18.73: Krishna’s message paves the way for his ultimate miracle
Some of us may feel that our faith in Krishna would stabilize and increase if we could see his power through miracles: “If Krishna is truly supreme, then all he needs to do to solve my problems is just perform one miracle. Why doesn’t he help me by doing that?”
Understanding the answer to this question takes us to the heart of Gita wisdom. The Gita offers us a trajectory to rise from material religiosity to spiritual devotion.
- Material religiosity: At this level, we see Krishna primarily as a source of blessings; we approach him not for who he is, but for what he can give us. We expect him to miraculously solve our problems and satisfy our desires. Even if he does both, our relief will be short-lived because in material existence both problems and desires are endless.
- Spiritual devotion: At this level, we see Krishna essentially as the object of love; we approach him for who he is, not for what he will give us. Paradoxically, when we don’t ask Krishna for blessings, we allow him to give us his greatest blessing: himself. When our heart is not filled with our own material desires, then we allow him to reveal his supreme attractiveness there and conquer our heart.
To get this supreme blessing from Krishna, we need to receive and relive his message of love, as did Arjuna in the Gita. After hearing the Gita (18.73), Arjuna didn’t ask Krishna to perform any miracles for eradicating his obstacles. Instead, he firmly resolved to live Krishna’s message by doing his will.
When we, like Arjuna, treasure Krishna’s message more than his miracles, he floods our heart with ever-increasing happiness. And that flood of happiness is Krishna’s ultimate miracle.