Never lose heart

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna.
Welcome to our discussion on leadership based on the Bhagavad Gita. We’re discussing on never lose heart. So, discouragement is something that can trouble everyone.
And how it can dramatically, drastically, disastrously reduce a person to nothing. Reduce an important person to insignificance that is demonstrated right at the start of the Bhagavad Gita. The Bhagavad Gita begins with what could be called the world’s most high-profile public desertion.
You know, the champion warrior of the time, is about to become a deserter, is about to put aside his bow and quit the battle. So, Arjuna was in the public view, in between both the armies, clearly visible to all the warriors and soldiers who had hailed him as a great hero. And in front of them, he put aside his bow, sank on his chariot, and said, I cannot fight.
Such a public desertion would have been unconscionable for any warrior. For most warriors, even the thought of desertion and the cowardice that it implies is unconscionable. It is worse than death.
As the Gita itself says in 1.34, 2.34, maranatha tiruchyate, it is worse than death. Then, in such a situation, what could have reduced Arjuna to such a terrible predicament, such a pathetic plight in one sense? It was discouraging. How intolerable the idea of desertion and cowardice is for a warrior can be seen in an incident that happened soon after this.
During the Kurukshetra war, on the 17th day, due to a misunderstanding, Arjuna’s eldest brother Yudhishthir chastised Arjuna and told him to put aside his Gandiva bow because he considered Arjuna was an unworthy warrior. So Arjuna felt so incensed by this. Arjuna felt so incensed that his honour was so imbibed by the thought of putting aside his bow that far beyond putting aside his bow, he took out his sword and he was ready to slay his own brother, venerable brother.
It was only because of Krishna’s prompt and prudent intervention that the day was saved and the Pandava camp was not ruptured apart by fratricide. So, how was this fratricide avoided? It was avoided by Krishna’s counselling, Krishna’s intervention. So Krishna exhibited a sterling leadership qualities over here.
As I said, prompt and prudent intervention. But coming to our point that nothing could have caused Arjuna to put aside his bow. Even his own brother could not, brother’s words were now incensed him rather than persuaded him.
No assault externally by whatever powerful enemy would normally have caused him to put aside his bow. Yet, what caused him to put aside his bow? It was discouragement. Now discouragement can take the fight out of us even before we take up the fight.
Discouragement defeated Arjuna even before the enemy had picked up even a single weapon, had shot a single arrow. So, that is the devastating power of discouragement. We never lose till we lose hope and when we lose hope, we practically lose all chance of winning.
Now, leaders in today’s world live under a sustained attack of discouragement from all sides, practically speaking. The volley is being shot. There are economic upheavals, there are adverse market trend, there can be socio-political changes that affect the licensing and other things.
There can be inter-organizational politicking against them. There can be the rival organizations which do manipulations and there can be a myriad other factors which can discourage leaders. And all this negativity above them, below them, around them can get into them.
And if they somehow let the negativity become internalized, then it can set their mind on an autopilot mode of negative self-talk. It means nothing is going to work, nothing is going to work, nothing is going to work. It’s all useless.
It’s all hopeless. Once the mind starts poisoning our energy with such talk, then soon we’ll find that actually we will have, we will feel paralyzed. We’ll lose our ability to think clearly, to act decisively.
We’ll feel as if we are being burdened by the Himalayan mountain on our shoulders. And even if we don’t break down like Arjuna did publicly, but still, we will be sabotaged in our capacity to lead. And that is how discouragement can devastate us.
Now we may say, but there are real problems and it’s discouraging. No, there’s a difference. There are real problems, but there doesn’t have to be discouragement because of those problems.
And we have to also understand that, or to put it another way, if you say there are real, I want to deal only with real problems, then you should understand that discouragement is also a real problem. In fact, it’s the most real of all problems because without solving it, we won’t be able to solve any other problem. So it’s very naive to think that only things that are outside are real.
That what happens outside us is real. Actually, what happens inside us is also real. At the very least, in the sense that it really affects our capacity to respond properly to external real problems.
