Burlingame, Ca
A vigilant gardener pulls weeds before they go to seed and take over the garden.
Unwanted thoughts and desires are also like weeds for one aiming to go back to Godhead. Therefore, before unwelcome desires germinate in the courtyard of their hearts, bhakti gardeners wisely clear them out.
In the Gita, Krishna warns us that one who contemplates material sense objects initiates a cycle that leads to hankering, anger, loss of memory and finally, illusion. (Bg. 2.62-63)
The word, contemplate means, “to look thoughtfully for a long time.” Or, “to view with intention.”
In other words, contemplation occurs when a person gives audience to a particular sense object or allows a desire to linger, thinking, “there’s something in this for me.”
It is in one’s act of contemplation that one allows detrimental seeds of material desire a space to grow in one’s heart and mind.
By careful study of the scripture, by hearing from highly elevated spiritual practitioners, and by gaining a higher taste through chanting Krishna’s divine names, bhakti gardeners come to see material desires as unworthy of contemplation.
Denying them the water of their valuable attention – or even a tiny space within their hearts – bhakti gardeners kill the weeds of material desire before they can sprout. Instead, the bhakti yogi lavishes care and attention on the creeper of devotion, until it becomes healthy and beautiful.
With gratitude and affection,
Vaisesika Dasa
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