How does bhakti counter anxiety?
Answer Podcast
Transcript
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can I elaborate worry with respect to Krishna consciousness and bhakti? yeah worry is the interest that we pay on loans that we have not yet taken that means quite often I have a problem but from that problem I start imagining this may go wrong that may go wrong well none of that has gone wrong till now you know I get a small swelling on the body I start thinking what if this is tumor what if it is malignant what if I have got cancer what if I have only 3 months to live small swelling on the body and from there oh I have only 3 months to live so we get worried so what happens is that there is a problem but from that point we start imagining various things and that imagination is what causes worry the problem itself is manageable but the imagination from the problem that causes worry and that paralyzes us or puts us in a frenzy paralyzing means I can’t do anything frenzy means I just run around doing this that and I am making things worse by whatever I am doing both ways it can act so now when we start practicing bhakti there are two things to it first is that we understand that at my core I am a soul I am indestructible so no matter what goes wrong in my life I at my core can never be destroyed that understanding of our spiritual essence not just intellectually but experientially through chanting, through praying through coming into the spiritual atmosphere that itself gives us peace and secondly in any situation that we are in there are certain things which are in our control and there are large number of things which are not in our control so now if I obsess over the things not in my control that causes worry that causes anxiety but in that same situation if I focus on that on the things that are in my control that brings intensity if tomorrow I have an interview I start worrying what question will they ask how will I answer, what if I forget what if I give a wrong answer all that will cause me anxiety tomorrow I have an interview I have 24 hours now, let me prepare whatever I have learnt let me revise let me sharpen my understanding that will bring intensity so intellectually we may know that let me focus on that which is not in my control, not worry about that which is not in my control but spiritually when we are practicing Krishna Bhakti we understand that Krishna is the supreme controller that means we think of things are either in my control or they are out of my control but bhakti helps to understand that things that are not in my control are still in control they are in Krishna’s control so when I understand that that things are in Krishna’s control then I let those things and present those things to Krishna and focus on the things in my control so that way by the faith that develops through the philosophical understanding of Krishna’s position then we can actually the same situation that causes anxiety that can bring intensity in our life so by understanding our spiritual identity and understanding Krishna’s controllership our spirituality can transform our anxiety into intensity ok thank you very good