Bhagavad Gita Chapter 5 - Lesson 3 of 7

WITNESS AND BE COMPLETE

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Again and again, Kṛṣṇa is repeating a single point in various ways: action without attachment. He emphasizes that life happens only when we live as a witness to everything that happens, when we do not identify and attach with external incidents. We just have to watch what is happening in and around us without letting what happens outside affect our inner space.

Of course, the way in which we live automatically creates an effect, a transformation in others as well. We attract incidents that fall in tune with our desires and thoughts. When we are blissful inside, whatever happens outside will also be blissful.

Even the same situation will be seen in a completely different way when we witness it with completion. Automatically, no emotion can sway us because now we are just witnessing, we no longer have any vested interest or incompletion in the situation. Our state is in no way affected by what others say or do. Then, we are Masters unto ourselves.

Kṛṣṇa gives us a technique to realize who we are. By giving up attachment to the sense objects, by dropping all false identifications with the body, senses and mind, we can live life with intelligence and this leads us to self-purification, self-completion.

Once a man went to Ramaṇa Maharṣi, and said, 'Bhagavān, I want peace!' Ramaṇa replied, 'From your own statement, just remove the word 'I,' remove the word 'want' and what remains is peace!'

All our want for peace is all a want. When we start to want peace, we create desires in us. That desire drives us to do various things for getting peace and we once again start to worry about the results of those actions. These worries take us away from peace and then again we want peace. So this becomes a vicious circle. When we drop the idea of wanting peace, when we can just be and let Existence take care, peace automatically happens. So, absence of want is the criterion to be peaceful.

Suppose a child is playing with some
small toy and you bring him a new
big toy. If you take away the small
toy from its hands, what will the
child do? It will start yelling and
crying. Even if you explain you have
a much better, bigger toy, will it
listen? No! Just give it the new toy
and suddenly, it will forget the old
one and start enjoying the new one.
In the same way, Existence also tries
to give us a big toy. Just imagine the
kind of toy that Existence has given
us—the whole of Itself! Enjoy it to
the fullest. Celebrate it and express
your gratitude!

Just live life in a simple way. Be
complete every moment, enjoying
the splendor of nature. Enjoy every
thing that Existence has created.
They will show us what it is to enjoy
life without a reason