# 12. Make a 'To Do' List | Make a 'To Be' List

Think of someone you truly admire. Now ask yourself – *“What is it that I appreciate in this person? Why are they so attractive?”* When we do this, one simple fact is highlighted again and again. We are drawn to people because of their qualities and personality. More impressive than their achievements and activities, is the character that such success is founded upon. People may acknowledge us for what we do, but they invariably remember us for *who we are*.

In an endlessly busy world, our focus is often on getting things done – having a ‘to do’ list. After all, that’s what the world sees and that’s what people applaud us for. Yet there is something more to consider. *What character have we cultivated? What qualities have we imbibed? What goodness do we exude?* When we die, people won’t highlight the percentage we got in an exam, the position we were in the rankings or the number of people who followed us on Facebook. They definitely won’t eulogise the price of our home, car, or clothes. The things that can be counted, don’t always count; and the things that really count, can’t always be counted.

Having shown the entirety of the cosmos to Arjuna, in the Gita’s next instalment, Chapter Twelve, Krishna sheds some light on the inner world. He describes the charming character of an outstanding spiritualist which endears them to everyone. In our dealings with the Divine, the external offerings will never be that impressive... what unique gifts can infinitesimal beings really offer to the Supreme Creator? Yet, the purity of character and depth of devotion that a devotee exudes immediately attracts Divine attention, for Krishna is ever-interested in loving exchange based on pure selflessness.

Martin Luther King longed for the day when people *“Would not be judged by the colour of their skin, but by the content of their character.”* In spiritual circles this is promoted. Alongside our ‘to-do’ lists which make us productive and efficient, we’d do well to create a ‘to-be’ list, reminding ourselves of the inner quality of our life and character. Thus, throughout the Bhagavad-Gita, Krishna re-emphasises the qualities of highly successful spiritualists. He mentions tolerance, peacefulness, compassion, fearlessness, and forgiveness to name but a few.

It can be a struggle to imbibe such qualities in the practicality of daily life when situations seem to demand other responses. *Don’t the peaceful have to be passionate at times? Don’t the tolerant have to assert authority to resolve certain issues? Don’t we all have to sometimes be fearful for the sake of survival?*

Such spiritual qualities are offered as a framework to guide our decisions, responses and wanderings in this complicated world. When deciding any course of action, the spiritualist remembers the cardinal principles they live by. However, one must have the wisdom to intelligently and appropriately apply such principles in any given situation. We may have a stereotyped image of how humble, tolerant and peaceful spiritualists conduct themselves, but these qualities go much deeper than the surface. The immediate acts we see with our eyes may not always reveal the true nature of someone’s character; we have to appreciate the motivation and consciousness behind those acts.

### [***“He by whom no one is put into difficulty and who is not disturbed by anyone, who is equipoised in happiness and distress, fear and anxiety, is very dear to Me.” (Bhagavad-Gita 12.15)***](#user-content-fn-1)[^1]

### **References**

[12.13-20 – Qualities which endear one to Krishna and upgrade one’s quality of life.](#user-content-fn-2)[^2]

[^1]: **Bg. 12.15**

    यस्मान्नोद्विजते लोको लोकान्नोद्विजते च य: ।\
    हर्षामर्षभयोद्वेगैर्मुक्तो य: स च मे प्रिय: ॥ १५ ॥

    *yasmān nodvijate loko*\
    \&#xNAN;*lokān nodvijate ca yaḥ*\
    \&#xNAN;*harṣāmarṣa-bhayodvegair*\
    \&#xNAN;*mukto yaḥ sa ca me priyaḥ*

    He by whom no one is put into difficulty and who is not disturbed by anyone, who is equipoised in happiness and distress, fear and anxiety, is very dear to Me.

    Source: [Vedabase](https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/12/15/)

[^2]: ## Bg. 12.13-14

    अद्वेष्टा सर्वभूतानां मैत्र: करुण एव च ।\
    निर्ममो निरहङ्कार: समदु:खसुख: क्षमी ॥ १३ ॥

    \
    सन्तुष्ट: सततं योगी यतात्मा दृढनिश्चय: ।\
    मय्यर्पितमनोबुद्धिर्यो मद्भ‍क्त: स मे प्रिय: ॥ १४ ॥

    *adveṣṭā sarva-bhūtānāṁ*\
    \&#xNAN;*maitraḥ karuṇa eva ca*\
    \&#xNAN;*nirmamo nirahaṅkāraḥ*\
    \&#xNAN;*sama-duḥkha-sukhaḥ kṣamī*

    *santuṣṭaḥ satataṁ yogī*\
    \&#xNAN;*yatātmā dṛḍha-niścayaḥ*\
    \&#xNAN;*mayy arpita-mano-buddhir*\
    \&#xNAN;*yo mad-bhaktaḥ sa me priyaḥ*

