When our prayers are unanswered

[Talk at Radha Krishna Cultural Center, Goldcoast, Australia]

Video:

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
Hare Krishna.
I’m grateful to be here amongst all of you today, and I’ll be speaking on the topic of when our prayers are not answered. So, I’ll speak this broadly in three parts, and after each part we’ll have some reflections, so if any point spoke to you, you can share that, and then in the end we’ll have question and answer. So, I’ll divide this in three broad parts.
First is that God is not just a means to an end, God is himself an end. The second point is that God’s plan is different from ours. We look at the present and plan the future, God looks at the future and plans the present.
And the third point is, don’t let expectation of a fulfilled prayer block us from the power of connection with God. So, let’s begin. The first point is that God is not just a means to an end, but rather he is himself an end, he is the ultimate end.
There are two broad conceptions of religion, there is material religion and spiritual religion. Material religion means that the idea is that this world is the most important thing in the world, in existence, and all of reality centers around this world, and God, if he exists, is a tool to help us make our life happier in this world. So, material religion means religion is a tool to material things, and this is the idea of religion which most people have.
And based on this, when we approach God, often the prayer becomes a tool for, for lack of a better word, manipulation. Once a person took a lottery, and with that lottery, it was one million dollar lottery, and he went to God and he said, Oh God, if I win this lottery, I’ll give you 50%. And he waited, the result came after, after one week, and when he went and saw the result, he won the prize.
And he was delighted, and then he noticed, that actually he had won the second prize. The first prize was one million dollars, the second prize was, how much? Half of that, half a million dollars. So, he looked at it, thought about it, and he went to God, and he said, Oh God, you are so clever, you took your share before only.
So, the idea is here, that God, when we pray to God, the idea is that we use God to get certain things. Once there were three religions, who were always quarreling and conflicting with each other. So, all three followers of three religions went to God and they prayed.
So, followers of religion A prayed, Oh God, please destroy the followers of religion B. The followers of religion B went and prayed, Oh God, please destroy the followers of religion E. The followers of religion C went and said, Oh God, I don’t want anything for myself. Just fulfill the prayers of the followers of religion A and B. So, the idea here is what? That prayer in material religion is often a tool for getting God to do the things that we want, but we can’t. Now, this is not a bad thing, at least we are approaching God.
And Krishna says that, those who approach God like this, they are also, So, those who want some, well, those who want some relief from distress, Krishna says, they are Sukrutina. In the 7th chapter, 16th verse he says, they are also biased people. However, when they evolve, this is 16th verse in the 7th chapter, then 17th, 18th and 19th verse.
Three verses later Krishna talks about their evolution. And when they evolve, what happens? So, after many lifetimes of spiritual evolution, they become full of knowledge. And when they become full of knowledge, we have the word Dhannavaan.
Does anyone know what Dhannavaan means? Sorry? Yes, Dhannavaan. Vaan is possessor. So, one who possesses wealth.
So, Dhyanavaan means, one who is the rich with knowledge, one who possesses knowledge. So, Dhyanavaan, when they become knowledgeable, what happens? What is withdrawal understanding? That God, Krishna, Vasudeva, He is everything. And those who understand this, they are very rare.
They are not ordinary people. So, now this understanding, what does it mean? There are so many attractive things in this world. There is wealth, there is power, there is prestige, there are positions, so many enjoyments.
So, what does it mean Vasudeva Sarvamiti? Do all these things not exist? No, they all exist. And they all have some capacity to provide us enjoyment. And not just providing enjoyment, many other things in life we need for our very existence.
But, what the Bhagavad Gita tells us is that everything attractive in this world comes from God. It is sustained by God. It manifests a spark of God’s attractiveness.
In 10.41 the Bhagavad Gita Krishna says, that everything attractive, its attractiveness is like a spark. And God is like the sun. So, everything attractive, it is attractive, no doubt about it.
But its attractiveness is very small. Another example we could use is say of a ocean. And in the ocean there is a beach and then away from the beach as we move there is a desert.
