Nature's Tug-of-War

The holiday season in Australia last year saw intense heat and terrible bushfires which claimed the lives of millions of wildlife, destroyed homes and created much hardship. This year we see a diametric reversal, heavy rains and flash flooding. This year, a barrage of storms have battered a 1000km stretch of land from Queensland to Northern New South Wales. The weather has been so intense that famous landmarks such as the beaches in Byron Bay are faced with significant erosion issues.

The Bhakti yoga wisdom elucidates that the material world we live in is full of duality. We’re always faced with happiness and distress - there’s no significant or permanent period of one or the other. Just prior to an enormous battle, Krishna tells to His dear friend and disciple, Arjuna:

“𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙤𝙣𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙙𝙪𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚, 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙬𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙪𝙢𝙢𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙤𝙣𝙨. 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙚 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙚 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙘𝙚𝙥𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣, 𝙊 𝙨𝙘𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝘽𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙖, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙢𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙣 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙤𝙡𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙗𝙚𝙙.” (Bhagavad Gita 2.14)

By seeking happiness and contentment in the non-material, the pursuit of spiritual awakening, we can easily bypass the temporary distresses and the temporary happiness that the physical world brandishes us with.