Sun will still rise from the east & set in the west. Earth will continue to revolve and rotate in the same trajectory. Most of us will continue to be in the same job, live in the same house, in the same neighborhood, don the same set of clothes, ride the same vehicle, watch the same television programs, news will almost remain on the same line and so on. Practically nothing changes. It’s just the calendar of our house which will change.
Most of us are aware of this simple fact but still we impatiently long to celebrate the New Year. Actually it’s not the New Year which excites us but anything which is new enthuse us - a new dress, a new house, a new car, a new birthday, for children a new toy, a new job, going to a new holiday resort, visiting a new restaurant etc. It all excites us because it gives us a hope of some new concealed excitement.
And there is nothing wrong in it.
As a soul we are pleasure seeking so we always look for something exciting which will bring joy to our life. But unfortunately our entire endeavor for seeking joy in our life boils down to 4 things – eating, sleeping, sexual & sensual pleasure and defending.
However revealed scriptures warn us that our endeavor for seeking material pleasure will always get thwarted. This is why in spite of achieving what we had dreamt for we often feel deprived of inner bliss and serenity. And so we try to find out some new means for happiness.
Srimad – Bhagavatam (7.5.30) says that our attempt for material pleasure is like chewing the chewed – punas punas carvitanam. If a child does not find anything to play with then he picks the same chewed chewing gum and start chewing it again. Similarly, since we don’t find any new pleasure giving substance in our life, so we start getting involved in the same mundane boring material activities again.
But we have a wonderful & rare opportunity to bathe in the ocean of eternal happiness. Krishna is eternally new (nitya navanavayamana) and so loving Him brings eternal joy and infinite bliss in our life. The opportunity is rare because out of 8.4 million specifies only human beings have got the intelligence to inquire for the highest truth.
The first aphorism of Vedanta-sutra says athato brahma jijnasa: "Therefore, inquire about the higher dimensions of life." It is very significant that the aphorism starts with the word therefore. “Therefore” implies that since you are humans so “inquire for the higher dimension of life”.
So this New Year we should take a vow to do something really new. And the best way is to befriend with the eternal, infinite, lovable Krishna who is always waiting for us with great eagerness.
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