So in that sense of weakening us, wounding us, wrecking us practically, discouragement is a real problem. And finding a real solution to this real problem of discouragement is essential for us to be able to find real solutions to other real problems. And it is, and Gita wisdom offers us that real solution as it did to Arjuna.
So now, the Gita’s essential message is to guide us to stay unbroken in a broken world. Unbroken in a broken world. And the Gita’s message initially may seem pessimistic.
Now we are looking for hope and encouragement and we find Bhagavad Gita’s message actually further discouraging if you are not careful in understanding it fully. The Gita’s message actually is that the world we live in is a broken place. It’s a broken place.
We are spiritual beings and we are encased in three successive material layers, material shells. There is the environmental shell, there is the social shell, and there is the physical shell. And all these three shells tend to break down.
The weather doesn’t work right. Our relationships don’t work quite right. Our bodies don’t work right also.
And that’s why we tend to get frustrated. Now when all these things don’t work right, it’s easy to become discouraged. And the Bhagavad Gita when speaks that we live in a broken world, it is not being pessimistic.
Actually, it is being realistic. Realistic in the sense that it is encouraging us to unsentimentally acknowledge the true nature of reality of life in this world. Though this is pessimistic, this pessimism is only initial and it sets the stage for its actual essential optimistic message.
And that message is that though this world is a broken place, we don’t have to be broken by it. Why? Because we are meant for bigger things than this world. Our destiny is grander.
We are meant to grow in this world so that we attain a destination beyond the fragility and mortality of this world in an eternal level of reality, indestructible, imperishable level of reality. And that shelter is not just something which is only beyond this world. It is also in this world.
The Gita explains that amidst the darkness of this world, there exists beyond this world light and love, and they can illumine us even in this world. When we connect with our spiritual core, which is indestructible, then that gives us great strength, great strength. The Gita’s call is not otherworldly, although it points to an otherworldly destination, in its action, it is eminently this world.
Actually, it was Arjuna who wanted to turn away from this world for another world. But Krishna, through the Gita, asked him to turn back to this world, to enter into the battle of life with bow appraised, ready to fight. His vision and determination restored.
Similarly, the Gita, by reminding us that there is a reality beyond the biggest problems, there’s a bigger reality beyond the biggest problems. It encourages us, it strengthens us as it did Arjuna. Now, what do we mean by this bigger reality? That bigger reality, the biggest reality is the guide by the side.
So, actually, leaders know that one of the curses of leadership is loneliness. With everyone around often vying for the same position the leaders have, leaders don’t know whom they can trust and whom they can’t trust. And that’s why it’s said it’s lonely at the top.
But then, it doesn’t have to be, Gita Vishwamitra explains us, because actually we are never alone. The Bhagavad Gita 15.15 states that God is always with us. That he is always with us, right next to us in our hearts and he never ever leaves us.
So, the setting of the Bhagavad Gita illustrates the nature of God’s relationship with us. Now, Krishna is in the same chariot as Arjuna, by his side in the battle of life. So, this setting, the human and the divine side by side, that actually illustrates the nature of God’s relationship with us also.
God is not just some sage on a stage, somewhere high above, living oblivious to the practical problems of life, just giving some good advice which is not practical. No, God is not a sage on a stage. He is a guide by our side.
He’s right in our hearts with us. He is in the thick of action, waiting and willing and wanting to help us. If we just turn to him and seek guidance as did Arjuna.
So, when we turn to him through prayer, through meditation, through cultivation of spiritual wisdom, we realize his guidance, his shelter, his grace. And we realize that he will always be there for us. And in the sustenance, in the solace, in the strength that we get in his love, the Bhagavad Gita represents that actually we just need to harmonize our will with him.
At the start of the Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna was trying to be the boss. He was, he told Krishna, se naya avarubhaya madhya rathaṁ sthāpaya me achyuta. Krishna, please take our chariot between the two armies and let me see.
So now, his attempt to impose this action represents his attempt to impose the human will on the divine will. The result of such an artificial, unnatural imposition was confusion. Dejection.
