How can we avoid getting caught in petty things?
Answer Podcast
Transcript
This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
So, even after practicing bhakti, sometimes we may get absorbed in petty things. Yes, that’s why we need regular philosophical study. Not just for gathering information, but for reminding ourselves of life’s ultimate purpose.
So, I came by plane from Mumbai to Kolkata today. Now, if you ask a pilot, the plane never goes in a straight line. Because of atmospheric conditions, because of the momentum of the plane, because of wind pressure, the plane keeps getting disoriented.
And then how does it reach the destination? In fact, researchers say that between 90 to 95 percent of the time, the plane is off track. But there is continuous reorientation. Goes off track, bring it back on track.
Goes off track, bring it back on track. Goes off track, bring it back on track. Either the pilot does it manually or there are systems which do it.
Like sometimes when you are driving a car, especially in India, car driving is an adventure. Because all sorts of unpredictable things happen in the cars, on the roads. But in America, car driving is very smooth.
If you are sitting and observing a car driver, it can appear as if the driver is doing nothing. He is sitting. But the small thing that a driver is doing, he is moving a little bit this way, moving a little bit that way.
It’s small, but it’s essential. So, that periodic moving of the car wheel keeps the car moving straight on the plane. Like that, in our life journey also, we will repeatedly get disoriented.
So, small things will just start occupying our mind too much. So, basically, we get disoriented by two things, temptations and tribulations. Temptation is the promise of pleasure.
Tribulation is the fear of trouble. Both of them disorient us. What do we do then? We need to reorient ourselves.
And that’s why we need philosophy. The more we have philosophical understanding, Krishna says in 5.20, He says, one who is brahmavet, one who knows spiritual reality, one who is situated in spiritual reality, that person, even if they get something pleasant, they don’t become elated by that. If they get something unpleasant, they don’t get rejected by that.
They keep moving forwards. So, by philosophical understanding, which reminds us of the goal of life, and especially association of devotees, and not just association, but association of devotees who are purposefully focused on life’s ultimate goal. By that association, we can keep reorienting ourselves.
So, the disorientation, the distraction, the disconnection is just a fact of life. And our intelligence is meant to bring about the reorientation by which when we get consumed by petty things, we redefine, hey, this is petty, this is not all that important. Let me focus on