“The scriptures describe the three gunas. But you should be free from the action of the gunas, established in eternal truth, self-controlled,without any sense of duality or the desire to acquire and hoard.”-Bhagavad Gita 2:45

These are the challenges I face.

To be established in eternal truth –

I know this intellectually, that there is nothing but Brahman. That all of this is Brahman. That only Brahman is permanent, and therefore only Brahman is real.But I have yet to establish this truth within my being. I seem to be stuck in the mists of Maya.

To be self-controlled –

This is probably my greatest challenge, and has been ever since I can remember.
I believe that excericising self-control is like the Nike phrase: “Just do it”. So why don’t I “just do it”?

Without any sense of duality –

This feeling of “I and mine” is a huge obstacle. I try to look upon everyone as a spark of the Divine, but it is often very difficult.
A poet once said: “walk a mile in my shoes”. This is what I must strive to do when dealing with people in awkward situations.

{without} The desire to acquire and hoard –

This is also a difficult obstacle. I have promised myself so many times that I will let go of my attachment to material objects, yet the attachment continues to have its pull on me. (although, recently, due to moving to much smaller living quarters, I have given away a lot of things, and, by and large, I really don’t miss them – I hope that is progress!)

There are many days like today, when, seeing all of my shortcomings, I tthink of my Gurudev, and remember what he told me: “Be patient, Devi, do your sadhana, and everything will eventually come to you”