The Gita shares not just light but also warmth
[Sunday feast class at ISKCON, Los Angeles, USA]
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Transcript
This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
by warmth but no light that could be shallow forms of spirituality which just make us feel good or it could just be mindless entertainment in which we escape this is like a painkiller and it is a psychological painkiller which can’t have much long term good and you need more and more doses after sometime and then the other is we give light but no warmth that’s like doing surgery without anesthesia we give rules we hand out judgments and people just feel alienated discouraged and then they go away so we need to offer both light and warmth I talked about how in the conclusion of the Bhagavad Gita after Krishna has offered light how we need to live in harmony with the whole we need to drive in traffic according to the rules we need to live in harmony with the whole that is the ultimate reality is Krishna he gives that message but then he concludes with warmth Krishna opens his heart and says I care for you I will protect you from all sinful reactions only for your benefit I am speaking and he gives multiple options you pray, you share my message if you can’t do that, hear my message you study my message, if you can’t study my message hear my message offering a rope pulling a person out by tying it or offering a bucket Krishna is offering more and more compassion and Krishna says that Oh Arjuna, are you enriched with wisdom? and we see the Bhagavad Gita takes Arjuna from the place where he was no light, no warmth Arjuna was in no man’s land in between the two armies and confused from there Krishna takes him to light and warmth so Arjuna who had put aside his bow picks up his bow in readiness to fight and our that bow also represents our determination to face life’s adversities we may lose heart but by understanding the Bhagavad Gita’s message of love we all can gain heart and pick up our bow Krishna Prabhupada offered the light of spiritual wisdom but he also offered the warmth of kindness of human compassion of human connections and that’s how he elevated and transformed everyone and when we all can receive and share this light and warmth we can make our heart a brighter and better place and each of us can help make the world a brighter and better place thank you very much Hare Krishna