The Big Top and the Bhagavad Gita

Mumbai seems more decrepit, dusty and disgruntled with itself than ever. And just as beautiful. The swirling sea of humanity, the gorgeous color and chaos mesmerize as I bumble through Bombay. Kerplunk! Straight into heart of the Big Top. Nothing compares to India, the Greatest Show on Earth.

The participants are not actors. You know that saying from that old TV show, The People's Court with grumpy, endearing Judge Wapner. Here in India, the veil of illusion (maya) is so thin, it is clear that life IS the play (lila) of the Divine. The timing is impeccable, the staging beyond brilliant. Who is acting in this cosmic joke? The thespians are playing parts perfectly, with no idea they're delivering Oscar-winning performances. For years, this was the biggest high for me, the most intense rush of being here for long periods of time. It is one of the key points that kept me coming back for more.

India was my greatest guru. It is here I learned to surrender to the play of life, from moment to moment. Here, it is plain to see how powerless we really here. One has a snowball’s chance in hell of controlling anything. The Mind must lay down its sword and shield and admit surrender. Swimming amidst the incomparable pandemonium of India, it is crystal clear: we don’t make the rules.

Thing is, this is exactly the same back in the U.S. and everywhere else on the planet. It is only our cultural conditioning, the glaze resting lightly on everyday events making us forget that we are powerless. The world is a stage, and we are merely players. We walk out onto the street in the morning, or even prior, we wake up in our bedroom next to our beloved, and it is as if life has been scripted perfectly, just for us. Down to the first bird chirping and the fresh-squeezed orange juice, down to the first text or email message of the day. Down to the first happening.

Why is it a good idea to see the theater of life as a play? Doesn’t it numb us to life’s unfolding, giving it a sense of detachment that impersonalizes the experience? Oh, no. It gives us the freedom to dive in deeper into our parts, enjoying and embodying our roles as lover, mother, child, friend, worker, artist, rebel, you name it. We stop resisting the play, which may relieve us from a great heap of suffering. The suffering that comes from Mind which tells us things should be different than the way they are.

Now, I can hear some of you saying, but wait! I am power-full! Dr. Phil says so and Louise Hay tell me I Can Heal My Life! The Secret proclaims I manifest my own reality! Gandhi and Obama implore us to be the change!  I’m responsible for my own happiness! Aren’t I?

Yes, and no. If it is your character, temperament and design to affect change, to grow spiritually or intellectually, to pull yourself up by your bootstraps, YOU WILL. If you’re money motivated, you’ll climb that career ladder with all your might. If you’re a freewheeling hipster who’s happy to live off Top Ramen and write poetry, you’ll make it day to day. If you are meant to marry, you will have that inkling and take the leap when a partner shows up. If you are in a miserable marriage or job, whether or not you are inclined to leave it is up to your hard-wiring, current psychological conditioning and conglomerate life circumstances. How much of that is in your control?

This is where an understanding, however rudimentary, of the Baghavad Gita comes in handy. In the Gita, Lord Krishna is the charioteer for the warrior Arjuna. Krishna represents God, the Divine, in the driver’s seat. Arjuna, your everyday mortal (albeit a world-class fighter), has entered battle, and he sees that, up in the distance, the enemies on the field are his friends and family. He tells Krishna, how could I possibly fight these people? They are my kin!

Krishna tells Arjuna: I have already killed them. It is written. You have no choice. You can only be that which you cannot not be. You are a warrior. Be as you are. Fight, and be happy

Now, perhaps this is a bit politically incorrect. Even worse (or better): it may come across as spiritually incorrect – for shame! (Claps hands together with glee.) How can it be that warring and fighting could be part of something holy? That is because holy is wholly perfect, and it makes no difference whether we are talking good or bad, it is all Divine. Therein lies peace. Be what you are. Be as you are.

If you are a worker, serve happily. If you are a thief, steal and delight in your conquest. If you are a pious one, pray and share your joy.  If you are a curmudgeon, play your Scrooge or Archie Bunker to the hilt. A parent? Revel in your child’s upbringing. A lover? Shower your Beloved with kisses! xoxoxox

Once we get this "be as you are" deal, even intellectually, a great load of shame and guilt is shed. And once this understanding explodes into the heart and is embodied – well, then, my friends, that could be called a Great Awakening. We are talking nothing less than the yoga of realizing the true self.