Gita 05.21 – Shut off the outer world to go deep into the inner world and relish happiness unending

And attain eternal ecstasy, thank you 5.21 in the bhagavad-gita describes the process by which one can attain sukham akshayam, happiness which never ends, which never gets exhausted, which never gets deteriorated and lost, at the highest level this happiness is the happiness of devotion when the soul is reinstated in eternal relationship with Krishna and there is ananta-akshaya-amita-sukha, so three steps are described, first is one becomes indifferent, asakta and asakta, the opposites, one becomes indifferent towards external pleasures, so this verse can act as a very good template for our meditation, for our chanting, so when we are chanting we try to shut out the external world, yes there are problems which need to be addressed, there are things which need to be done, there are pleasures that deliver us, but at least for that time of chanting we can turn away from them, bahayas purusheshwa asakta, not now, now is the time for Krishna, with this resolution we can turn our consciousness inwards instead of outwards as it normally is, so just being indifferent is not possible because we are by nature pleasure seeking, therefore the next step is vindatya-atmaniyat-sukham, we start delighting in inner happiness, when we develop a relationship with Krishna, at that time we march towards him, steadily and strongly, sometimes some devotees fear that oh I'm not enjoyer, I'm meant to be enjoyed, therefore I should not seek pleasure in devotional service, this is not an incorrect understanding, but it's not a correct understanding also, yes it's true that we should not seek pleasure as our driving force in spiritual life, but we are by nature anandmayo, ananda is our very characteristic, our very defining nature, so we cannot live without ananda, and what bhakti talks about is not giving up ananda, but finding the best ananda by giving ananda to Krishna, just as when the hand feeds the stomach, the hand gets nourishment, similarly when we satisfy Krishna we too get satisfaction, now when we make a satisfaction of a goal, if we make satisfaction as the basis of our practice of devotion, then our devotion will become unsteady, whenever we don't get satisfaction we think what is the use of doing this, what is the need to do this, but if you understand the outer life is peripheral, the inner life is real, then we can turn inwards, and by pleasing Krishna we can get pleasure, so we focus on serving Krishna enthusiastically, dominantly, and while doing that whatever fulfillment we get, we are grateful for that, and we accept it gratefully and graciously, and we pursue it not as our primary goal, but as a result of our practice of devotion, and as a result when our practice of devotion pleases Krishna, so the focus is described in the next verse, it's a brahma yoga yuktatma, that how does one, how does one relation to happiness, that is by brahma yoga, by yoga we connect with brahma, the spiritual reality, Krishna is param brahma, the highest spiritual reality, so we connect with Krishna through the holy name, so when we are chanting, we don't chant to get pleasure, but we chant to connect with Krishna, to please Krishna, and that will automatically give us pleasure, unending happiness, that may not come immediately, we will require some purification for that fulfillment to become steady, but still that satisfaction will definitely come, and if we just pursue steadily, then we will be coming closer and closer to Krishna, and ultimately relish the scream, unending happiness, so while chanting, switch off our outer consciousness, let everything else wait, not now, then turn inwards, the inner life with the real life, that is where the supreme reality Krishna is, and then we try to connect with Krishna, that brahma yoga yuktatma, as we focus on Krishna, and in that focus we seek fulfillment as whenever it comes, and by this gradually the taste in chanting will become steadier and richer and deeper, and ultimately we will come to the level of Sukhamakshayam, and that way we remember Krishna constantly, because we get such happiness there, and by that happiness we are able to stay in the remembrance of Krishna, even at the time of death, and ultimately we return back to Krishna,.