Having epiphanies alters a person’s course, becoming the reason or sole purpose for change. Notably, this can be highlighted in The Bhagavad Gita translated by Laurie Patton and Early Islamic Mysticism: Sufi, Qur'an, Mi'raj, Poetic and Theological Writings translated and edited by Michael Sells. Patton depicts a dialogue, in which an envoy between two battling nations narrates the conversation between a warrior named Arjuna and his confidant called Krishna. Primarily, Arjuna does not like the idea of fighting, but Krishna attempts to persuade him to fight by mentioning his dharma, also known as one’s code of ethics or predetermined fate, commands him to do so as well as explain principles that Arjuna must learn to overcome his obstacle. Sells
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To illustrate, in Abu Nasr as-Sarraj’s The Book of Flashes, the second rank of watchers “consists of those who are scrupulous concerning anything that the heart stands back from, from anything that contrives in the breast when grasped. This can be known only by the masters of the heart and by those who have achieved realization” (Sells 201). Mainly, the watchers take precautions: they do not recklessly go forward when going into unfamiliar territory. Furthermore, they do not even consider continuing onward once they become filled with worry. For example, when venturing into the unknown, they are more likely to stand their ground and stay in a familiar area rather than try to experience something new; they try to be watchful and cautious around their surroundings. The speaker uses the phrase “contrives in the breast”, meaning that the watchers take a few steps back if something accelerates their pulse since the term “breast” can be also referred to as one’s heart due to its location. The terms “achieved realization” directly associates with having an epiphany, as it implicates not all watchers have a sudden realization of keeping their distance when possibly approaching perilous situations. As it has earlier been implied that not everyone have epiphanies and that the watchers are “the masters of their hearts”, …show more content…
By characterizing desire as an “eternal enemy” , it implicates that Krishna opposes the idea of pursuing material interests in order to obtain one’s happiness. Additionally, to conclude that desire is an “enemy” of oneself indicates that one must have an epiphany about such the disadvantages or poor effects of consumerism, which has made them come to terms to end their material interests. Due to the terms “covered” and “eternal”, it exposes that people’s greeds and infatuations with wealth and material desires ceaselessly persist to govern their lives as well as hindering one’s ability to grow. Since he describes the desire “in the shape of fire”, it suggests that desire has disguised itself as a motivation for people to improve and perform well, concurrently possessing strong and wild characteristics. Before recognizing desire’s disguise, one must come to the sudden realization in order to acknowledge that pursuing material interests does not hold the equivalency to pursuing happiness. Along with that, the phrase describing desire also conveys that people’s longings are endowed with restlessness and persistence. Because the desire is further described as “always hungry”, it emphasizes the desires’ characteristics of being overly determined and almost irrepressible depending on the circumstances. Hence, this validates that people must undergo an epiphany to give up
To illustrate, in Abu Nasr as-Sarraj’s The Book of Flashes, the second rank of watchers “consists of those who are scrupulous concerning anything that the heart stands back from, from anything that contrives in the breast when grasped. This can be known only by the masters of the heart and by those who have achieved realization” (Sells 201). Mainly, the watchers take precautions: they do not recklessly go forward when going into unfamiliar territory. Furthermore, they do not even consider continuing onward once they become filled with worry. For example, when venturing into the unknown, they are more likely to stand their ground and stay in a familiar area rather than try to experience something new; they try to be watchful and cautious around their surroundings. The speaker uses the phrase “contrives in the breast”, meaning that the watchers take a few steps back if something accelerates their pulse since the term “breast” can be also referred to as one’s heart due to its location. The terms “achieved realization” directly associates with having an epiphany, as it implicates not all watchers have a sudden realization of keeping their distance when possibly approaching perilous situations. As it has earlier been implied that not everyone have epiphanies and that the watchers are “the masters of their hearts”, …show more content…
By characterizing desire as an “eternal enemy” , it implicates that Krishna opposes the idea of pursuing material interests in order to obtain one’s happiness. Additionally, to conclude that desire is an “enemy” of oneself indicates that one must have an epiphany about such the disadvantages or poor effects of consumerism, which has made them come to terms to end their material interests. Due to the terms “covered” and “eternal”, it exposes that people’s greeds and infatuations with wealth and material desires ceaselessly persist to govern their lives as well as hindering one’s ability to grow. Since he describes the desire “in the shape of fire”, it suggests that desire has disguised itself as a motivation for people to improve and perform well, concurrently possessing strong and wild characteristics. Before recognizing desire’s disguise, one must come to the sudden realization in order to acknowledge that pursuing material interests does not hold the equivalency to pursuing happiness. Along with that, the phrase describing desire also conveys that people’s longings are endowed with restlessness and persistence. Because the desire is further described as “always hungry”, it emphasizes the desires’ characteristics of being overly determined and almost irrepressible depending on the circumstances. Hence, this validates that people must undergo an epiphany to give up