Chaitanya Charan Das Based on Bhagavad Gita Chapter 07

Don’t use a gold slab as a shade against sunburn by Chaitanya Charan Das Based on Bhagavad Gita Chapter 07

Suppose a tribal who has never heard of gold is walking under the hot sun and suddenly finds a gold slab that had been buried there by someone long ago. But not knowing what the value of gold, this person uses it as a shade against the hot sun.

Similarly, some people approach God for gaining relief from some problem in life. While praying to God can provide relief and the Bhagavad-gita (07.16) does laud such people as pious because they are approaching God instead of someone else for relief, just as it is fortunate that the tribal is using as an umbrella the gold slab – and not merely some other stone. Just as the tribal can later understand the value of gold, similarly the pious worshiper can understand the glory of God.

Still its gross underutilization to approach God for getting temporary relief from some worldly problem. The relief is going to be temporary because the world is a problem-filled place and some other problem will soon come up and start harassing us.

That’s why the Gita moves onwards in the same series to delineate such pious worshipers spiritual evolution by which they understand Krishna to be everything (07.19) – they see him as the supreme object of their love; their greatest benefactor and lover; the embodiment and fulfillment of all their heart’s aspirations for happiness. Still, the Gita cautions that such an evolution in one’s understanding of God can take many lifetimes.

Fortunately, if we get to associate with those who have made God the goal of their life – as contrasted with making him a tool to some other goal in life – then we too can by observing their wisdom, their joyfulness, their love feel inspired, enlightened and motivated to similarly raise our consciousness.