If bhakti doesn’t protect us from troubles, then what is the point of practicing it?

Answer Podcast

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
So if the mind questions just while you are practicing Krishna Bhakti the thing has happened to you so what is the point of practicing Krishna Bhakti? Better let us do something else.
So how do we respond? There is circumstantial devotion and there is transcendental devotion. So that means that there are different levels at which bhakti can be practiced. So ultimately at the material level whether we are devotees or whether we are non-devotees there is no security.
Even devotees are going to grow old. When devotees are going to get deceased devotees are going to die. These are just the distresses of material existence that come to everyone.
Even there are these three kleshas Adhyatmik, Adhibhautik, Adhidaivik. So the soul is placed in three circles. The circle of the body, the circle of society and the circle of material nature.
And through all these circles distresses can come. The distresses that come from the body circle are Adhyatmik. From the social circle are Adhibhautik.
From the environmental circle are Adhidaivik. These are also going to come. This is just the nature of material nature.
So if we expect that Krishna change the nature of material nature and protect us that is not going to work. Material nature is going to be as it is. This does not mean that we are defenseless or bhakti is pointless.
Krishna does protect us. How does he protect us? That we need education to understand it. It means that when basically the two people say who are in the hospital both of them are sick and both of them are in pain.
At one level both of them are similar. But suppose one of them has been diagnosed and the treatment has been prescribed. For the other there is no diagnosis and there is just guesswork of what to give.
Although both of them are in pain right now their futures are very different. For the person who has been diagnosed and is being treated they are going to recover. For the other person this is going to worsen.
So the difference between devotees and non devotees is like the diagnosed and treated person and the undiagnosed and untreated person. Often those who are not practicing Krishna Bhakti they come up with their own ideas. This will solve my problem.
That will solve my problem. And it may solve temporarily. But through it all they often get more and more entangled in material existence.
So when we are sick pain is inevitable. Whether we are taking medicine or we are not taking medicine. Pain is there.
But the medicine’s role is that the disease will be cured. Without the medicine the disease is going to get aggravated. This is from the long term perspective the benefit of Krishna Bhakti.
It is going to raise our consciousness above material existence and take us out of this distressful material world. While we are in this world also Krishna helps us in many ways. One of the most important ways is that he gives us shelter amidst the problems.
There is there is release from problems and there is relief amidst problems. So we often have we often expect release from the problems. Say for example, it’s very hot outside and somebody invites us you know, you are feeling very hot, please come in my house, we have air conditioning here, you can relax.
But instead of coming inside the house, I keep the door open and I insist, why is the air conditioning not coming outside? Why does it make the atmosphere hot? That’s not going to happen, just come inside. You can experience relief. So like that, in this world, there are distresses.
In the canto of the Shrimad Bhagavatam, there is a distress that comes in material existence. But those who are taking shelter of Krishna, those who have absorbed their consciousness in Krishna, they don’t experience those distresses, because their consciousness is sheltered in Krishna. That means, the problems come in our life, and if we say, why is this problem coming, why is this problem not going away? That is like expecting, why is the air conditioning not coming outside? But we just come inside.
Coming inside means, just absorb oneself in the remembrance of Krishna. Pray to Krishna, chant his holy name, hear about his past times. That itself will give us shelter.
That itself will give us relief. Now when problems come, our response to the problems often is a bigger problem. Yes, the problem is there, but if I keep constantly thinking about this, suppose I lose my job, I become so overwhelmed, I become so burdened, I become so depressed, I can’t do anything.
Now, yes, if I lose my job, I have to find a new job and I have to work to find that job. But if I let that burden my mind 24 hours a day, that’s of no use. So I decide, okay, just as I was working for 8 hours, I will make a plan, 8 hours I will keep searching for a job.
And other times I let my life go on. I will take shelter of Krishna. So, basically, if we absorb ourselves in Krishna, the torment of the problem no longer is there.
The problem has not gone away, it’s out there and I may have to go in the heat again. But at least now, that’s what I meant by relief amidst problems. And actually that is no small thing.
