While reading the Bhagavad Gita, I had a fairly difficult time relating to the lessons taught and the life that Lord Krishna suggests should be lived. Throughout most of the book, Krishna explains many life lessons to Prince Arjuna, from mediation, to ridding oneself of desire and lust, to the importance of sacrificing oneself for the purpose of the Lord and living a peaceful, holy life.
The first lesson I came upon that puzzled me was “Why grieve for those for whom no grief is due, and yet profess wisdom? The wise grieve neither for the dead nor the living” (13). As pathetic as it may seem, I immediately though of the current situation that Britney Spears has gotten herself in. After having an extremely successful four years in the music industry, Britney began making a number of mistakes that drastically changed her life. She had a quick marriage that lasted less than 3 days and from then on it was pretty much downhill. Her most recent drama consisted of her refusing to hand over her children to ex-husband Kevin Federline at the designated time. The incident ended with six cop cars, and ambulance, and a fire truck arriving at her house, eventually taking her to
Cedar – Senai Hospital strapped to a gurney with suspicion that she was under the influence of a controlled substance. She was placed under suicide watch and after less than 72 hours, the normal time one would spend in the hospital after such an incident, was consulted by television psychiatrist, Dr. Phil McGraw, and released through an underground tunnel. Days later, Britney fled the United States and went to Mexico with a member of the paparazzi who she is currently having a romantic relationship with. She has been photographed videotaped doing extremely bizarre things, including screaming “I’m f**king over it!! Get out of my face!” to a mob of paparazzi members and adopting a British accent in normal conversation. It is as if she “perplexed by discordant thoughts, entangled in the snares of desire, infatuated by passion, [she sunk] into the horrors of hell” (127).When Britney first popped in my head, I thought, “This fits perfectly and is so true. Why do I have feel sorry for this wealthy, previously successful woman who made so many poor decision that she is now is a state of total despair? It’s her fault!” And then I thought about it some more and realized that I don’t feel that way at all. Yes, Britney has made a ridiculous amount of mistakes and stupid decisions, but why should we cute her off from society and deem her “unfixable”?
My mother always told me, “there is more to be pitied than censored.”
I believe this applies to the entire uproar involving Britney. She has become so absorbed in the celebrity life that she has completely lost touch with reality. She has become someone entirely different from the blossoming adolescent she was when she began her music career. As a society, we should look to support those who are down rather than furthering the ridicule and worsening their state of being. I believe it requires wisdom to know that in regards to most situations, progress results from care and compassion rather than hate and resentment.
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