Five Things We Can Be Taught To Do

“For one who sees Me everywhere and sees everything in Me, I am never lost, nor is he ever lost to Me.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 6.30)

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यो मां पश्यति सर्वत्र
सर्वं च मयि पश्यति
तस्याहं न प्रणश्यामि
स च मे न प्रणश्यति

yo māṁ paśyati sarvatra
sarvaṁ ca mayi paśyati
tasyāhaṁ na praṇaśyāmi
sa ca me na praṇaśyati

1. Read words on a page

In rare instances, a child can become skilled in this area as soon as two years after emerging from the womb. The adult is surprised, as what they were typing on the screen was read out loud by the youngster and soon shared with others.

There are smartphone applications and online videos that today assist in the process. Just for fun, without explicitly trying, a toddler can learn letters, numbers, basic mathematics, and even words.

The truth is that everyone has to be taught. While reading might be second nature later in life, the skill had to be acquired. It was not a natural ability, such as the newborn horse trotting away or the turtle crawling.

2. Construct a house

From laying the foundation to hammering the final nail in one of the boards, sometimes a single person can take care of the entire process. Others may not know the first thing about construction.

“I literally have no idea. I would just hire someone. I don’t want to take the time to learn. If I have to do something much simpler, like assembling furniture, I get frustrated easily. What would take a professional a few minutes takes me days, and I am not sure I am doing it right, either.”

3. Repair a broken cooling system

“This is one of the pitfalls of owning a home. I had no problem renting, but everyone kept putting pressure on me. They claimed I was throwing away money each month, that a home is a better investment. In addition to the extra space, I would have more freedom to make alterations.

“Well, here is the freedom manifesting. The air conditioning is broken. In the middle of summer, too. Scorching heat. We are suffering, for sure. Thank God there are people out there who know how to conduct repairs. They have training schools, and I am sure thankful that people are willing to attend and learn the craft.”

4. Drive a car

“For the longest time, I was too scared. I did not want to sit behind the wheel. Let others take care of it. But then in school my classmates started to drive, and I was soon the odd person out. I decided to at least train enough to get a driver’s license.

“I started the moment after I was allowed, by law. I drove every single day for two months. I found the process to be difficult, especially parallel parking. This skill is required in our state in order to earn a driving license. Today, of course, driving is second nature. I don’t keep conscious attention on starting, stopping, turning, watching for other cars, stopping at lights, and the like. But originally, I needed to be trained.”

5. Recognize different bird calls

“One of my friends took such a class in college. I didn’t make much of it at the time, but looking back it was quite fascinating. He had to go into the woods and identify the different birds by the sounds they made. How anyone first came upon such a list is beyond me.

“But think about it. Every spring the birds outside the window sing to one another. The sounds are not identical. Wouldn’t it be cool to know exactly what kind of bird is making each sound? Pretty interesting stuff.”

…

The list is endless. The human being has intelligence. There is jnana available for so many different departments of knowledge. Jnana is the foundation for vijnana, which is practical realization. Book learning and then application on the street, for complete realization of the field of study.

The same principle applies to discerning the presence of both spirit and Supreme Spirit. As we can be taught to see the equality of spirit soul distributed throughout the universe, in the presence of animated life, we can find a way to see the Almighty in every corner.

Of all the disciplines, this endeavor is the most worthwhile. If I see God everywhere, He will never be lost to me. Shri Krishna confirms in Bhagavad-gita that such a soul is never lost to Him, either. Bhagavan is already the all-pervading witness. He sees and hears everything through the expansion known as Supersoul.

For the devoted soul, He is both witness and personal protector. He takes control of their fate, of where they will end up moving forward. This assistance is available to every person; the requirement is choice. If I want to see God everywhere, if I want to always be with Him, the great coordinator will make that desire a reality.

In Closing:

Human so many things can learn,
To even doctoral degree can earn.

Sounds of birds moving swift,
Handy with tools a natural gift.

Same with presence of spirit so,
And the source also to know.

Where in every direction to be,
Never lost to that soul is He.