    **One who is not envious but is a kind friend to all living entities, who does not think himself a proprietor and is free from false ego, who is equal in both happiness and distress, who is tolerant, always satisfied, self-controlled, and engaged in devotional service with determination, his mind and intelligence fixed on Me – such a devotee of Mine is very dear to Me.**

    Source: [Vedabase](https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/12/13-14/)

    ## Bg. 12.15

    यस्मान्नोद्विजते लोको लोकान्नोद्विजते च य: ।\
    हर्षामर्षभयोद्वेगैर्मुक्तो य: स च मे प्रिय: ॥ १५ ॥

    *yasmān nodvijate loko*\
    \&#xNAN;*lokān nodvijate ca yaḥ*\
    \&#xNAN;*harṣāmarṣa-bhayodvegair*\
    \&#xNAN;*mukto yaḥ sa ca me priyaḥ*

    **He by whom no one is put into difficulty and who is not disturbed by anyone, who is equipoised in happiness and distress, fear and anxiety, is very dear to Me.**

    Source: [Vedabase](https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/12/15/)

    ## Bg. 12.16

    अनपेक्ष: श‍ुचिर्दक्ष उदासीनो गतव्यथ: ।\
    सर्वारम्भपरित्यागी यो मद्भ‍क्त: स मे प्रिय: ॥ १६ ॥

    *anapekṣaḥ śucir dakṣa*\
    \&#xNAN;*udāsīno gata-vyathaḥ*\
    \&#xNAN;*sarvārambha-parityāgī*\
    \&#xNAN;*yo mad-bhaktaḥ sa me priyaḥ*

    **My devotee who is not dependent on the ordinary course of activities, who is pure, expert, without cares, free from all pains, and not striving for some result, is very dear to Me.**

    \
    Source: [Vedabase](https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/12/16/)

    ## Bg. 12.17

    यो न हृष्यति न द्वेष्टि न शोचति न काङ्‍क्षति ।\
    श‍ुभाश‍ुभपरित्यागी भक्तिमान्य: स मे प्रिय: ॥ १७ ॥<br>

    *yo na hṛṣyati na dveṣṭi*\
    \&#xNAN;*na śocati na kāṅkṣati*\
    \&#xNAN;*śubhāśubha-parityāgī*\
    \&#xNAN;*bhaktimān yaḥ sa me priyaḥ*

    **One who neither rejoices nor grieves, who neither laments nor desires, and who renounces both auspicious and inauspicious things – such a devotee is very dear to Me.**

    Source: [Vedabase](https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/12/17/)

    ## Bg. 12.18-19

    सम: शत्रौ च मित्रे च तथा मानापमानयो: ।\
    शीतोष्णसुखदु:खेषु सम: सङ्गविवर्जित: ॥ १८ ॥

    \
    तुल्यनिन्दास्तुतिर्मौनी सन्तुष्टो येन केनचित् ।\
    अनिकेत: स्थिरमतिर्भक्तिमान्मे प्रियो नर: ॥ १९ ॥

    *samaḥ śatrau ca mitre ca*\
    \&#xNAN;*tathā mānāpamānayoḥ*\
    \&#xNAN;*śītoṣṇa-sukha-duḥkheṣu*\
    \&#xNAN;*samaḥ saṅga-vivarjitaḥ*

    *tulya-nindā-stutir maunī*\
    \&#xNAN;*santuṣṭo yena kenacit*\
    \&#xNAN;*aniketaḥ sthira-matir*\
    \&#xNAN;*bhaktimān me priyo naraḥ*

    **One who is equal to friends and enemies, who is equipoised in honor and dishonor, heat and cold, happiness and distress, fame and infamy, who is always free from contaminating association, always silent and satisfied with anything, who doesn’t care for any residence, who is fixed in knowledge and who is engaged in devotional service – such a person is very dear to Me.**

    \
    Source: [Vedabase](https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/12/18-19/)

    ## Bg. 12.20

    ये तु धर्मामृतमिदं यथोक्तं पर्युपासते ।\
    श्रद्दधाना मत्परमा भक्तास्तेऽतीव मे प्रिया: ॥ २० ॥

    *ye tu dharmāmṛtam idaṁ*\
    \&#xNAN;*yathoktaṁ paryupāsate*\
    \&#xNAN;*śraddadhānā mat-paramā*\
    \&#xNAN;*bhaktās te ’tīva me priyāḥ*

    **Those who follow this imperishable path of devotional service and who completely engage themselves with faith, making Me the supreme goal, are very, very dear to Me.**

    Source: [Vedabase](https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/12/20/)