If we are not to slave for worldly recognition, how can we go ahead in life?

From Sanjay Agarwal P

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
If we are not to slave for worldly revolution, then how can we go ahead in life? The answer is by using our talents to glorify Krishna and to serve him and all his children in his service. It is not that when we say we should not slave for worldly recognition, that does not mean that we don’t try to achieve things in life. We do want to achieve things and Krishna also urges us to achieve things.
But the purpose is different. Arjuna was a Kshatriya and he was not just an ordinary Kshatriya, he was the world’s greatest archer. And obviously he worked hard.
In fact, it is described that as a practicing archer, he would practically not sleep at night. And he would be shooting invisible targets in the darkness of the night to perfect his archery. So obviously he was working hard.
But what was his motive? His motive was to serve Krishna, to glorify Krishna. Similarly, when we are the students or professionals or whatever it is that we are doing in our life, we see that as a means to glorify Krishna. By your work, worship him, worship that Lord.
So how do we worship him by our work? First of all, we allocate some time from our day wherein we devote ourselves to practicing devotional service exclusively by chanting the holy names, by studying scriptures and by associating with devotees. And then after that, the remaining time of the day, we are going to do our professional duties, our worldly obligations. And we do them in a mode of devotion.
Krishna, it is by your arrangement that I am put in this situation. And let me do this as service to you. So if we are working, we give a part of our work’s earning to charity.
But along with that also, whatever we do, if we are devoted to Krishna and we are doing our material work competently, then that attracts people to Krishna. When they say, okay, this person is a devotee and still the devotee is so good. In fact, if we become good in our worldly activities, students become toppers, professionals become high-performance professionals, then people will ask, what makes you click? And then we can tell them, yes, it is my spiritual foundation.
It is my devotional connection with Krishna that gives me a calm mind, it gives me clear thinking capacity and that enables me to concentrate and achieve. So in that way, it is not that when… So the motive for a devotee, when devotee tries to work hard and do wonderful things, it is not that, oh, people will come and praise me. The devotee’s motive is that, actually, let people’s glorification be going to Krishna.
If it goes through me, that is wonderful. I don’t object to that and I want to glorify Krishna. And somebody has to do wonderful things so that Krishna will be glorified.
So if Krishna wants that to be me, let it be me. So we don’t have to, in the name of not seeking glorification, not do glorious things. If we have the talent and the ability, we should do glorious things.
But our happiness will not come from the praise that we get when we do glorious things. Our happiness, if we are devotees, will come from our remembrance of Krishna and our devotion to Krishna. And that happiness will be lasting, whereas the happiness which comes from praise from others will be fleeting.
And secondly, even when we don’t have any extraordinary talents and so we are not able to do glorious things, if we do our work to the best of our capacity in the service of Krishna, then that will give us fulfillment, even if we are not able to get worldly recognition. So what is to be changed is not the drive to perform in life and to move ahead in life, but it is the driving force. What drives us is our bhakti for Krishna and our desire to please and glorify Krishna according to our capacity.
And that will truly take us ahead in life, material life. And we go ahead. And most people see, want to go ahead, but they don’t see what is ahead.
They don’t see that ultimately what is ahead is old age, disease, death and again samsara chakra. But a devotee goes truly ahead. Ahead means out of the cycle of birth and death and out of it back into the spiritual world for an eternal life of love and happiness with Krishna.
Thank you. All right, Krishna.