10.08: The Gita Shows the Route to the Root

“Let’s go back to our roots.” This passion consumes many people. Some of them take the route of genealogical investigation for discovering unsung ancestors. Others take the route of historical research for discovering unknown national glories.

At a deep, often subconscious level, our search for the roots is frequently motivated by the feeling that we may have lost something precious due to having forgotten our roots and that going back to our roots might just enable us to reclaim that lost treasure.

Gita wisdom agrees that we do indeed have a priceless legacy to gain by going back to our roots – our spiritual roots. It asserts that we are at our core souls, and our present birth in particular clans and countries is circumstantial, temporal and peripheral. So, if we wish to search for our actual roots, we need to search for our spiritual roots, lest our quest go off on a tangent.

The Bhagavad-gita (10.8) reveals Krishna to be the ultimate root of everyone and everything in existence – including our clans and our countries. When we retrace our roots back to him, there we discover our ultimate legacy awaiting us: eternal love. We realize that the root of all our roots, Krishna, is the supreme object for our love. He is all-attractive; he already loves us; he is longing for our love and loving him will make us everlastingly happy.

Gita wisdom further offers us the route to enter into that life of endless love: the simple yet sublime practice of bhakti-yoga.

When we thus take the route of devotion to the root of Krishna, we attain the ultimate love that transcends death and flourishes for all of eternity.