SB 02.02.03 – Simple Living High Thinking by Shukdev Goswami

[Bhagavat-Sangi-Sangasya]

SB 02.02.03 – Simple Living High Thinking by Shukdev Goswami

ataù kavir nämasu yävad arthaù

syäd apramatto vyavasäya-buddhiù

siddhe 'nyathärthe na yateta tatra

pariçramaà tatra samékñamäëaù

-Srimad Bhagavatam 02.02.03

TRANSLATION

For this reason the enlightened person should endeavor only for the minimum necessities of life while in the world of names. He should be intelligently fixed and never endeavor for unwanted things, being competent to perceive practically that all such endeavors are merely hard labor for nothing.

From our very childhood, we have been hearing about one very catchy line- ‘Simple Living High Thinking’. This verse by Srila Shukadev Goswami is pointing to this very principle of Simple Living High Thinking. In this context, two words are very significant- yävad arthaù and apramatto. Here one single principle is focused in two ways. When a small child goes to the road, her mother may say, “My dear child, please walk slowly on the road”.  Mother can also convey this message in this way, “My dear child, please don’t run on the road”. Both of these sentences are conveying the same principle that the small child should not run on the road.

Similarly, in this verse Srila Shukadev Goswami is pointing to a single principle but with two different sentence types- one affirmative & another negative. In starting part he is saying, “We should endeavor for the minimum requirements of our life” and in the next half he is saying, “We should never endeavor for extra unwanted things”.  He is purposefully repeating the same point again in order to tell us emphatically that we can never get ‘High Thinking’ unless we practice simple living.

Does Simple Living means we have to live like a beggar? Of course, NO. Simple Living means we have to fulfill our need, but not greed. When our need for travelling can be satisfied by one car, then why to unnecessarily keep 3-4 cars to show off to our relatives & colleagues. So, this is the fundamental point that greed should not be satisfied. High thinking means we are able to distinguish- what is an access labor & what is a necessary labor and accordingly we are doing our occupation of corporate job or college student, etc.   

 

Lesson: To get High Thinking we have to follow the principle of ‘Simple Living’ which is emphatically spoken in this verse.