186. Live and Let Live
Krishna says, "A person who doesn't agitate (udveg) the world and who is not agitated by the world, who is free from pleasure, jealousy, fear and anxiety; who is free from expectations, pure, skillful, neutral to circumstances, free from selfishness in all undertakings -he (devotee) is dear to Me" (12.15 and 12.16). 'Not getting agitated and not agitating others' is the highest form of living. Krishna earlier answered the question of why we get agitated. He said that the polarities of pain and pleasure (sukh-dukh) are generated in us when senses meet sense objects like when ears hear our praise or criticism. He advised us to learn to ignore them (polarities) as they are anitya (impermanent) (2.14). These polarities are nothing but the agitations we go through. In our daily lives, agitation works like the game of 'passing the buck'. For example, we gather agitation from a superior in the workplace and pass it on to some junior or to a fami...