One of the greatest mistakes we make in life is to underestimate the value of simplicity. True simplicity is one of the greatest gifts we can cultivate. The rise of generative AI has sprung dozens of well-funded startups creating AI girlfriends who can give you company and fulfill your desires. Some of the best and most expensive engineering talent in the world is being used to develop software to drag lonely people deeper into their solitude.
Scott Galloway, a marketing professor at NYU and a straight talker, talks about the severe mental health challenges men face today and assigns significant blame to the rise of technology and social media.
What is the simple answer to this problem? Find a way to increase physical engagement activities for people by creating community spaces. However, that means increased capital expenditure and minimal direct financial returns. What's a complicated half-truth that helps handle this epidemic? Create these software-generated interactions that make people believe that happiness and companionship are just a button click away as long as you are willing to invest a few dollars a month in the subscription.
The same logic applies to almost every problem faced by humanity today. We produce more food than we need, clothes than we can ever wear, and waste more water than we can ever replenish. Whenever confronted with these simple questions, we create convoluted answers involving carbon offsets, taxes, and other factors that divert attention from the main issue.
Take a step back and read the literature on the impact of technology on society. The simple truth is that the people who get paid the highest today actively contribute to creating a much more complex and lonely world. They can do that because a bunch of complicated half-truths are used to fudge the impact of these tools in society.
We are creating a world where critical thinking, deep work, and distraction-free minds will be essential skills. However, some of the wealthiest companies in the world are the ones that create technologies of mass distraction.
Hence, we have created a world where we revere multitasking. However, significant research today shows that multitasking is a myth. What we do is rapid context switching, which reduces our productivity on either task by 50%. It seems stupid to say it, but the simple fact of focusing on one key thing at a time is a superpower.
The words simple and superpower don't often appear together, so let me give you an example from Carl Newport's book Deep Work. He talks about the life of Carl Jung, the world-famous psychiatrist. Jung had returned from India and observed how the meditation room was a big part of many households. Hence, he created a stone cottage with a private office on the banks of Lake Zurich. He woke up at 7 AM, had breakfast, and worked uninterrupted for a few hours. Jung walked in the afternoon and returned to work in a distraction-free environment before sunset since he did not have electricity. He went to bed by 10 PM and followed this routine like clockwork. The years in this cottage were some of the most productive years in his life because he successfully moved from busy work to deep work.
The simple act of having a routine and zero distractions makes him one of the most illustrious and renowned psychologists in the world. He is respected for the volume of his work and the sharpness of his insights. I have recently been obsessing over simplicity because of a thought that popped into my head the other day. I spend a few minutes every day at my altar and talk to "bhagwan," who adorn them in various forms. My guru, Om Swami, has always spoken about bhakti or devotion being one of the most potent forms of expanding one's consciousness and developing a strong relationship with the divine. I spent time in my altar because I enjoyed this, but I never reflected on the power of this practice. A thought suddenly popped into my mind.
Swami Vivekananda" has categorized bhakti at the same level as all the other Yog's. That means it's just as powerful as all of them.
The word Yog in Sanskrit means union between our "lower" self and the supreme self. The sages of ancient India dedicated their lives to examining how this union was possible, and Swami Vivekananda broadly categorized their work into the following four areas.
Karma Yog, a path that inspires selfless action, is performed without attachment to the results. The practitioner is not just expected to fulfill their duties and responsibilities but to do so with a profound sense of service and devotion, dedicating all actions to the divine.
Raja Yog emphasizes control over the mind and body through meditation and disciplined practices.
Jnana Yoga, the yoga of knowledge, pursues the path of wisdom and knowledge to realize the ultimate truth.
These three paths of action and intellect require you to commit to a lifetime of single-minded dedication. They offer a pathway to the highest possibility for humanity and hence are called "yog". There are detailed texts that help you walk these pathways and provide milestones to help measure success.
Swami Vivekananda, however, offers one more path. It seems simple and attracts most people because of its apparent simplicity. It's called Bhakti Yog, or the path of devotion. It involves sitting in front of your "ishta"—the personal form of divinity you connect to—and eulogizing them, complaining to them, singing to them, and offering your food to them until you start seeing them everywhere.
Developing a beautiful relationship with the divine is equivalent, if not more significant, than reading hundreds of books, meditating for thousands of hours, or working single-mindedly on a task. That's the power of the humble act of devotion. However, never mistake the path of devotion as simple. Sometimes, I feel like true bhakti is the reward for spending lifetimes of work on the other paths. This feeling intensifies whenever I think about the stories of the Gopis of Vrindavan. It's said that they were all saints of the highest order and had taken rebirth as women in Vrindavan so they could enjoy the divine dance with Lord Krishna. It's impossible to describe the nectar of joy devotion unleashes in you until you experience it yourself.
This simple act of devotion—being with your ishta and dedicating every moment of your life to them—is more powerful than reading a million books or chanting the 1000 names of the goddess with sub-par concentration.
I left my altar with a big smile on my face. I may not have read the most esoteric literature or have the concentration of a seasoned meditator, but at least my heart truly calls to my beloved Bhagwan, and that simple act is a "yog" in itself.
You can read this beautiful story by my Guru Om Swami about the power of the simple act of bhakti.
Bhakti allows you to develop a deep bond with the divine. If you are looking to imbibe devotion in your lives, the free and interactive Vedic Sadhana app is perfect for you. It allows you to identify the deity you connect with and then perform daily rituals that deepen your bond with them.
