The Relevance of the Bhagavadgita to Humanity- 3.6. Swami Krishnananda

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14.03.2020.
Chapter 3: The Aranya Parvam of the Mahabharatam-6.

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1.

#We may say there was some indiscretion. There are occasions when we may be able to read some meaning of indiscretion on the part of even good ones, which leads to their difficulty and problems. We may accept this point of view also. 

##Even an extremely good person is susceptible to erroneous action, due to what we may call an error of judgment at a particular moment. As we say, why did Yudhisthira have to play dice? He could have withheld himself from that, and so on. 

###Likewise, spiritual seeking may also sometimes get involved in a slight error of judgment, and that error consists in an imbalance of attitude, some protest coming from an unattended part of our personality and society.

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2.

#In the beginning, it is a protest from society. We will have so many difficulties when we try to free ourselves from the tangles of family attachment, social attachment, etc. Many people come to this ashram who are between two horns of a dilemma. They cannot stay here, they cannot stay there, and they want to stay here, they want to stay there. 

##Such difficulties arise. There is a pull from here, and a pull from there also. And even when we seem to have settled this issue, we will find that we might not have judiciously done it. Sometimes we may vehemently settle an issue. That vehement settling is not a judicious settling. We may settle an issue by giving some pain to one party, which is also one kind of settling. 

###But here, in dealing with our mind, we may not be wise in settling the issue of its demands by giving pain to it from some side, against its own will. Yoga, as is the case with any other enterprise in life, is a sort of educational career. We have to educate ourselves. 

####Force of will is not to be applied except when it is applied as a sort of educational method. It should not be merely a vehemence of the ego or the force of the rod. Sometimes this difficulty is before us.

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3.

#Every spiritual seeker, every sadhaka, should have time to sit alone for one hour every day. Sit under a tree somewhere. Do not chat with people unless, of course, it is a helpful person. 

*Why do you chat unnecessarily? 

**If it is an equal to you or it is a superior person like a Guru, you can chat with him, but do not chat with youngsters. You should go on thinking, “What is my difficulty?” 

***Do you believe that there is no difficulty? 

##And you will not be able to know yourself much, except when you are totally alone to yourself. In the din of the noise of work and social engagement, you lose your personality in the psychology of the crowd, and you will not know anything about yourself. In a large crowd of noise and celebration and function, you forget even your appetite and hunger. You can even miss your meal; you don’t bother about it because of the immense satisfaction of the crowd and the noise. 

###But when you are alone, you feel your appetite and would like to have food.

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To be continued ...

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