FROM ONE SOUL TO ANOTHER: WE ARE MORE ALIKE THAN DIFFERENT
Today I wanted to share a verse from Bhagavad Gita with you that I was reminded of this week. I truly believe it is one of the greatest verses of the Gita and something we need to remind ourselves of regularly.
वासांसि जीर्णानि यथा विहाय नवानि गृह्णाति नरोऽपराणि । तथा शरीराणि विहाय जीर्णा- न्यन्यानि संयाति नवानि देही ॥ २२ ॥
vāsāṁsi jīrṇāni yathā vihāya navāni gṛhṇāti naro ’parāṇi tathā śarīrāṇi vihāya jīrṇāny anyāni saṁyāti navāni dehī
As a person puts on new garments, giving up old ones, the soul similarly accepts new material bodies, giving up the old and useless ones. (Verse 2.22)
All of our bodies are simply made of matter and are constantly changing, minute by minute. This verse highlights that our soul is the one thing that remains the same- that it is eternal. We all have a soul, a small particle from the same source that lies within us. We have a choice to see each other with the shallow view of the differences between our temporary external bodies OR to look deep beneath the surface and connect with each other through our souls.
Discrimination, bullying, judgments, and prejudice are rooted in ego and superiority. when we live and act through our ego we search for faults in others. Really, the only discrimination we should have is between our thoughts. To be able to discriminate between the thoughts that stem from ego and cloud our judgment and the thoughts that come from the soul.
Those who fool themselves into believing that the skin they were born with or the material assets they have or their position in society makes them superior to anybody else. I don't even let those thoughts turn into words because words turn into actions and those actions have reactions to you and so many others around you. We must take responsibility for our thoughts and at the same time, we have a responsibility to constantly remind ourselves of this and others around us.
There is so much beauty in diversity. How boring would the world be if we all looked the same? Every single soul is here for a reason and nobody, no matter who you are has the right to make anyone feel otherwise.
Don't waste your thoughts on feeding your ego, don't allow your thoughts to pollute the world with hate, remind yourself of this every day.

Sending you all love
With gratitude,