The thorny path!

Let me skip the sequence and jump into random shlokas, ones that have inspired me. with no order of preference though.

ಮುಳ್ತುಂಬಿಹವು ಜಗದ ದಾರಿಗಳದೆತ್ತಲುಂ |
ಕಾಲ್ತೆಳಕೆ ನೀಂ ಜ್ಞಾನದೆಲೆ ಹಸರು ಸವರು ||
ಮುಳ್ತಲೆಯ ಬಾಗಿಪುದು ನೆಲಹುಲ್ಲ ಹೊದೆಯುವುದು |
ಬಾಳ್ತನದ ತಂತ್ರವಿದು ಮಕುತಿಮ್ಮ ||

There are thorns throughout this world, apply the paste of knowledge to your foot, the thorns will bow down to you, the ground will lay grass for you, this is the trick to this life oh dull minded dumb fellow.

World and life is not a cake walk or a journey on a flower bed, though it could appear so for a few for some of the times. It rather is a journey that is filled with "thorns" or "hurdles" that one has to tread. The current economic state is probably a testimonial to this. If you are not faced with a challenge everyday then your life has not been exciting enough. Some see these challenges as "problems" and others as "opportunities", DVG has a much deeper perspective.

As said in the Bhagawad Gita there is nothing superior to knowledge (nahi jnyaanena sadhrisham), the world bows to the seer, the knowers, the knowledgable ones. Fools keep complaining about their struggle, about their material miseries. There are various levels of intelligence as we know: samsaari, gnaani, vignaani, and sanyaasi. A samsaari is entangled in this material world with attachments that eventually engulf his existence. A gnaani knows by experience, but forgets with time. A Vignaani knows by analyzing and he always remains stable (not the materially confused scientists who are restricted to the laboratory knowledge). A vignaani then transcends to the state of a sanyaasi who is completely detached (in complete knowledge of the absolute) from this material world, though he lives in and with this world.

Look at the wonderful analogy: gnyanadele (the leaf of knowledge) hasiru (the essence of that leaf) can be obtained by a careful extraction of that juice from the leaf that soothes. There is a tree out there, but all you need is a leaf out of it - the Bhagawad Gita. Not every tree (material knowledge) or leaf is useful, but the right leaf from the right tree, that provides the right protection from these material sufferings. Finally, DVG says "savaru" (apply) which implies that YOU NEED TO APPLY YOURSELF; just by listening to others or reading about others will not help but you need to practise yourself.