Whenever we face problems, different people suggest different solutions. Because everyone is irreducibly individual, people often have irreducibly different opinions. While deciding which solution to adopt, we may fall prey to a common human weakness: wanting to satisfy everyone. 

However, life often gives us limited options, wherein we just can’t satisfy everyone. If we somehow come up with a compromised solution to satisfy everyone, we will probably find it too impotent to actually solve the problem. And when the solution fails, the same people whom we had struggled so much to satisfy will say, “ I had already told you: this won’t work.” 

What, then, can we do? To stand up. If we are strongly convinced, using our God-given intelligence and experience, that a particular solution is the best, we may need to stand apart from those who differ. Of course, before finalizing, we can give their suggestion due consideration and while finalizing, we needn’t insensitively diss them. But sensitivity isn’t sentimentality; when necessary, we need to unsentimentally stick to our choice. 

The courage to stand apart is needed when facing not just life’s many specific problems, but also life itself. Life is inherently problematic being marred by mortality and misery (Bhagavad-gita 13.09). Gita wisdom recommends the spiritualization of human consciousness as the ultimate solution for both life’s problems and life itself. When we evolve spiritually, we can deal with problems better: either by resolving sustainably or tolerating gracefully. 

When we choose to become spiritual, many non-spiritual people may be upset; we will need to distance ourselves from them and their mundane interests (Bhagavad-gita 13.11). In due course, when our spirituality keeps us internally strong amid life’s challenges and helps us tackle complex situations effectively, non-spiritualists may be won over. 

Essentially, we can’t be populists if we want to be spiritualists.   

 

Think it over:

  • Why does trying to satisfy everyone backfire?
  • While adopting spiritual solutions, why do we need to stand apart?
  • How may we win over non-spiritualists? 

 

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13.11 … Constant and unalloyed devotion to Me; aspiring to live in a solitary place; detachment from the general mass of people; … [ – all these I declare to be knowledge].

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