Arjuna just lost sense of everything. What am I supposed to do? But when he heard the Bhagavad Gita, what happened is at the end of the Bhagavad Gita, the Bhagavad Gita helped him to understand how his best interests lay in harmonizing his human will with the divine will of Krishna, of God. And that’s what he decided to do.
It announced 18.73 in the Bhagavad Gita. karishye vachinam taba, I will do your will. Now, I will do your will.
When he said this, essentially, that connection with him restored his morale, restored his clarity, restored his vision. So, we all can actually gain access to similar empowerment, similar strength, if we harmonize our will with the divine will. And that’s how we can march ahead in life, no matter what the calamities we may face.
So, that actually is the light and love, the message of the Gita, that we need not ever lose heart because the source of all strength, God is with us by our side, waiting to strengthen us. Now, this mood of living a life in the light of the relationship with God is illustrated in a beautiful poem by Mother Teresa. It’s entitled, Do It Anyway.
So, she says, people are often unreasonable, illogical and self-centered. Forgive them anyway. If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives.
Be kind anyway. If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true ones. Succeed anyway.
If you’re honest and sincere, people may cheat you. Be honest and sincere anyway. What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight.
Build anyway. If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous. Be happy anyway.
The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow. Do good anyway. Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough.
Give the world the best you have got anyway. You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.
It was never between you and them anyway. This vision, when leaderships, leaders see their relationship as not a relationship between them and their team, primarily. They see it as a relationship between them and God.
Then, they see themselves not just as doing something for the world. They are doing something for God. Then, no matter what things go wrong, whether the world accepts their contributions or not, they know that God is accepting their contribution.
And in that, they get strength. They get faith. They get confidence.
And that can put their leadership on such a high gear that nothing in this world can make them hopeless. Nothing can zap away their hope. Let us see how this was demonstrated in the life of an extraordinarily modern-day saint.
This spirit of living in the light of the divine that Mother Teresa so beautifully speaks about is demonstrated in this life. Imagine a 70-year-old man, friendless, penniless, homeless, on the streets of America. New York City.
Hoping to share the message of God’s love with the world. What was his life story till then? This is 1966. Between 1923 to 1953, he had run a pharmaceutical business, hoping to thereby financially assist his guru in his spiritual mission.
But unfortunately, his business never took off. And eventually, it was burglarized and ruined. Between 1943, from 1943-1944 onwards, he started a magazine called Back to Godhead, which he single-handedly, for sharing the spiritual message, he single-handedly concealed the articles, wrote the articles, typed the articles, proofread the articles.
And after doing it all, he personally went around distributing the magazines also. And fortunately, he found practically no takers, very few takers. He started an organization to provide structure for his mission.
In Jhansi, he started the League of Devotees. And he envisioned the place he had got would become the world headquarters for his movement. But what to speak of spreading to the world? Political intrigue against him had him evicted from the only place that he had.
Leave alone headquarters, he was left with no quarters also. He decided to go to America. To, in 1965, to try to share his message with Americans.
But he was practically penniless and friendless on a cargo ship. And he was afflicted by two heart attacks that practically took his life. He barely survived.
After reaching America in 1965-66, he tried to build a temple with the help of an Indian patron. But the Indian government adamantly refused to let any foreign exchange flow out of the country. In 1966, he focused on trying to help young American seekers who were interested.
Many of them were hippies. But he tried to inspire them to take up serious bhakti yoga. One of his most serious student, who aspired to become a disciple, one day suddenly took a drug overdose, went mad, went berserk and came with almost a violent, murderous intention to attack his guru.
The guru had to flee for his life. Not only from his only disciple, from the only prospective disciple, but from the only residence that he had. Can you imagine what must have been the plight? What must have been the devastating discouragement that this could have caused an ordinary mortal? But this person was not an ordinary mortal.
He was a great spiritual leader. He was His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swamishila Prabhupada. He was convinced that whatever he was doing, it was between him and God.
