(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 30 March 2014, Cape Town, South Africa, Sunday Lecture)

Six_GoswamisWhen living beings face death, it is difficult but a person in transcendental knowledge can understand it.

How long are we together? Now, we are a circle of people – there are some new ones – but many old friends come together regularly, seeing each other, greeting each other, “Hey! Happy to see you!” Then, at one point, the souls separate and there is such a distance between us.

The scriptures give us the perspective of two straws floating in a river, together for a short time, and then the waves of time separate them. What a vision! So these sages, the sages of the Bhagavatam, the sages of the scriptures, are totally living in that kind of consciousness.

And yet, they are not cold towards others. It is not that they think, “Oh, you’re just a straw. We’re just together for a little while, you know. Why would I invest any emotion in you, O, Straw? Forget it! If we are just two straws floating together, I’m not gonna love you because tomorrow, you’ll float away. You’re just straw like any other straw!”

The sages did not become cold. The sages actually loved all the straw – they loved the straw that was with them and also the straw that was not with them. They gave their love to whoever was with them. They gave their affection whole-heartedly. Then, some went away but someone else would come, and they would give it to someone else.

In this way, they were detached but not cold – not emotionally cold. That is transcendental consciousness. 

 

1 Comment