*Are you a diver, or a surfer?*

Scuba Diving and surfing are water sports played especially in ocean waters, the main difference between them is that one is played deep in the ocean while the other is on the surface. The surfer, sometimes, might be able to surf above or in the barrel of the wave, but eventually, he gets hit and thrashed by the waves again and again; whereas the diver swims peacefully. Just as the waves incessantly agitate the ocean, similarly various sorrows, miseries, issues, hankerings and other emotions constantly keep agitating and disturbing our life. 

Gita says that there is no end to this anxiety for materialists because they are like surfers, who want to enjoy and play with material nature, they make multiple plans, devise various schemes to exploit the world to become happy (BG 16.11-12). With a false hope that these tides will stop or will become smooth one day, they are busy making plans to acquire the flickering pleasures of this world, forgetting that these tides are not meant to stop and are meant to be here for eternity, that's the nature of the ocean.

Divers are those who swim deep into the ocean, they hardly get affected by the waves, where water is not just calm but also compose & one can even find tranquility. Diver is like a spiritual practitioner who understands that "these tides of the material ocean are never going stop, so let me change my approach of playing in this ocean". Diving deep also means going deeper into thoughts of understanding our purpose of existence, introspecting, enquiring, practicing and trying to achieve the goal of life ordained in scriptures. Just as one can find precious Pearls, Gems & stones in the deep waters, Similarly if one dives deep down into the Ocean of spirituality he finds valuable essence of human life, we find that Gita tells us that: we are not meant to just act according to our desires and emotions but we are meant to control them, direct them towards our ultimate benefit, that will make us blissful and happy. One who just keeps fulfilling his wants and moves according to his drives remains unsatisfied because wants never end, but one who tolerates and controls them understanding their true nature attains everlasting peace(2.70).

Arjuna and other Pandavas have not just survived but also won over the internal as well as an external battle because they learned the art of diving. Whereas Kauravas got thrashed and swayed away by the tides of Material nature. In conclusion, Gita's philosophy doesn't teach us materialism nor escapism, it guides us how to be in this world but not of the world. With the regular spiritual guidance and practice, this becomes possible.