In cricket, the fielders sometimes use
sledging to unsettle a batsman. If the batsman lets their nasty words agitate
him, he will in a rush of blood play a rash shot that gets him out, thus
unwittingly playing into the opponents’ hands. In contrast, a more mature
batsman will by remembering the bigger purpose of winning the match keep his
cool, play intelligently and thus relish the bigger emotions of good
performance and victory.
To activate our spiritual sentience,
we need to de-activate our material obsession that manifests in excessive
emotional reactions to worldly ups and downs.
Thus, even in an activity like sports
played primarily for entertainment, that is, for enjoying emotions, one needs
to curb one’s immediate emotions to achieve a bigger purpose. This principle
applies also to our spiritual life, wherein we want to relish spiritual
emotions centered on love for Krishna. Such emotions are latent in our core,
the soul. To activate our spiritual sentience, we need to de-activate our material
obsession that manifests in excessive emotional reactions to worldly ups and
downs. The Bhagavad-gita (12.17) assures that those who don’t get worked up by
worldly emotions endear themselves to Krishna.
As worldly emotions are all that we have known for most of our life,
emotional regulation may seem to us like emotional suppression. To persevere on
the path to spiritual enrichment, we need to focus not on what seems less in
our life – emotion, but what is full in our life – purpose. Whenever we feel
the pull of worldly excitement, we can meditate on our spiritual purpose, the
special opportunity we have to relish emotions far greater, richer and deeper
than the mundane. If we keep our thoughts on Krishna instead of the world, we
thus express our purposeful determination to attain him. Such determination
will please him and he will mercifully grant us sublime spiritual enrichment,
thereby helping us see worldly emotions as irrelevant and insignificant
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