order of spiritual life (sannyasa) and will be very self-controlled. He will be distinguished from Mayavadi sannyasis in that He will be fixed in devotional service and will spread the sankirtana movement.”  — Mahābhārata

1. Glory to the Śrī Kṛṣṇa saṅkīrtana, which cleanses the heart of all the dust accumulated for years and extinguishes the fire of conditional life, of repeated birth and death. This saṅkīrtana movement is the prime benediction for humanity at large because it spreads the rays of the benediction moon. It is the life of all transcendental knowledge. It increases the ocean of transcendental bliss, and it enables us to fully taste the nectar for which we are always anxious.

Full description can be found on Youtube.

The inspiration for the talk was that the UN has declared March 20 each year as the International Day of Happiness.  Most people think that by seeking out something I consider desirable that is situated outside of myself (some object, experience, relationship, etc.,) and pulling that in close to myself, I can experience happiness. But lasting happiness is not acquired like this, it is “an inside job”. It requires our conscious participation. It doesn’t “just happen” to us.  

The mad rush to endlessly consume products and experiences does not only not fulfill or satisfy us, but it also robs us of our intelligence and peace.  The Vedas directly tie the experience of happiness to peace or peacefulness.  

Author and Economist E. F. Schumacher concurs and states: “ I suggest that the foundations of peace cannot be laid by universal prosperity, in the modem sense, because such prosperity, if attainable at all, is attainable only by cultivating such drives of human nature as greed and envy, which destroy intelligence, happiness, serenity, and thereby the peacefulness of man.”  

These were some of the verses I quoted which are really good to reflect or meditate on: 

Bg. 2.70 - A person who is not disturbed by the incessant flow of desires-that enter like rivers into the ocean, which is ever being filled but is always still - can alone achieve peace, and not the man who strives to satisfy such desires.  

Bg 18.36 - O best of the Bhāratas, now please hear from Me about the three kinds of happiness by which the conditioned soul enjoys, and by which he sometimes comes to the end of all distress. 

Bg 18.37 - That which in the beginning may be just like poison but at the end is just like nectar and which awakens one to self-realization is said to be happiness in the mode of goodness. 

Bg 18.38 - That happiness which is derived from contact of the senses with their objects and which appears like nectar at first but poison at the end is said to be of the nature of passion. 

Bg 18.39 - And that happiness which is blind to self-realization, which is delusion from beginning to end and which arises from sleep, laziness and illusion is said to be of the nature of ignorance.

There is a general and quite pervasive idea that if I am “progressive” then I am a ‘good’ person, I have high ethical standards and I am heading in a positive and desirable direction. But what does it actually mean to make progress as a society?    

Well, the question becomes, “Progress towards what?” What if my goals and direction in life will produce bad outcomes?  I may then be progressing towards these goals but heading in the wrong direction. I am progressing, but towards that which is undesirable.   

If society's goals are founded on, and guided by, materialism, then progress towards those goals will lead to misfortune, unhappiness, and suffering for society and its’ members. This reflection was instigated by something one of the great spiritual teachers in our lineage wrote in the late 1800’s.  It was in the form of a dialogue between a person who was a great promotor of the ‘advancement’ of civilization through materialistic culture and a childhood friend who had become a spiritual seeker.  This is an excerpt from the book:  

The materialist: “Civilization means to converse well in sophisticated society, to dress in a manner that pleases others, to eat food and conduct oneself in a way which is not repellent to others. Actually, you spiritual seekers follow none of these manners. “Some people consider that knowledge and culture are simultaneously expanding by this civilization, and if the trend continues this earth will become like heaven.”  

The friend: “Human life is short and inevitably has numerous disturbances; thus, with our limited time here, it is imperative to serve the Supreme Soul and others, with unmotivated simplicity. The culture and sophistication, which you present as synonyms, are merely exercises in self-deception. If a human being remains on the path of truthfulness, his life is honest and simple. Leaving this straight path for that of deception, he becomes sly, engages in unscrupulous dealings, and tries to hide his crookedness behind a facade of sweet words and postured civility. Truthfulness and simplicity are laudable human characteristics, whereas the culture and sophistication you speak of generally lack these qualities. True culture, in its pristine state, shorn of all immorality, is found amongst the transcendentalists, and the culture of the materialist is tainted by sinful ways.”

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A few years ago, a guy from England decided that his life was too painful and sad. He was having trouble with relationships and a lot of other things. While taking care of his friend’s dog he had the flash of brilliance; “if only I was an animal, I would be like this dog, not a care in the world, I would be so happy.”  

After considering which animal species he could “become” in order to find happiness, including contemplating on different types of animals, even an elephant, he settled on becoming a goat, after a Nordic Sharman said he was more of a “goat person”. And so, he dedicated a huge amount of resources and time to try and become a goat, including having custom-made prosthetics developed and even consulting with an animal psychologist. He finally fulfilled his dream by spending time amongst herds of goats in the Swiss Alps.  

When one is devoid of knowledge of the real self, there is the danger that we become fixated on identifying with some “false self” because it seems to be in tune with my mind and my desires. But falsely identifying with anything material in the hope that I will discover my true self will never prove fruitful. Ultimately it will only cause us unhappiness and even harm. We are not the gross material bodies, nor the mind and its infinite desires. We are eternal spiritual beings, and it is only once we give up false identities and discover our “true” and eternal selves will we begin to experience the actual happiness we all desire.

Last night I was asked to speak about Valentine’s Day from a spiritual perspective since it was February 14th.     

