AMONG THOUSANDS OF MEN, ONE PERCHANCE STRIVES FOR PERFECTION.

EVEN AMONG THEM ONLY ONE PERCHANCE KNOWS ME.

Sri Krishna’s words to Arjun, Srimad Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 7,3rd Shloka.

How earnest are we in our spiritual endeavor to unravel the presence of God in our lives? Do we
truly want him/her? How honest is our effort? Are we just making the appropriate noises and
going thru the motions mindlessly, in conformity with established religious convention? Have we
even bothered to really understand who is seeking what and why? Have we based our spiritual
endeavor on the Yog foundation of correct knowledge, true devotion &selfless action’ as
enumerated in the Vedanta and Gita. For most of us the answers would be a very, very
disappointing no.

The majority of us are no doubt good people, in the conventional sense. We do what we have to,
in an honest way, fulfilling our worldly responsibilities. We try to live our lives as best as we
understand, within the straitjacket of society. THAT IS NOT ENOUGH. Our reactions are
conventional, our goals are conventional, our desires are conventional, our attitudes and thinking
are conventional, and our motives are conventional. We are fully conventional, conditioned,
achieving members of the Global society. We are law abiding and good humans in a vague and
confused way. We are however, above all, ignorant and asleep to our own reality in a very
definite way. The sad part is, we don’t know we are ignorant and asleep, though seemingly
awake to the manifested world. As Nisargadatta Maharaj puts it’ We don’t know that we don’t
know''.

Look around you. How many do you know or see who are earnestly striving for spiritual
perfection? Are you one of them or are you like the rest of us? fooling yourself.
How do we fool ourselves? We fool ourselves by not striving to acquire Right Knowledge. What
constitutes right knowledge? Right knowledge is that as expounded in the Upanishads (Vedanta)
and the Gita. .It is Knowledge of the Self. It is waking up to who YOU really are. It is waking up
to the real message of the Gita-You are Sat (Eternal), Chit (Consciousness) Anand (Bliss).You
are not dissimilar to Sri Krishna. Sri Krishna is in you. He is your consciousness. You are
nothing but consciousness.

Sri Ramakrishna said to a gathering, at his disciple Adhars place in Calcutta,-'Krishna is actually
pure Consciousness. His captivating consort, Radha, is the primordial power of Pure
Consciousness'.

The Lord says to Arjun, Chapter 4,5th shloka.

"Many births of Mine have passed as well as yours, O Arjuna know them all but you know them
not, O Parantapa.

Krishna is Sat Chit Anand and so are you. Krishna knows who he is but you don’t know who you
are, for you are asleep to your reality.

We are ignorant of our real Self. We blunder through life after life thinking we are the body. That
we will die. This is Avidya, real ignorance. Indeed, the body will die, when WE leave it. The
'WE’, which will depart the body is the Real Eternal WE. It is the I, the Self-which we do not
strive to know.
Get serious. A fast here and a prayer there, a visit to the Temple now and some charity then,
won’t take you anywhere. That is the blunt truth. The teachings of the Vedanta are to be imbibed
and lived. They are not for classroom discussion or time pass. We have to make a concerted and
genuine effort to transform ourselves in keeping with their spirit. Nothing short of this will do.
Half hearted attempts arising out of half-baked knowledge and ideas can help you pass time but
not transform you from Jiva to Siva.
The attractions of the manifested world dazzle us. Our Ego leads us astray and our minds are
overwhelmed by thoughts of personal gain, pleasure, happiness competition and achievement.
Our attachments hold us fast, as did Arjun’s.
Acquire the right knowledge .Be honest and earnest in applying lt to your life. Drop the
hypocrisy of superficial religiosity. Quit fooling yourself. Then and only then does your real
spiritual journey begin.
Then and only then are you one of the thousands Sri Krishna refers to 'as those who strive for
Spiritual Perfection’. This striving is the only true Karma. Whether we will be among those few
who know him is not for us to determine, for we have not the right to the fruit. He reserves the
right to dispense them for himself. Hence he says 'perchance’. We depend on HIS GRACE-ours
is but to strive earnestly.

ASHUTOSH KUMAR