Recently, my wife and I spent a wonderful week in beautiful Vienna, the city of our hearts.

Being there every day in the open public, I realized how much the digital epidemic has already progressed.

Weeks ago, I decided to step back from all that digital social networking to focus more on my real life, materially and especially spiritually.

Observing our modern world out there in the field strengthened my decision immensely.

Scene 1

From our hotel room, I had the perfect view of the terrace of our hotel where people took their meals during the day. One time I watched a couple sitting down and immediately both husband and wife took out their smartphones and even after I checked 20 minutes later, they still were fully immersed in their own little smartphone world.

Scene 2

In the subway, I was standing with my wife waiting for our chosen exit to come. Meanwhile I could see that nearly EVERY person on that subway was in their digital world. The guy who sat on the seat below where I stood had messages on several apps on his phone, all was into their digit numbers…I could see about 50 WhatsApp messages and countless others too…and watching his thumbs dance over the screen made me nearly nauseous.

Scene 3

At our subway station, I watched a very special ballet. About 5 guys were standing on the edge of the platform. The train was about to arrive in 6 minutes. It was absolutely horrifying to watch the synchronicity of their movements. Hand to smartphone in trousers, smartphone check, back in trousers. Again, again, again and again…until the train arrived. All this within 5 to 6 minutes. I was watching in amazement at how each of these guys did EXACTLY the same. Like a professionally choreographed smartphone ballet.

This really inspired me even more to step out of this digital rat race.

It is truly sad that so many people disappear slowly in their own digital world…and if I may be honest, I too felt that urge to be a part of this “digital drowning” in an ocean of messages, likes, news, posts, blogs, etc… constantly checking if there has “arrived” anything NEW – NEWER – NEWEST…

But this is not a life that I desire to lead. Smartphones and WiFi and social networks have their values, no doubt, but there is an ingrown danger to SHUT OUT the REAL world, which is around us all. REAL people, REAL buildings, gardens, landscapes, REAL conversations…

We all feel the NEED to be CONNECTED. Why? Because we need to love and we need to be loved. We are fundamentally bliss-seeking living entities. We are eternal souls. We hanker after happiness; we hanker after being CONNECTED. Nobody wants to be ALONE.

We are actually NEVER alone. Krishna is in our heart. Always. It is just that we forget that He is there…we only focus on material connections…which are one click, one call or one message away. NOW. FAST. ANSWER ME. I can´t wait…

It is the age of EVERYTHING FAST NOW. We have no patience. We don´t want to wait. We don´t want to do any EFFORT to reach a goal…to reach a connection. WiFi => BUTTON => CONNECTED.

But all these so-called connections are based on our wrong conception. First of all, we need to connect with our SELF. The journey leads inwards. The connection is not dependent on ANYTHING. If we connect with our true SELF by looking inwardly, we will find our soul, different from this outer shell. This connection is always there. No break-ups, no distortions. The only distortions from our REAL connection come if we try to establish millions of external connections.

I am not saying that we shouldn´t have any connection to anyone. Friends are important. But how ARE we connected? Are 2345 Facebook-friends really friends? Have we met ALL of them? Do we REALLY care about ALL of them?

It is true. CONNECTION is everything. By being connected to our own everlasting connection and thereby being connected to the source of that connection, we truly can find peace and happiness.

“Man, your God and your and my soul are not THERE. I can´t hear or feel anything. I tried plenty of times.”

True. It is not easy to HEAR or FEEL anything REAL anymore. Absolutely right. We need PEACE and SILENCE and PATIENCE to feel our SELVES, to feel being connected to it and finally to the Supreme Being. It will never happen with 10000 messages in 15 different apps.

We need to begin a journey towards within. We need to be at peace. We need to be patient. These virtues are the poison of the digital rat race. They are laughed upon.

But we will never feel REAL happiness without being connected to our soul and to the Supreme Soul.

To reach Him, we don´t need a SmartPhone.
To reach Him, we need to know who WE are.
To reach Him, we need someone who has reached Him, helping us along the way.

Our SmartestPhone consists of 16 words and 32 syllables. It is the best WiFi-connection, the fastest, safest and the cheapest. It only costs one thing: our effort to try.

Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare
Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare

harer nama harer nama
harer namaiva kevalam
kalau nasty eva nasty eva
nasty eva gatir anyatha

“In this age of quarrel and hypocrisy the only means of deliverance is chanting of the holy name of Lord Hari. There is no other way. There is no other way. There is no other way.”

The more we try, the deeper we establish this eternally real connection.
The more we try, the less we are distracted by the unreal connections.
The more we try, the more we feel comfortable, even in the midst of the waves of this modern ocean of digital madness.