Is thinking that we may not attain Krishna in one life being realistic or being lethargic?
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Transcript
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thank you initially we heard that we just give one lifetime to Krishna and we’ll go back to him, we’ll attain him but now after practicing for many years we are told or we also feel that maybe it is going to take many lifetimes so is it that we have lost enthusiasm or is it that we have become more realistic in our practice of bhakti actually the most important thing in the practice of bhakti is not whether, not when we attain Krishna the most important thing is that we stay connected with Krishna whether it is, if we are connected with Krishna whether it is in this life or in future life, whether in this world or in the next world it doesn’t matter so much those who are devoted to Narayan whether they are in whether they are in this world or in a hellish world or in a heavenly place it’s all the same because they are connected with Krishna so the idea that just by giving one life to Krishna I can attain him that is true we can attain Krishna but suppose say now I came by flight from India to America and say I am coming to America to meet someone here but I have never met that person till now and then I come by the whole flight from India to America and then I come to the place where I am supposed to meet that person and I knock on the door and I open the door and then I find that the person who opens the door was the person who was sitting next to me in my flight but I did not know who that person was that’s why I didn’t recognize him so when we say that we are to attain Krishna Krishna is right there in our heart so it’s not that we are to attain Krishna in the future but in one sense Krishna is right now also with us but because we have not experienced Krishna directly, personally so we don’t realize his presence so if we have too much of a future focus in bhakti thinking that I am going to attain Krishna in future then that prevents us from the opportunity of experiencing Krishna right now so yes what is, rather than worrying about whether I will attain Krishna in one life or many lives we can focus instead on how can I best connect with Krishna now so yes, it may be that in the initial days of our practice of bhakti we are little fanatical we think that practicing Krishna bhakti means rejecting everything else but then we start thinking I cannot reject everything else so then that does not necessarily again mean that that is any necessarily weakening of the practice of bhakti we want to practice bhakti in a sustainable way so how best we can connect with Krishna in a sustainable way is what each one of us has to learn, according to our nature according to our circumstances and if we are connected with Krishna in a sustainable way throughout our life then irrespective of whether we attain Krishna at the end of this life or at the end of future lives it won’t matter so much because our connection with Krishna is already situating us in transcendence and if some people feel oh the expectations that you have to attain Krishna after this one in one life the expectations or standard of practice are very high and that’s why even if it takes many lifetimes it’s ok then we need to know that every individual is different and we cannot expect everyone to practice bhakti with the same intensity at the same pace and the Vedic culture actually accommodates people, it offers karma kanda, it offers jnana kanda it offers different kinds of yoga, it offers bhakti yoga so by Shri Prabhupada’s mercy we have the express way for going towards Krishna but just because somebody is no longer able to follow the express speed of the express way that does not mean that those people are fallen they are also practicing bhakti in a way that they can but that also, just because they are practicing bhakti in a way they can that does not mean that the standard has changed so, it may be that some devotees cannot follow at a very high level we should not become judgmental about them at the same time, if we associate with those devotees then we may also, we may unnecessarily undercut our own prospects, underutilize our own potential so we try to associate with serious devotees and try to practice bhakti seriously but we don’t become judgmental about others just like some devotees are saying that okay, I cannot practice it so seriously even if it takes me several lifetimes I’ll keep practicing bhakti that’s okay we don’t have to become judgmental and criticize them, nor do we have to become sentimental and think I’ll also become like them we try to practice bhakti in a way that is sustainable for us and yes, if we practice bhakti sustainably, we need to know that Krishna is not trying to keep us away from him it’s not that Krishna wants us to stay away from him for many lifetimes if we can make Krishna our strongest desire then Krishna will take us to him so if we have other desires which are stronger than our desire for Krishna then to fulfill those desires, we will have to stay in this world but if by the practice of bhakti we can make Krishna our strongest desire to make Krishna our only desire is very unrealistic for most of us, it’s somewhat unrealistic at the very least, we can try to make Krishna our strongest desire and if we do that Krishna will beautify us Krishna will say, this is what you want this is what I will give you so rather than worrying whether we will attain Krishna after one life or after another or after many lifetimes, we can focus on how we can practice Krishna bhakti right now in a sustainable way and if we keep practicing in a sustainable way we will be able to elevate up practice sustainably at this level over time we will understand, okay I can move to this level I can move to this level and gradually we will move onwards so without getting too future focused of when we will attain Krishna we can know that yam labdha cha param labham manyate na dikham tata yasmin sthiton dukhenam gurunapini cha lide it is said about the yogi understand that what I have attained now there is nothing more to attain and no matter what misery comes in my life I will not give this up and if one is in that state then tam vidya dukha sanyogam vyogam yogasangitam this itself is freedom from misery because the greatest misery comes not just by the ups and downs of this world the greatest misery for a devotee comes because of disconnection from Krishna so if we stay connected with Krishna then we will we are even now largely significantly situated in transcendence yes it’s not that we need to judge others if they are not following very strictly now do we have to become proud that I am following strictly the important thing is how can I sustainably practice bhakti how can I sustainably connect with Krishna and if I sustainably connect with Krishna we will in due course of time attain Krishna does it address your question thank you very much shreemad bhagavad gita ki jai krishna prabhupada ki jai jai jai shreemad applause applause applause applause applause