So that’s life, that’s real life. All of the other things, they are not really life. They are different forms of, strong word, but death. There are two categories: life and death.
So it is described in the Vedas that we are dead men walking. We’re walking, the soul is still in the body and the body is showing symptoms of life, but really we are dead inside. We are going through the motions kind of thing, trying hard but never experiencing true life. And that’s not a good way to live our life, that’s a struggle. And it’s described that this is the struggle we all have, it takes different forms for different people.
But when we come to this transcendental knowledge and experience this transcendental happiness, then we start to know what life really is.
So this is bhakti yoga. It is a way to actually fulfill our potential of life and be very pleasing to the Supreme Lord and His representatives. And as a side effect, I get the greatest pleasure.
We take our births, and then we’ve got X number of years to stay in this body. So really the birthday is not that special. What is special is when I actually have a new birth, a new birth of understanding, a new birth of consciousness, a new birth of life’s pursuit. That’s special.
Or it can be not that. And it’s just another thing: birth, disease, old age and death. Another life comes and another life goes. Nothing special there.
But when we actually come in contact with this knowledge and due to good fortune (and there is a whole science behind that, too, but we won’t talk about that), we decide, “This is what I want to do!” And we do it. Now our birth has some real significance. Now it’s actually worthy of celebration. Now this is something really special.
So this is the Vedic vision of birthdays, life in general. The Vedic vision is not coming from our eyes, our minds, our opinions, our feelings. We see through the eyes of scripture, we see through the eyes of Spiritual Masters. This is the vision that is real vision.
So we hope that everyone will develop such vision, understand life as it is intended to be lived and make their birth a truly special event, worthy of real glorification, make our birth worthwhile.
_____________________________________________________
Next post – 1. A WISE WAY TO LIVE