SLOKA OF THE DAY:

Bhagavad Gita As It Is -
Chapter 11 Text 54-55
bhaktya tv ananyaya sakya
aham evam-vidho 'rjuna
jnatum drastum ca tattvena
pravestum ca parantapa

mat-karma-krn mat-paramo
mad-bhaktah sanga-varjitah
nirvairah sarva-bhutesu
yah sa mam eti pandava

bhaktya--by devotional service; tu--but; ananyaya--without being mixed with fruitive activities or speculative knowledge; sakyah--possible; aham--I; evam-vidhah--like this; arjuna--O Arjuna; jnatum--to know; drastum--to see; ca--and; tattvena--in fact; pravestum--to enter into; ca--also; parantapa--O mighty-armed one.

mat-karma-krt--engaged in doing My work; mat-paramah--considering Me the Supreme; mat-bhaktah--engaged in My devotional service; sanga-varjitah--freed from the contamination of fruitive activities and mental speculation; nirvairah--without an enemy; sarva-bhutesu--among all living entities; yah--one who; sah--he; mam--unto Me; eti--comes; pandava--O son of Pandu.

TRANSLATION

My dear Arjuna, only by undivided devotional service can I be understood as I am, standing before you, and can thus be seen directly. Only in this way can you enter into the mysteries of My understanding.

My dear Arjuna, he who engages in My pure devotional service, free from the contaminations of fruitive activities and mental speculation, he who works for Me, who makes Me the supreme goal of his life, and who is friendly to every living being--he certainly comes to Me.

JOURNAL:

I ask the Lord to give me some work to do for Him every time I chant the maha-mantra. I should have known that for that to happen He would have to clear out all the crap that made up my life. "Be careful what you pray for" is what they say, and now I know first hand what they meant by that.

So, here are the instructions for advancement. Can I follow them? It would be nice to go home but that does not seem to be the path forward for me. Easter is a celebration of new life in God. Let me concentrate on this thought today and be thankful that, for now, I am with my family.