The Flight to Light

I saw a swift bird,
And wished I could fly,
Freely roaming far and wide,
High into the sky.

I saw a sleek car,
And wished I too could zoom,
From one town to another,
I would arrive too soon.

I saw a lovely lady,
And wished her in my car,
An evening after another,
I would be her star.

I saw a trendy sportstar,
With accolades against his name,
I wished I could be number one,
On top of my game.

I saw the rugged mountaineer,
And dreamt of Mount Everest,
I wished I were scaling,
Along with the best.

Thus my life passed,
Anxious to be what I’m not,
Convinced that all happiness,
Is out there to be got.

And then I saw a devotee,
Just chanting the Holy Names,
Surely I didn’t want this,
It didn’t make no sense!

But then I saw him again,
He didn’t have all that stuff,
But he was just so happy,
Was it just a bluff?

Very soon I found,
What was really the bluff –
To think that the source of happiness,
Was all the other stuff.

Fooled by the media blitz,
Which promises immediate pleasure,
Blinded by its powerful glare,
I had lost the real treasure.

Deluded by the silver screen,
Immersed in that filmy song,
On roller coaster rides with happy endings,
I had wasted my time so long.

Maddened by the sports mania,
With the ball’s movement I rose and sat,
With no one to tell me any better,
Had sought happiness in wielding the bat.

Shackled by my limitations,
Wanting to break free,
I had desired to be an insignificant bird,
Whose life is but from a tree to a tree.

Looking for a life full of meaning,
Yearning for something to dedicate to,
If nothing else, at least, I had thought,
Let me scale a mountain or two.

Oh! How I have been deceived,
By the society in which I live,
False promises of happiness,
Is all that it can give.

Now I’m finally disillusioned,
By the grace of the devotee,
Who impressed it upon me,
What it is to be truly happy.

In fact, I’m an eternal soul,
Part and parcel of the Lord,
To serve Him is my original nature,
Unlimited happiness is the reward.

By looking for happiness somewhere else,
I was never satisfied with whatever I got,
Because nothing else was actually that,
Which my heart unknowingly sought.

Now when I see a bird fly,
It reminds me of my own flight,
From the murky shores of dissatisfaction,
High into the sky of eternal light.

_._._

The Mango Reason

Yes, it’s the mango season. No, it’s not a typo. While I nibble at pieces of delicious mangoes, let me write about the mango reason.

After His Divine Grace Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur “offended” the Lord, he took a vow. What was his offense? When he was not more than four years old, he took a mango before it had been offered to the family deity of the Lord. His father, the great Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura rebuked him: “All food is to be enjoyed by the Lord. Nothing should be taken unless first offered to Krishna. You have committed a serious offense.” The not-quite-four year old boy took this to heart and was greatly pained for committing this “offense”. So, instead of the mango, he took a vow – to never eat mangoes again in his life.

I am not a mind reader of any sort, and yet I can confidently say that to most who have come across this vow for the first time, it would seem extreme to say the least. But let this initial shock not keep us unaware of the unprecedented glories of this great acarya. If anything, this uncommon reaction to a seemingly insignificant mistake should wake us up from the cozy bed of our self-created convenient notions about what is right.

The great spiritual leaders – acharyas – are eternally liberated souls. That is, they have no attraction for the things of this world except when those things are used in the service of the Lord. So situated, their whole existence is for the sole purpose of service to the Lord by their body, minds, and words. Thus, for them to give up things of this world, for which the ordinary man would give his life, is no big deal. On the other hand, by sometimes exhibiting such jarring behavior, the great acharyas set the highest standards of perfect spiritual life. By setting this example, even at the tender age of four, Srila Saraswati Thakur brought out the importance offering everything to Krishna first before using it for oneself. This loving spiritual principle is not very difficult to appreciate for those whose heart has even a little affection for the Lord. But in the age of Kali, where all spiritual principles are flushed down the drain, establishing even such simple principles necessitates drastic measures, contrary to the notions of the spiritually blind society. And to go against the flow of the ravaging social trends, it takes the courage and might of the great acharyas who can swim against the current, and take many along in their wake.

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur had instructed him verbally; but knowing well that most people in this world are too spiritually dull to give heed to verbal instructions, Srila Saraswati Thakur gave us the same instruction by following it in its strictest sense. An acarya is one who preaches by example, and this great acarya set this example to be glorified and worshipped by all sincere seekers of devotional perfection. Srila Saraswati Thakur did not expect any of his followers to follow his example, thus acknowledging that it was not the kind of offense that required a life-sentence of mangolessnesss. But still, all throughout his life, whenever he was offered mangoes, he would refuse to accept them, saying that he was an offender. Why? What was the reason behind that Mango Vow? What was that Mango Reason?

Here is an example of how the great acharyas go to extremes, willing to suffer all kinds of inconveniences. Not to mention the scathing jibes from the representatives of a spiritually bankrupt and yet bombastic society. The acharyas do so not for egoistically making a point, but for the spiritual welfare of the general mass of people who have been knocked out by the punches of the agents of Kali in the form of all kinds of subtle and gross godlessness. After being knocked out, people are now being carried away by the current, tossed on the ever increasing waves of socially acceptable forms of godlessness, with only the ocean of doom as their final destination. The great acharyas execute unprecedented missions, and set extraordinary examples, all to shake back such misguided unfortunate children of God to the wakefulness of spiritual existence, so that they can swim back to the safety and unlimited joy of spiritual life. This is the reason – the Mango Reason – why he took and lifelong kept his uncommon Mango Vow.

This mango season let’s offer our heartfelt worship at the lotus feet of His Divine Grace Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur, who not only took that Mango Vow, but lived all his life just for one reason – the Mango Reason.