Monday Morning Greetings 2025 #30 – From Drama to Meaning
Dhanurdhara Swami July 21st, 2025
It’s time to begin writing my next Monday Morning Greetings. I have nothing to write. Realizations are a gift. To gain one I can chant, study, and look at the world through the eyes of sastra, but ultimately only God can give one a worthy inspiration. I was just about resigned to share a reprinted article this week, when a realization came.
I have been at the immigration holding room in a foreign country while the immigration officials are checking me out. I guess not many United States citizens come here and the relations with their country have suddenly taken a turn for the worse.[1] I haven’t heard from the officials since they sat me here. That was two hours ago! I am waiting for my fate, and waiting is the greatest surrender.
I am not fearful, however, of what will happen, although I was looking forward to the next three weeks. Many good programs have been set up and many good people to see. But not a blade of grass moves without God’s will. I recalled one of my favorite quotes that came from Epictetus, the great Greek stoic. It was sent to me by a friend when I became sick during Covid with a strange non-Covid related sickness that went on for months. It became my mantra:
“Happiness and distress, sickness and health, praise and slander. They all come from God. Why should one care?”
I try not to care. I’m resigned to whatever Krishna wants, but don’t keep me waiting!
But even that, if it is Your will, I know it is best. I feel at peace sitting here.
My theme for this week’s Monday Morning Greetings: From drama to meaning.
I was toying with that theme anyway. A lot of bad news fell into my lap this week. I heard too many personal stories of horrible illness and cruel personal betrayal, and the list goes on. Life just seems so unfair, and it seems increasingly so.
I don’t want to tell those suffering that it’s just Krishna’s mercy, for such counsel often lacks, or appears to lack, empathy. People above all need support. Still, ultimately traditions of wisdom advocate a change of vision for no matter how we cut it, this “temporary world is full of suffering.”
I call that change of vision “from drama to meaning.” I’m just tired of the drama for it never ends whether it’s relationship, health, slander, crisis of funds, and so on. And it is meant to be that way.
Does this mean we stop trying to improve the quality of our lives? No, we have duties to stabilize our life and the lives of our loved ones. But we never lose sight of the fact that ultimate fulfillment is an internal process. It’s developing a lens of wisdom that does not requires changing the world, but rather our opinion of it.
When talking about this subject a friend sent me a relevant talk by Śrīla Bhakti-rakṣaka Śrīdhara Mahārāja which discusses what that change of opinion is. All problems are solved when we transcend our illusory perception of the world in which we see and do everything in terms of our “local” or selfish interest and rise to an understanding of life’s real meaning. Everything moves for the satisfaction of God, which is in everyone’s interest.
The whole talk is pertinent to this discussion. I will share just an excerpt:
The absolute current goes towards the satisfaction of Kṛṣṇa, but this reading of the environment is not possible for the superficial soul. The soul cannot read, cannot conceive, of the real meaning of everything. The soul sees some meaning, but it is a different reading, a superficial reading, of things, and it is this reading that is māyā. We read in our own way. We read an earthquake or a storm or anything else from our local interest. This is māyā, and it is on this basis that we do so many things.[2]
It took me one hour waiting on the immigration line just to get to the immigration booth. After going through the routine check, they told me to just sit outside. “Where?” The official just waved his hand and in broken English indicated I should just go and wait. I waited outside the immigration booth without my passport for an hour. They came for me and a few others with our passports in hand and moved us to the immigration office waiting area. They then disappeared into the offices with our passports, and we waited there for some time. They took us to another place. We stood there for some time until they finally took us to another immigration both. There were about twenty of us. Another wait. More drama. My patience was drawing thin, but I knew that God protects His devotee. Whatever He does is best.
Finally, our passports were stamped, and we left.
And that was the gift of realization today.
Our only solace is from drama to meaning!
[1] I prefer not to name the country in writing.
[2] https://nimaihuset.blogspot.com/2015/12/what-is-maya-srila-sridhar-maharaj.html
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