nityo nityanam cetanas cetananam
eko bahunam yo vidadhati kamantam
atmastha ye nupasyanti dhiras
tesam santi sasvati netaresam p 87 BG as it is. from Katha Upanisad, 2.2.13
"it is said that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the maintainer of innumerable living entities, in terms of their different situations according to individual work and reaction of work. The Supreme Person is also, by His plenary portions, alive in the heart of every living entity. Only saintly persons who can see, within and without, the same Supreme Lord, can actually attain to perfect and eternal peace." SP
Anxiety of all kinds arises from artificial independence. Our constitutional position is as dependent servitors, subordinates surrendered with love by free will to Godhead and His pastimes. when this trust and love is forfeited and the wife leaves home, she is subject to assault from so many forces more powerful than she who can overwhelm and subsume her in slavery and bondage. When will these prodigals give up their false pride and realize that their egotistic separation from their Beloved is simply a pain and does little good?
Matra sparsas tu kaunteya
sitosna sukha dukha da
agamapayino nityas
tams titiksvasa bharata!
"O son of Mother Kunti*, the temporary appearance of happiness and distress, and their disappearance in due course, are like the appearance of the winter and summer seasons. They arise from sense perception , O scion of Bharata* and one must learn to tolerate them without being disturbed." 2.14
One has to tolerate opposition and the hardships of the material world to perform one's duty. One who is steady in that determination to serve Krsna in face of so much opposition, is a transcendental sage for real. Srila Prabhupada is a perfect example. His disciples are another, worldwide.
Note; * in that place and time, persons were sometimes addressed in such a fashion as to glorify their activities or point out an important association to remind one of one's responsibilities. Apparently the people of that time were most intelligent and expert in language and communications and art and drama. the Vedic people were all great natural psychologists reading the hearts and motivations of those around them.
Because they are dependent on a cohesive safe community and steady husband, some say that women are more expert in reading the minds of men than men themselves are, but i notice they are also too smart generally to try to compete with men in realms of ego and strength in the marketplace, combat and leadership. Instead, they lead society by teaching values of personalism, family, steadiness and responsibility. These gender roles are complimentary, not divisive or contradictory, and satisfy the natural tendency within the cohesive social system. This system is the creation of Godhead, and even in material life, one has to excercise self discipline and do one's respective work duties regularly. Even so in renounced devotional services where one has no family, per se, one must still work to serve, and there is much to be done.
We can conclude that in all circumstances, one must act to survive. Giving up and quitting legitimate duties prematurely or due to laziness does not further any goals, and is in the mode of ignorance, as opposed to the steadiness of the mode of goodness. The great advantage of pure devotional service is that it is a pleasure from start to finish; good to plan, good to execute, and good to have done it, and the benefits never cease, if we could but see that reality.
Replies
A powerful realization, dear Trino! Yes, right and wrong are not the issues. Our legalistic concepts of acceptable and unacceptable are misleading; that which pleases and serves Godhead is all good, while materialistic notions of right and wrong are just that; temporary and based upon societal norms.
The gopis leaving the sacrifice of their brahmana husbands to feed Krsna Balarma is another very good example of transcendental Krsna conscious morality. The living entity is Krsna dasa, and if acting in that capacity is rightfully situated, not when guided simply by laws and morality from mundaners and sticklers for material laws. Krsna never requires wrongful action, so there is no such thing as "If i follow Krsna based upon my own spontaneous love and not the letter of the law, then i will likely act immorally" That is not so, one will then be acting spiritually, not under the laws of karma.
Yes, good point, Parvati Maa, best not to lean too far left, lest one tip! A balanced act is good ! We must carefully attend to the required rules etc lest we get slammed. They are there and enforced carefully to avoid sahajiyas, and fall down to false ego. Hare Krsna! ~(>,' )