People were living in a desert…well of course not in a desert - they lived in an oasis because you can’t live in a desert. They lived in an oasis. This oasis was the oasis of sense gratification and some enjoyment, but it was limited. It wasn’t fully satisfying.A stranger came and spoke about the green land with unlimited fruits and rivers! And he brought some samples. That stranger convinced people to embark on a journey. Because if you want to go from the oasis of sense gratification to that green land than you have to travel to the desert. And at first you have to give up your sense gratification and go to the dry desert where the hot sun of lust is burning on your head! And its dry and not much….not much due, and it’s a long dry stretch.. until you finally get to another oasis. The second oasis is the oasis in the mode of goodness. That is where you begin to enjoy the spiritual life.
In the first oasis of sense gratification, we enjoy the material life. In the second oasis, we enjoy the spiritual life, and in the mode of goodness, but not good enough. Then still we have to go out and take austerity to give Krishna Consciousness to others. Then we gradually reach to the other side. So that dry stretch in our spiritual life can be overcome if we begin to follow our taste, and then whatever we gain – share that with others. If we don’t share it, than whatever we gain will again dry up! So again it will become dry!
(Kadamba Kanana Swami October 2010)