When problems come, they just catch us mentally. And that problem is not as big a problem as our mind is holding on to it. So that we are freed from because we absorb ourselves in Krishna.
And then when we are calm, we are cool, we are comfortable, we can come out again and we can deal with the problem. And because we are calm and clear, we can better deal with the heat. So if we absorb ourselves in Krishna and then we face the problem, okay, we will be able to better deal with the problem.
Whether it is tolerating it, whether it is correcting it, whether it is finding some new way to try to deal with it. Intelligence will become much clearer and in due course of time, we will discover that through that problem, Krishna brought something even better. That may be very difficult to see at that time.
So we don’t see Krishna Bhakti as insurance against problems. We see that as transcendence to problems. Problems will come but Krishna Bhakti will help us raise our consciousness about the problems, so that they won’t torment us so much.
And as we keep practicing Krishna Bhakti, we will become calmer and we will be able to deal with the problems also. So problems in life, the good thing about problems in life is that like everything else in this world, even problems are temporary. So when the problems come, sometimes all that we need to do is just tolerate, calm, be patient, be tolerant.
They will come, they will stay for some time, they will go away. So rather than expecting that the problems should not come, we can focus on praying to Krishna, what should I do in such a situation. Prabhupada asked, what is the best prayer we can offer to Krishna.
Prabhupada said, pray to Krishna, please give me the strength to serve you. Krishna, how can I serve you now? If we can just make this one change when the problems come, change the question that we are asking from why to how. Why is this happening? Why is this happening? Why is Krishna letting this happen? Why is Krishna not protecting me? As long as that why question in a practical sense has no answer.
So it is just that why question is simply a recipe for frustration. Sometimes people behave unreasonably, sometimes so many things go wrong in life, but we just can’t know why it happens. So just change the question to how.
Krishna says, how can I serve you now? How can I move forward now? How can I take steps forward now? If we just change that question from why to how, we will find that a path will emerge. So I can take one step, I can take one step and I can keep taking steps, keep taking steps forward. The problems of today are never too much for today.
What the mind does is it adds on top of the problems of today, the problems of yesterday and the problems of tomorrow. And when the problems of yesterday and tomorrow are added on, it becomes unbearable. So what we need to do is, the mind worries, this goes wrong, what if that goes wrong? And the mind just makes us miserable.
So what happens is, when we habituate our mind to practicing Krishna bhakti, then the mind, we don’t let the mind go into the past and the future and just focus the mind on Krishna. And then, when the mind becomes calm by the shelter of Krishna, we can see the problem of today without becoming horrified by the problems of yesterday and the problems of tomorrow. And yes, this is the problem, let me do this.
One, two, three. Keep doing this, we will be able to deal with that problem. Krishna assures us, mat-chitta-sarva-durjani mat-prasada-karishasi if you become conscious of me, you will pass over all obstacles by my grace.
Krishna is not saying obstacles will not come. The same Krishna who spoke the Bhagavad Gita to Arjuna, after that Arjuna fought the Kurukshetra war and that he faced obstacles. Talked about how his own son was killed.
But, despite all those obstacles, Arjuna remained devoted to Krishna and Krishna took him to ultimate victory. So, the problems will come but Krishna will raise us above the problems. So, when the problems come, rather than becoming problem conscious, why is this problem coming? We can try to become Krishna conscious.
That means, we don’t see Krishna in the light of the problem. What does that mean? That means, the problem becomes the defining reality for us. If this problem is there, then, where is Krishna? What is Krishna doing? Does Krishna even exist? So, the problem has become the defining reality in our life.
But, if you keep Krishna as the defining reality, then, okay, Krishna is there, this problem is there. Let me see, Krishna, please guide me, what can I do now? If you want me to tolerate, give me the strength to tolerate. If you want me to change something, please give me the intelligence to change that.
So, we try to stay Krishna conscious, not problem conscious. Don’t tell God how big your problems are. Tell your problems, how big God is.
Great.