Help me accept material curses that open me to spiritual blessings

tvayā mocitau bhakti-bhājau kṛtau ca

By you were they granted the supreme gain,
Freed from illusion, the root of all pain.
You blessed them with love divine,
And made their hearts forever thine.

(Damodarashtakam — Verse 7, Line 2)

My dear Lord, the paths to worldly success and the path to you are often different—sometimes even diametrically opposite. A material curse that brings a spiritual blessing is far better than a material blessing that distances me from spiritual well-being.

My beloved Lord, bless me so that my emotions don’t become my only lens for evaluating my situations from a worldly perspective. Even when I lose possessions, positions, facilities, or abilities—when I feel as if I have been cursed—protect my consciousness from becoming fretful or resentful. Help me remember that through such painful circumstances, you can draw me closer and bless me far more deeply than material gain ever could. Indeed, without those losses, I might never become receptive to the grace you have always been eager to give. Just as Nalakuvara and Manigriva were blessed through the curse of Narada, may I too perceive your mercy working through my losses.

Protect me, my cherished Lord, from the intoxication of material success, which blinds me to spiritual opportunities. Let me see every circumstance through one prism alone—whether it draws me nearer to you or drives me away. Bless me to measure my success not by how high I rise in this world but by how close I come to you.