The world is filled with dangers that can overrun us if we aren’t careful. Avoiding unnecessary risks keeps us alive.  

Still, we want to not just survive, but also thrive. And we thrive not merely by getting possessions or positions, but by taking up challenges that draw on our deepest inner resources. We feel especially fulfilled when we confront the possibility of failure head-on and skillfully persevere through it to attain success. Moments like these bring us alive; they make our life worth living. 

Just to feel alive, some people play high-risk sports. Such activities may seem foolhardy, but they point to a universal longing for a life full of excitement and fulfillment. Gita wisdom explains that this longing comes from our eternal souls — we are meant for ecstatic life at the spiritual level of reality in a loving relationship with the ultimate reality, Krishna. 

Some people consider the spiritual journey too risky. But really, what do we have to lose? Even if we avoid all risks, still we can’t survive forever; our material bodies come with an expiry date. 

Addressing our fears about exploring life’s spiritual side, the Bhagavad-gita (06.40) states that those who seek spiritual growth never meet an inauspicious end. It acknowledges that the spiritual journey is difficult, given how restless our mind is (06.35-36) and given how long spiritualizing our consciousness may take (06.41-45). 

When we muster the courage to pursue the path to spiritual growth, we find ourselves coming alive — not just on attaining the destination, but also during the journey as we become increasingly absorbed in Krishna (18.76-77). 

Thus understanding which risks to avoid and which to take, we can make the choices that keep us alive and bring us alive. 

Think it over:

  • Explain how we want something more than to just survive.
  • How is the risk in embarking on the spiritual path worthwhile?
  • What brings you alive? How can you do it in a way that takes you to eternal life?

***

06.40: A transcendentalist engaged in auspicious activities does not meet with destruction either in this world or in the spiritual world; one who does good, My friend, is never overcome by evil.

 

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