And he knew that God was watching and appreciating his efforts. So he raised his chin up and continued on, trying to find some crevice to keep his efforts going on. But there seemed to be a giant wall blocking his way.
And as the Gita predicts that when there is a harmonization of the human will and the divine will, there is glorious victory. That’s the conclusion of the Gita. 18.78 That there is supreme victory when the human will harmonizes with the divine will.
And Srila Prabhupada was devoted to the divine will. And what happened? His perseverance was rewarded with stunning success over the next 11 years from 1966 to 1977. He built 108 temples all over the world.
He wrote over 70 books which have been printed and reprinted and distributed, built practically billions of copies all over the world. He circumnavigated the globe 14 times on missions of love and home. And sharing wisdom with millions.
He transformed thousands and thousands, practically millions of people from a life of addiction and dissipation to a life of selfless service to God and to all of humanity. Such were his phenomenal contributions. And although even in his phenomenally successful period, he faced many discouragements as did his followers.
He remained gallant. He wrote to one of his disciples who had faced a small discouragement. He said, there is no reason for us to be discouraged because we work on a different platform.
What did he mean? We work on a different platform. Discouragement happens when we expect results in this world and we don’t get results immediately. But when we understand that we are working for a higher cause, for the satisfaction of God, then the discouragements don’t discourage us.
Obstacles and reversals don’t stop us. We move on determinedly. So this is not just an abstract principle that applies only in theory in Bhagavad Gita or that applied only to Arjuna at that time.
It’s a principle that has animated great leaders even today. And it is not a principle that is used only for spiritual leaders working on spiritual causes. The teachings of the Gita are universal and everyone can benefit from it.
And everyone is meant to benefit from it. We can actually, the spirit of harmonizing the human will with the divine will can be extended to any field, even our families, our professions. When leaders strive to be instruments of the divine in their work, by doing that work in a mood of service and devotion, then they will be empowered by the divine.
And that empowerment actually is demonstrated in the transition from the starting to the ending of the Gita. At the start of the Gita, Arjuna who had his bow raised, who had his bow raised, he put his bow down. His bow can be said to represent his determination.
His will to execute the demanding responsibility of a leader is putting outside. His bow represents his losing heart. Now, life can present us in its battle such complications, so overwhelming and confusing that we may lose heart.
We may put aside our metaphorical bows and we may sink into confusion and dejection. But after Arjuna heard the Bhagavad Gita, he picked up his bow. He saw the battle not as a battle between him and the warriors.
He saw it as a service between him and God. And that vision restored his morale. And in a bow praised with spirit enlivened, he got ready to charge back into the battle of life.
Similarly, when we hear the wisdom of the Gita, when we understand and assimilate it in our lives, we too can become enlivened. Knowing that no matter what discouragements are there around us, God is watching and appreciating and he will reward in his time. We need patience because his plan works according to his time.
And whatever sacrifice we do will be vindicated eventually. Leaders who have this long-term vision, this patience and long-term vision, they can achieve phenomenal results. They can withstand shattering breakages.
They can endure devastating losses. They can weather unbearable storms. And through it all, by the loving sheltering presence of God and his wisdom, they can march ahead and achieve successes that would be otherwise impossible to achieve.
One of the greatest leaders that modern times has seen is Mahatma Gandhi. He led the world’s greatest nonviolent movement for independence successfully against what was at that time the world’s greatest military, greatest military power, political power, Great Britain. And he said he faced immense discouragement during the course of his leadership.
But he said that when doubts haunt me, when disappointment stares me in the face and I see not a ray of hope on the horizon, I turn to the Bhagavad Gita and find a verse to comfort me. And in the midst of overwhelming sorrow, I start smiling. Those who meditate on the Gita will find fresh joy and meaning.
Every day, that smiling amidst sorrow, that hope amidst hopelessness, that comfort amidst coldness, that is available for every leader. For all of us, if we open ourselves to the Bhagavad Gita for empowerment. Thank you.
Hare Krishna.