186. Live and Let Live

 

Krishna says, “A devotee 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 –is dear to Me” (12.15 and 12.16). ‘Not getting agitated and not agitating others’ is the highest form of living.

Krishna explains that agitation arises from the polarities of pain and pleasure (dukh-sukh), which emerge when the senses meet sense-objects, such as 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 receive agitation from a superior in the workplace and pass it on to some junior or to a family member at home. But Krishna says neither to be agitated nor to agitate others.

Krishna gave the example of the ocean and rivers and assured that one attains peace when one remains unmoved by desires or agitation, like an ocean that is unmoved by the rivers entering it (2.70). The ocean is not agitated by the rivers entering it, and on the other hand, it returns this water as clouds, which Krishna describes as an unmotivated action (niswarth karma) of yajna. When we participate in the cycle of unmotivated actions, the agitation will not have any place in our lives.

While awareness helps us free ourselves from agitation, our compassion ensures that we don’t agitate others. That’s why it is said that awareness and compassion are two oars of the boat in the spiritual journey.