Hello and welcome to episode 132 of The Ask Sri Vishwanath Show. Today I want to talk about habitat and how a great environment can really transform your life.
Today’s question comes from Rina and she says “I have always struggled with being in the right place at the right time. I never get anything done and I feel really bad as my friends seem to be doing so well. They always seem to be in the right place at the right time.”
Thanks for the great question. Everyone wants to be in the right place at the right time but I also want you to know that there is no power on earth that can stop you from doing what you came here to do. I want you to write that down.
Habitat
The great ones say that the script moves the scenes, not us or a place or a time. You can take complete charge of the habitat but not the circumstance. By ensuring you build a powerful habitat you can really feel very powerful under any circumstance. You don’t need to feel bad about not being in the right place at the right time because you cannot change that says the wise ones. You can only ensure your environment is good.
So what is habitat? A habitat is an environment like the place you live in, the people you meet and connect with, the books you read, the websites you visit and the places you visit. All these things help you form a habitat and this is what you can take control of regardless of circumstance. This is what the great ones do.
Even if you cannot move to change the place you live in you can still change the people you meet, the places you go and the books you read and the websites you visit. You have complete control over these things. You can change these things to form a great habitat. Think of it like a garden. What you plant will determine what your garden will be like. Sew great seeds to have a beautiful garden. You want your garden to nourish you. You have control of this.
The king’s lives
I want to share a story with you. There was a king named Jada Bharat who lived a great life and treated his subjects very well. At the age of 16 he wanted to renounce everything and learn more about the consciousness. So he left the kingdom to his son and went to the forest. He changed his habitat so he could learn more about the consciousness.
One day while in the forest he heard the roar of a lion and he also saw a pregnant female deer who was really shaken up by the roar of the lion. The deer jumped into a river out of fright and died. Just before she jumped she gave birth to her fawn. The sage watched the scene and took pity on the fawn so he took it and helped it.
When he tried to meditate he could not concentrate because he would always worry about the fawn and whether it was safe of or not. He had left a huge kingdom and now he was worried about a young deer. He had become attached to it. This is how the script works. Even though he changed destination he was still attached.
Attachment
One day the king died and his last thought was of the young deer. Krishna says “in the end who so ever departs giving up the body and remembering me Krishna only, reaches me. Remembering what ever being one gives up the body that very being one attains to.” Your very last thought enters into the prana(lie force) which enters into your consciousness and then your consciousness leaves your body to find another body. The last impression was very important and his last impression was of a deer. So this king Jada Bharat became a deer in his next lifetime.
Because he had such wonderful karma the deer was born amongst the sages. In this lifetime he could not speak and he could not practice dharma. An elephant is gigantic and can do many things but it cannot practice dharma because as an animal it cannot form the gold image. It is only as a human being we can follow dharma and form the gold image. Very important. His quest for a good habitat was rewarded by being born amongst the sages. He could hear all their great words but he could not practice dharma.
Silence is golden
In the next lifetime Jada Bharat was born again as human and that lifetime he never opened his mouth because he knew he had made the mistake of being attached in a previous life. Hi mother and father detested him and called him good for nothing because he would not speak. He remained quiet because he did not want to partake in any worldly activities which might cause him to form another attachment. He would remain quiet and meditate.
One day another king was coming through the village when they saw the quiet young man. The king noticed he was very strong looking and he would be able to carry the king’s throne as the other were struggling. They asked him to help and without speaking he got up and helped.
While carrying the throne he saw ants on the ground and while trying to avoid them by side stepping he made the throne shake back and forth. The king was angry and fired the young boy for not carrying him correctly.
Then, for the first time in 25 years the young man Jada Bharat opened his mouth. He asked who was saying these words. Was it the king or the spirit of the king? And to whom was it being said? The young man or the young man’s spirit? He then gave a lecture on Brahman and the knowledge of the consciousness and the king was stunned and fell at his feet.
This story of Jada Bharat is very popular and it reveals that even though he was at the right place at the right time he could not achieve his goal because the script was not in his favour. However Jada Bharat remembered his mistake in the next two lifetimes of deer and as a human being and followed the yoga of Krishna and realised his goal .
Be detached
This is why habitat is so important. You cannot change your script but you can be detached from it and you can choose who you want to be around, what books and websites you want to read, the places you want to visit. You can create the best habitat for you and by doing so you will get back to the shore and reach you ultimate goal.
Recently in Bombay there was a very strange incident. Somehow a leopard got into a bus full of people. Instead of attacking the leopard actually hid because it was so afraid of people. It wanted to go back to its own habitat. The king wanted to go to the silence of the forest so he could have silence on the inside as well as out.
All animals find their own habitats but that is not the case for human beings. We constantly find ourselves in habitats that are not good for us. We have so many attachments to property, people, passions and we get stuck in rotten habitats both outside and inside.
The first thing you need to do is to change your external environment and if you cannot change that then change the other factors that make up your environment. That will make sure you that you get back to the consciousness.
I hope I answered your question. Remember you keep asking questions and I’ll keep answering them.
