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The art of Desire management – Part 2

The Higher Taste

Practitioners of Bhakti Yoga connect to Lord Krishna for a higher taste.

A mango is attractive because of the color or the form, but it’s the taste that draws you towards it. The same principle applies in our relationships- a hope of unique experience pulls us to explore a new relationiship. That’s called ‘rasa’- mellow in the Vedic scriptures, and Lord Krishna is the embodiment of this flavor.

Krishna is defined as ‘Akhila rasamirta murti’- the quintessence of ‘rasa’ or pleasure.

A piece of bubble gum is eye-catching because of the tang it carries. After a few moments of chewing it though, the taste subsides, and one gets no juice. Bored, one may then create a bubble out of it, which soon spurts and sticks on the face. Most things in this world are like the gum that we keep chewing; Sigmund Freud said these desires for pleasure press ever forward, with no respite. The mucky complications arising out of our pursuits get wedged on our minds- like the tacky gum on our face, and we struggle to remove each of these strands from our consciousness.

The Krishna conscious bubble-gum however, offers ever new sweetness; you don’t need to make a fizz out of boredom or let your jaws hurt you by ‘chewing’ the same thing again. There’s plenty of variety to keep you busy and enthralled the entire life.

While in this world we go through a plethora of wishes that fades with time, Krishna’s Holy Names, pastimes and deity form are most nourishing. The savor is unending, and in fact, increases with time. That explains why Bhakti Yoga practitioners chant the same mantra or read the stories of Krishna repeatedly, for over five to six decades, and they aren’t jaded. Imagine reading the same news for months, or humming one song, or watching the same, predictable movie, every day of the week. We need diversity. But Krishna- through his Names, pastimes, form, etc, provides ever new freshness. The devotees of Krishna perform ever expanding devotional service- the joy is spiritual and palpable.

Author, Paul Vernon Buser said, “Desire, like the atom, is explosive with creative force.” Srila Prabhupada, a foremost teacher of the science of Krishna consciousness, and the founder of worldwide organization ISKCON testified this by globe-trotting and working twenty hours a day. He carried the energy of pure aspiration- service, and compassion and encouraged his students also to tap their ingenious power to connect to Krishna through a diverse range of activities.

Visit a nearby ISKCON temple to perfect your bursting aspirations.

 

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