How to respond when problems overwhelm us?
Answer Podcast
Transcript
This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
When problems overwhelm us too much and we are not able to, we think that these problems may be for my growth or anything positive like that.
So, what do we do at that time? Our spiritual practices, at one level, we can say that they are for purifying us and they purify us gradually. Along with that, our spiritual practices are also meant to help create an inner home for our thoughts. That means that we, for the security of our body, we create a physical home.
But our thoughts also need a home. And when our thoughts don’t have a home, then those thoughts go here, go there, go everywhere and then they agitate us. Now, in one sense, whatever are our attachments, we could say at one level they are our home.
Because when we don’t have anything to do, we immediately think of those things. So, just like if I don’t have anywhere else to go, I go home. Home is the place where I go default like that.
Wherever our thoughts go by default, that’s our home. Now, within the devotional practices, within the devotional activities that we do, we may find that there is some, maybe one or two activities in which we can absorb ourselves much more easily than others. So, it may be Kirtan, it may be reading Shastra, hearing lectures or worshipping the deity, whatever it is.
And that can become like, we can make that like our inner spiritual home. So, when we are overwhelmed by problems, at that time, we need a shelter somewhere. So, if during our regular spiritual practices, we have experienced shelter of Krishna and we have trained ourselves to take shelter of Him at least in one particular way, then we can instinctively or conscientiously try to take the shelter of Krishna in that manifestation when we are overwhelmed.
So, trying to think of how to deal with the problems, trying to solve the problems, all this also drains us. Especially when the problems seem unsolvable, then the draining becomes much more. So, at that time, we need a shelter.
Just like soldiers who are fighting a war, even soldiers, they can’t fight 24 hours a day. They fight and they also have to retreat and they have to rest when some other soldiers fight or the war stops overnight or whatever different. So, even those who are fighting, they need some place for rest and recovery.
Like that, this world is like a battle arena and in this battle arena, we need some place where we can get shelter. And that place is provided by us through Bhakti if we are resourceful enough to try to find it. And when we get that shelter, thereafter, we can cope when we become calm, when we feel reassured by the shelter that we get over there.
Then we can reemerge and face the problem. Now, generally when problems are there, broadly solutions can be in three parts. That we try to change the situation, we try to change ourselves or we walk away from the situation.
Now, it is not that one is right and other is wrong. In different situations, different approaches may be required. But when we are not thoughtful or when we are not calm, then we impulsively seek only one solution.
And when it doesn’t work, then we become frustrated by that. So, when we are calmer, see one thing that emotions always do to us is, emotions narrow our perception. Now, when I am emotional, I think only about the thing about which I am emotional.
And I don’t think about other things. When we are angry and we get angry because of something at that time, we only think about how this person has wronged me and I have to vent my anger, I have to correct this wrong. But then we don’t think of the consequences of what we are doing.
So, basically emotions narrow our perception. And that’s why when we are emotional, we can’t look for other solutions also. But when we calm ourselves down by the practice of bhakti, then we open ourselves to more solutions.
And sometimes we find that, okay, in this situation, I was thinking I have to do this and I am not able to do it, so I was getting frustrated. But maybe I can do this also, maybe I can do this also. And we can get more options to explore.
So, at one level, in terms of understanding the ultimate goal of life, spiritual knowledge acts like a sun. I am in the dark, the sun lights up and I see the whole path. So, I understand who I am, what is the ultimate purpose of my life.
But in terms of the day-to-day events in our life, or day-to-day decisions in our life, they may not be always illumined like the sun illumines. So, at that time, spiritual knowledge can act like a torchlight. So, torchlight means if I have a torchlight, I can see one or two steps ahead of me.
I can’t see the full path. But I just take one step ahead, the torchlight moves ahead of me, it will show me one step further ahead. So, in many situations, faith means to take one step ahead, even when the full road is not visible to me.
Vishwa Prabhupada writes in one purport that a devotee can be perplexed, but a devotee is never discouraged. Perplexed means I don’t know what to do. Discouraged means I don’t feel like doing anything.
So, we all can be perplexed. Life sometimes brings us into such situations that we just… it’s not very clear what I should do in such a situation. But if we shelter ourselves in Krishna, then we won’t become discouraged.
So, if I just think, okay, what can I do in this situation? How can I serve Krishna in this situation? I don’t know what I am going to do in future, but one step is clear for me. I take that one step and then one more step becomes, I can do this, I can do this, I can do this. And if we keep taking one step, one step, one step forward, we will be able to cope with things.
And eventually we will find that whatever darkness was there because of the problems, that has dissipated. So, there is a why question and there is a how question. Why means why did this happen? Why is this person behaving like this? Why are they doing like that? The why question is usually very disempowering.
Because ultimately we can’t find out the causes. But the how question, you know, how can I respond now? Okay, how can I serve in this situation? The how question actually brings focus and purpose. The why question only causes bewilderment and helplessness many times.
If we can find out the why, that is good. But more than the why, it is the how. Okay, how should I respond in this situation? Focus on that then over a period of time, we will find that solutions do emerge through whatever situations we are facing.
And then we can move onwards closer towards Krishna. And by Krishna’s mercy, that darkness of the problem that is there, because in this world everything is temporary, so even the problems are also temporary. If we just keep taking one step forward, one step forward, one step forward, eventually the darkness of those problems will dissipate and we will see that the light of wisdom, light of happiness has again emerged brighter in our life.