Friday, March 4th, 2011

The Best Search

Mayapura, India

One swami early in the morning asked me, "How's Jim from Canada?"

"To be frank he's undergoing some depression these days."

The swami then offered, "Tell him to stop looking for happiness and
start looking for Krishna."

I appreciated the advice. "I'll gladly tell him."

Indeed we are in a troubled world, devoid of happiness. It reminded me
of something said in our meetings. To quote one of our American
devotees Braja Bihari, who heads up our society's Ministry for
Conflict Resolution, "In Kali-yuga (current age of darkness) conflict
is a growing industry."

Whether it's depression, which is generally a conflict state within,
or encountering objection and challenge from others, the world in
which we live presents disturbances. Birth, death, disease and old age
are generally listed as the miseries of life. It behooves us to be
forewarned about these difficulties. It is a part of education; to be
informed and to not see this world through rose-tinted glasses. In
other words, lets be realistic.

I had been invited to speak to students from ages 6+ at the Sri
Mayapura International School. With me Radhanatha Swami whose book
"Journey Home" has become a popular read in mainstream America. We
both relayed events of our travels to the young students. He had said
at one point, "This is the best school in the world and you have the
best teachers in the world."

To justify such a statement one has to consider if you have euphoric
children or not. Are they happy, lustrous, clean, well-behaved? On all
counts these kids passed the test. They are blessed with both
conventional training with the spiritual component added on top.

One family from Canada enrolled their two girls in the school just last
year. I had hoped that these girls would be able to adjust to a new
continent and a very different environment.

I asked them, "Do you like it here?"

It was a resounding "Yes. We love it here."

I thought "How lucky they are! I sure didn't have that opportunity
when I was young."

In any event the formula stands, "Stop looking for happiness. Start
looking for God."

7 KM