When our material responsibilities impede our spiritual growth, what can we do?
Answer Podcast
Transcript
This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
so the external situation such that our internal longing for Krishna gets decreased by that that’s why we need association understanding association basically like-minded association is extremely important Bhaktivinoda Thakur says and like-minded association basically means that we need some devotees who understand our mind and who help us to understand our mind who understand our mind and who help us to understand our mind say if we are going through a particular relationship issue and then if somebody who has never been through that kind of issue say somebody has come from a very troubled upbringing and somebody has come from a very wonderful upbringing they don’t even understand the kind of baggage we are carrying and they don’t understand why are you so insecure why are you so sentimental why is this why are that just have faith in Krishna now have faith in Krishna is wonderful advice but it’s very frustrating and disheartening for a devotee when they come with a practical problem and they are given a philosophical solution now practical problems also require practical understanding practical suggestions so we need to find in the devotee association those who can understand our mind and then that is ok you are feeling like this this is maya that is no use speaking like that ok feeling like this this is how i am feeling i cannot stop my feelings i cannot suppress my feelings i want to process them it’s like feelings are it’s like if somebody says i am feeling very cold it’s not cold stop feeling cold what do you mean stop feeling cold i am feeling cold feeling cold i am feeling cold i am cold i am feeling cold i am cold i am feeling cold i am feeling cold i am feeling cold i am feeling cold i am feeling cold i am feeling cold i am feeling cold i am feeling i am feeling cold i am feeling cold i am feeling i am feeling cold i am cold cold i am feeling and I do this seva, I do this much sadhana, this, this, this. And it’s good to have those goals and good to stick to those goals. But sometimes if we can’t succeed in that, that doesn’t mean our Krishna consciousness is a failure.
So to fail out of Krishna consciousness means because I’m not able to do this, this, this, this, so let me give up Krishna consciousness. It’s not practical for me. I have to follow the Lord, it’s just too lofty, whatever.
But to fail in Krishna consciousness means Krishna, I still want to serve you. I still want to be your devotee. But this situation is conditioning, it’s obstructing me.
So I have fallen so low, but still I want to serve you. And I will do what I can in this situation. So that way, we won’t, we let our situations completely take us away from our Krishna consciousness.
We may have to adjust certain things, but that is okay. That’s just what life is. In the Lila Amrit, it’s described that when Prabhupada was in Alahabad, he, Prabhupada in his previous life was a pharmacist.
And there was a dispenser, so there was a doctor who would give the prescription and Prabhupada would actually fill the prescription and do the medication. So there’s an interview of this doctor. And he says, it is clear that Abhay Babu, Prabhupada was in Abhay Babu at that time.
So Abhay Babu was a deeply religious person. But at that time, the main question in his mind was, how can I have a more money? Prabhupada had daughters to be married. One of his sons was very sick.
He had family obligations and he was concerned. The Gaudiya Mahadev devotees at that time thought, why doesn’t he move into the temple? Why is he just staying with attached householders? Prabhupada was not attached. Prabhupada was responsible.
Prabhupada was committed. So, if we have devotees who understand, so for Prabhupada, he has come to the master and he says, don’t force him. He will do everything in his own way.
So Prabhupada had that understanding from his spiritual master. So when we are going through particular situations, we need to have some devotees who understand us and who help us understand our mind. Then we can go through those situations as they are helping us.
So our purpose always remains the same, but our pace may be different. If we equate bhakti with a particular pace, not just a particular purpose, then we start feeling that bhakti can’t be practiced. If I have to go at this speed only, sometimes we cannot go at that speed, but still you keep going in that direction.
So bhakti is not just about the pace, it is primarily about the purpose. And the pace can be varied according to situations.