Dear James,
As you know I’m a bus driver in a major metropolitan area and I’m witnessing mass homelessness, mentally deranged people, and tent cities. Moreover, I’m witnessing mass business closures wherever I look–the falling of our American economy. Plus crime is going up and drug gangs are proliferating like in Mexico and charging local businesses extortion taxes. Some people in one area are walking across the streets so high, they don’t even notice traffic that can kill them at any moment. In common language, they are fucked up!!! And possibly hyperinflation is coming???
Now in the Gita Krishna is advising Arjuna to go out and fight. Yes, the world is not real. Yes, it is all a play of the Gunas. Yes, as Presence I’m not affected. However, free will is at play. But we are not very free for we are conditioned by the Gunas through this inert environment–whether it be physical, emotional, mental or otherwise. It is all inert except ME AWARNESS. I accept this fact fully.
Now from the jiva’s point of view, it seems this is arising due to the lack of knowledge of Who “WE” Are or “The Fall” as it states in the bible, a fall into identification with notional duality. It seems as if God is giving humanity a wake-up call. Wake the fuck up!!!! With pestilence, an economic downturn, the polar ice caps melting causing cold air to plum up into our environment etc., etc., I can go on and on.
Basically, my attitude should be just observe, love others, and when I can point to the SELF. That’s it CORRECT? What can I do? The Gunas are doing everything–even writing this e-mail. Who knows? I may die in an earth quake. So what??? Well, have a wonderful day. See you this Sunday!
James: That’s correct. If you are serving the world as you are (and I admire you for it!) and adding good positive vibes to the mix, you are doing all that can be done. The collective karma we created is already in the pipeline and has to fructify. We only have some control over what is yet to come.
By the way I have good news. Isvara gave Sundari and me the opportunity to help the world and our apparent selves by getting vaccinated!!! Not surprisingly we already heard from one nice spiritual person we think of as a friend that we are fools. I can’t figure out how in the name of fear some people would not seize the opportunity to serve humanity in this way. It’s pretty common these days so we shouldn’t be surprised, I suppose. It’s amazing how people think fear is smart when it not smart at all. Well, you can’t blame them because they don’t even know what harm they are doing to their own minds when they succumb to unexamined fears.
Having said that I understand that people honestly think the science of vaccines is flawed, but what human institution isn’t flawed? We need the mistakes to learn and advance our knowledge. Vedanta encourages doubts to stimulate inquiry and it promotes precaution in the Bhagavad Gita as a valuable value. So it is reasonable to wait and see if the vaccines work before one makes up one’s mind. However, the longer people wait, the longer the quarantines are going to compromise our return to normal life. I’m lucky in that I’ve done everything that I needed to do in this life and the sun is setting on my life so its not a very important issue for me. We are all allotted so much time here according to our karma and Isvara moves the vaccinated and unvaccinated on at Its will and pleasure.
Much love,
James
Much Love
James