If we fail in our resolution after sticking to it for some time how to avoid becoming discouraged?

Answer Podcast

Transcript

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so if we decide to do a particular thing and we not do a particular thing we stick to it for some time maybe a few months but then after that there is a relapse so no we should never make giving up something as the standard of the practice of our bhakti bhakti is not about giving up things it is about taking up things taking up our service to Krishna doing things in Krishna’s service yes as a part of doing certain things in Krishna’s service we also have to give up some things but when we measure the standard of our bhakti based on what I have given up it’s not a Krishna centered focus and the nature of this world is that all of us are vulnerable to lapses some things can go wrong and it is if we have made my resolutions I will give this up I think that is the standard of my success in bhakti then I feel for 3 months I was successful and now I have become a failure but it’s not like that the standard of success in bhakti is how much I am connecting with Krishna and this particular activity disconnects me from Krishna and that’s why I don’t want to do it but the central focus in bhakti is connecting with Krishna so yes after 3 months say I had a relapse in a particular thing but if I focus too much on that then I may think that no the 3 months was all a waste because ultimately I didn’t succeed no 3 months I connected with Krishna and that is a success we don’t have to measure the standard of our bhakti simply by what we are giving up you can measure the standard of our bhakti by what we are doing it’s one important thing actually this is a big subject but sometimes we make our bhakti too much renunciation centered the battle against temptation is different from the war for devotion the war for devotion is a big thing within that the battle against temptation is one thing we want to win this battle but this battle is not the war the war for devotion is the war for connecting with Krishna the battle against temptation is the battle to avoid something which disconnects me from Krishna our main purpose is the war for devotion it is not the battle against temptation of course if we are progressing in devotion naturally we will win the battle against temptation but our purpose is not winning the battle against temptation our purpose is winning the war for devotion connecting with Krishna now with respect to the temptations now all of us have different capacities for dealing with temptations there are the six opulences of Krishna there is beauty, strength wealth, knowledge, renunciation, fame now we understand that these opulences come by past good karma somebody is very beautiful somebody is not so beautiful just because somebody looks very good that does not mean that they are automatically spiritually advanced somebody you understand somebody is very wealthy that doesn’t mean they are automatically spiritually advanced just as wealth and beauty can be used in Krishna’s service somebody has wealth they can use it in Krishna’s service they have much more stability they don’t have to worry so much they can serve Krishna better but wealth itself is not a sign of spiritual advancement just as wealth and beauty can come by past karma even renunciation can come by past karma so of course renunciation can also come by practice of bhakti by practice of bhakti vairagya comes but for some people giving up something may be relatively easy for some people because for them by their past karma renunciation is opulence that they have for others by their past karma renunciation may be opulence they have relatively lesser so now those just as those who have wealth can use it in Krishna’s service similarly those who have renunciation they can use it in Krishna’s service if they have renunciation then they will be less distracted in the practice of bhakti but still renunciation has to be used in Krishna’s service so sometimes when we make renunciation the standard of our devotion then what is happening we are focusing on something that could well be a result of past karma you know this devotee is doing this I am not able to do this and therefore what is the use of my practice of bhakti no my practice of bhakti should be going on with respect to renunciation this devotee may be starting from here and I may be starting from here but that devotee by practicing bhakti is moving like this by my practice of bhakti I am also moving up so if I consider that devotee’s renunciation although both of us may have come to bhakti at the same time but you know the renunciation level which we may be at may be different because it is a result of past karma and whichever level we are at from there we will move up by the practice of bhakti but we don’t have to make renunciation the standard of our devotion we have to make our connection with Krishna so rather than thinking oh after 3 months I again relapsed what is the use now focus on what did I do for those 3 months 3 months I was connected with Krishna ok this lapse happened let me try to understand what happened why it happened when this happened I could have done this but I did this we learn from it this is the way I succumb to this this is how the temptation came if I can avoid this exposure to this temptation I can avoid putting myself in this situation I can do that whatever it is practical but the more important thing is 3 months I stayed connected with Krishna without being distracted by the temptation let me again connect with Krishna when we make our bhakti Krishna centered rather than renunciation centered then we won’t become too discouraged by lapses we will stay encouraged moving over towards Krishna now of course some lapses may be very serious say if somebody is doing something unethical that person can not just say its just my conditioning and we have to what the lapse we are talking about we will have to consider that in specific cases but if its just a higher level of purity that we are aspiring for and we are struggling with a higher level of purity that’s perfect its a gradual process we just keep focusing on the practice of bhakti and gradually we will move towards higher levels of renunciation also so rather than make worrying ourselves worrying about the lapses whatever we focus on what we are doing between the lapses if we are connecting with Krishna then gradually those lapses will decrease in frequency and then they will go away does it answer your question? great any other questions?