The desire for an eternal and lasting perfect love is at its root, really a spiritual desire. It arises from the soul itself, and the attempts to find it in a material dimension will always be frustrated. But it is possible, although it requires a paradigm shift in our life.

This is the final talk in the series. In our journey so far we explored the following:  

The top environmental problems are selfishness, greed, and apathy, and to deal with these we need a cultural and spiritual transformation. Gus Speth – Environmental Scientist  

In the 1920’s, Banker Paul Mazur of Lehman Brothers famously wrote: "We must shift America from a needs, to a desires culture. People must be trained to desire….. Man's desires must overshadow his needs."  

In 1970, British Economist E.F. Schumacher wrote: “Economic progress, [the economist] Keynes counselled, is obtainable only if we employ those powerful human drives of envy and selfishness, which religion and traditional wisdom universally call upon us to resist. The modem economy is propelled by a frenzy of greed and indulges in an orgy of envy, and these are not accidental features but the very causes of its expansionist success. The question is whether such causes can be effective for long or whether they carry within themselves the seeds of destruction.”  

In 2002, Adam Curtis, the writer, and producer of the BBC documentary series – The Century of the Self, presented through this work “the story of the rise of an idea that has come to dominate our society. It is the belief that satisfaction of individual feelings and desires is our highest priority.” Messaging produced by the consumer “revolution” deeply affects us all. But since ancient times, Yoga wisdom has taught that restraint, plus spiritual practice, leads to self-realization and happiness and that - Feeding one’s appetites increased avidya (ignorance) and contributes to a false-identity and our unhappiness.  

Since time immemorial, all spiritual messaging from different traditions is for us to move away from absorption in the false-self and make the shift towards self-realization. A shift from self-centeredness towards selflessness. From serving myself to serving the Supreme Soul (God) and my fellowman.  

The Dalai Lama wrote that to become happy all people must have purpose and they must serve. Of course, that purpose must be “bigger than myself”.  

In the end, it all boils down to what my purpose in life is.  The great spiritual teacher Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu has advised:  

One who has taken his birth as a human being …. should make his life successful and work for the benefit of all other people. It is the duty of every living being to perform welfare activities for the benefit of others with his life, wealth, intelligence, and words. By his work, thoughts, and words, an intelligent man must perform actions which will be beneficial for all living entities in this life and the next. Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta - Ādi-līlā 9.41-43

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Last week we listed some of the qualities we have been advised since ancient times to adopt in order to become more peaceful and happy.  

When we begin to build a personal list of guiding principles that will serve as my life’s compass, it is helpful to examine the 3 areas of our life that will be impacted by our adoption of at least some of these qualities.     

a) How do we see the world?   

Generally, most see the world as a ‘resource’ to claim and be exploited for my own fleeting so-called happiness.  But it was here before I ‘showed-up’ in this life-time and it will remain when I quit this body. My laying claim to it is, in reality, stealing.    

b) How do we see others?   

We tend to categorize others into 3 categories – as those who may make me happy (I like them); those who may make me unhappy (I dislike them); and those whom I don’t care about at all.  

c) How do we see ourselves?   

When we are blinded by the illusion that the body I am occupying is me, and that the desires within my mind are “mine”, I cannot find either peace or happiness. Letting my mind and bodily desires run my life is like putting a 5yr old in charge of the grocery shopping for the family.    

If we adopt spiritual principles as my life’s compass then at the very least the impact we will have on the world and those we encounter in our life will be to leave “lighter footprints”.  

Some of the verses I quoted: Śrī Īśopaniṣad Mantra 1 

इषवस्यमिदंसर्वं यत्किञ्च जगत्यां जगत् तेन त्यक्तेन भुजिथा मा गृधः कस्य स्विद्धनम् ।। 

īśāvāsyam idam sarvaṁ yat kiñca jagatyāṁ jagat tena tyaktena bhuñjīthā mā gṛdhaḥ kasya svid dhanam 

SYNONYMS īśa—by the Lord; āvāsyam—controlled; idam—this; sarvam—all; yat kiñca—whatever; jagatyām—within the universe; jagat—all that is animate or inanimate; tena—by Him; tyaktena—set-apart quota; bhuñjīthāḥ—you should accept; mā—do not; gṛdhaḥ—endeavor to gain; kasya svit—of anyone else; dhanam—the wealth.  

Everything animate or inanimate that is within the universe is controlled and owned by the Lord. One should therefore accept only those things necessary for himself, which are set aside as his quota, and one should not accept other things, knowing well to whom they belong.  

Also in the Bhagavad-gita: 

Abandoning all attachment to the results of one’s activities, ever satisfied and independent, the transcendentalist performs no fruitive action, although engaged in all kinds of undertakings. Such a person of understanding acts with mind and intelligence perfectly controlled, gives up all sense of proprietorship over one’s possessions, and acts only for the bare necessities of life. Thus working, one is not affected by sinful reactions. Bg 4.20-21  

In this way the conditioned soul living within the body forgets his self-interest because he identifies himself with the body. Because the body is material, his natural tendency is to be attracted by the varieties of the material world. Thus the living entity suffers the miseries of material existence. - Bhagavat Purana 7.13.28    

Whenever a person experiences, by self-realization, that both the gross and subtle bodies have nothing to do with the pure self, at that time he sees himself as well as the Highest Spiritual Truth or the Supreme Soul. - Bhagavat Purana 1.3.33     

Such a liberated person is not attracted to the temporary material sense pleasures of this world, but is always absorbed in spiritual trance, enjoying the pleasure within. In this way the self-realized person enjoys unlimited happiness, for he concentrates upon the Supreme. – Bhagavad-gita 5.21