Wednesday, January 20th, 2016

Wednesday, January 20^th, 2016
Miami, Florida

Leaving Miami

I gave one last class in Miami for this trip, and from Canto 7 of text Bhagavatam we were discussing the response of a tyrant, Hiranyakashipu, regarding his son’s strong commitment to Vishnu. He was furious, and held his boy’s teachers, Shanta and Amarka, responsible for the perceived deviation. The teachers themselves could not comprehend how the enemy infiltrated into mind of Prahlad, the son. It became a mystery for them.

To analyze the situation, those who embrace the bodily concept of life and take to the lifestyle of lording it over the world, such as in the case of the tyrant Hiranya, there will always be defensiveness. Any different perspective on life will be viewed as a threat. If you don’t succumb to the dictator’s wishes, then you are clearly labeled as the enemy.

Hiranya epitomizes the false ego. Such persons always meet their doom. Bad karma definitely came his way. Hence, the message from the Bhagavatam is: Watch out for that false ego, which is a major hurdle on the spiritual path.

So now that we are talking about paths, I could not manage, time-wise, to hit a trail today because of air travel.

I’ve left the land of Florida, where 800 humans move to every day, and I left the Everglades, where pythons- unmanageable pests- are released every year by irresponsible owners.

I guess you could call them enemies of the environment. Yes, in this day and age, destroyers of our eco-enviros are the true sinners. How dare they upset the balance that nature provides! But I guess you could say we are all guilty of that.

As our plane ascends into the air, I look down at the roadway systems and the automobiles; the concrete jungle. Yes, we are all guilty; we are the enemy.

May the Source be with you!

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