Sharanagati

(from a lecture of Swami Tirtha, 08.05.2018, Rila)

Life is a desperate search after beauty. Why desperate? Because we are realistic. If we are not desperate in our search, we shall not find what we are looking for.

There are basically three types of people: one is the pessimist, the other is the optimist, and the third one is the realist. There are some small subcategories. And let me quote one story in this connection. Once I visited a temple. The devotees there were very nice. And you know, after the lecture, after the program, everybody starts to talk, to discuss in little groups. So I approached one such group – just two persons. The young lady I had met during the day, so I knew her, and there was a young man in her company. I asked him to tell me something about himself. A very bright young man. Perfect English. Some very complex studies in university, business plus something extraordinary… And the way he introduced himself was: “I’m an atheist”. I said, “Oh, no problem. Many have survived that disease.” Then he went on, “But I’m an agnostic”. “That’s more difficult. But we can help that as well.” The more we discussed, he started to get some feelings and become more relaxed, smiling, sharing. Later on he said, “But, you know, I’m a pessimist.” I couldn’t answer that. And when we were really enjoying our talk and laughing and we were in a really jolly mood, then the lady also contributed, “But, you know, he has depression” – when this young man was fully blossoming and sharing! I said, “Wait a minute, something is wrong. Tell me something more about yourself.” And I inquired about his name. It turned out that he came from some Central Asian republic, like Tajikistan. And he said, “You know, my name is Abid.” “Ah, very nice, such an interesting name. Can you tell me something more about your name?” And he said, “Well, when I was a small child, I almost died.” I thought, ‘Well, being an agnostic or an atheist, it doesn’t matter. But if you die when you are a kid, that’s a real trouble.’ And then he started to describe more: “At that time my mother thought that maybe something is wrong with me, so she changed my name to this, Abid. And then somehow I survived.” I said, “Very nice, but is there any meaning to your name?” He said, “Yes, yes, there is a meaning to my name. Faithful.” And I said, “So your life was saved by your mother turning your name from something else to Faithful and yet you say you are an atheist?!”

That was a very remarkable meeting for me. The boy came from a Muslim country. By the way, he added: “I’ve been a vegan for some years. Because I feel that this is good.” The girl was from Russia, raised in an orthodox family. And we met in Prague, at a yoga lecture, myself  Hungarian. So, an interesting combination. International Society of Krishna Consciousness. The boy showed some willingness to start with some kind of meditation or prayers or yoga practices. The young lady was already an initiated practitioner of the vaishnava faith. Naturally, there was some emotional connection between the two of them, because she invited him, this was his first encounter with a yoga lecture. And I said, “Oh, it’s so nice that you, from different backgrounds, meet here at a yoga, vaisnava meeting.” Then the boy said, “Well, but at home I couldn’t tell this to my parents.” And the young lady also said, “I didn’t dare tell my mom that I got initiation into the vaishnava faith.”

So, you might think that you are an atheist. You might declare that you are an agnostic. Somebody might say you have depression. And you may be coming from different backgrounds, different countries, different cultures – but you meet somewhere. There is a point where you can meet. So if we want to overcome all these different backgrounds and differences, we must come to some universal platform which unites us. There are so many things that will separate us. Why not find something which unites us, where we can agree?

To stress the differences – this is pessimistic. To find a platform where we can agree –  this is realistic. And those who dream of divine beauty and love – they are idealists. Idealists or optimists. So, which one do you choose?

(to be continued)