And we are somewhere here, some distance from the ocean. And now there are drops of water sprinkled everywhere. Some drops of the ocean is here, we are here.
Some drops of water are here itself. If we pursue those drops of water, we will just stay equidistant from the ocean. There are some drops of water just sprinkled over here.
If we pursue those drops of water, we will actually die of thirst eventually. Because that will take us away from the reservoir of water, the oasis. The ocean and the oasis also.
So, there are some drops of water which take us towards the ocean and the oasis. So now, everything attractive comes from God. But everything attractive doesn’t take us to God.
So now, everything attractive, it is important, it can give us pleasure, it can give us shelter. But whatever it can give us is like a drop. Whereas what God himself is, is like the oasis, the vast oasis, a reservoir of water.
So spiritual religion means understanding that our real life is at the spiritual level. That we are meant to connect with God. And therein, in love for him, is life’s supreme satisfaction.
So he is all attractive, he is eternal. And we are also eternal. So when the eternal soul, we as souls are eternal, as the body, we will all have to die.
But when the eternal soul connects with the eternal whole, then there is eternal love. And that eternal love is life’s ultimate purpose. We are all on a multi-life journey of spiritual evolution.
Spiritual evolution means, the evolution of our spiritual understanding. A child thinks that the most important thing in the world is a toy. Or a game.
Even before that, infant thinks that the most important thing in the world is if I am crying, somebody should come and pacify me. So, but as the child grows up, what happens? Child understands, yes, toys are important, but there are many more important things in life also. So similarly, the toy has the capacity to give pleasure.
But how much? And how long? Little pleasure for a short time. As the child grows up into an adult, and understands, there are so many more important things to do in life. I can have a career, I can make some fulfilling contributions, I can have a family, I can take care of others.
I can do so much more in life than playing with a toy. So just as a child grows up, and a child’s conception of what is important evolves. Similarly, as we grow spiritually, our conception of what is important evolves.
So spiritual evolution is essentially the evolution in our understanding of what is truly important. And as that understanding grows, we’ll recognize things of the world are important, but ultimately, how much and how long? So they are being captivated by them is like staying in a childish state spiritually. And when you grow up, we mature, then we understand Krishna is life’s ultimate purpose.
Whatever I may get by anything in this world, I’ll get it all through Krishna. If I connect with Him, I’ll get everything that I need through Him. And therefore, Vasudeva Sarvamiti has a famous prayer.
It says, You are my mother. You are my father. You are my brother.
You are my friend. You are my knowledge. You are my wealth.
You, oh Lord, are my everything. So the idea is, it’s not literal that God is the mother or God is the father, that whatever love we get from the mother, whatever love we get from the father, whatever affection we get from our brothers or sisters or friends, whatever shelter, whatever position we get by our wealth, by our knowledge, all that ultimately is coming from God. It is God who is giving us all these.
Whatever, whoever gives to us, it is God who is giving us. And therefore, You, oh Lord, are my everything. So, if we want to relate with God with the conception of material religion, then we think, okay, I’ll go to God, I’ll pray for this, and if I get it, God is good, God exists, God cares.
And if God does not give what I want, then maybe God doesn’t exist or maybe God doesn’t care or maybe God is bad. So God is non-existent, God is irrelevant or God is malignant. So, for most people today, God is, they consider it irrelevant.
Okay, maybe God exists, so what? Because they think, okay, I can work and I can fulfill whatever I want to get, my desires. But as long as we are at the level of material religion, we will find that our connection with God will stay very unstable. Whereas, if we evolve to the spiritual level, that is when our conception will evolve and expand enough to understand how God is answering our prayers even when He seems to be not answering.
So that is the first point that God is not just a means to an end, He is the ultimate end Himself. So any comments about this? Any thoughts? Any reflections? Anything that struck you? Yes, please. Okay.
Okay, am I worshipping the wrong God? Oh, that assumes there is a right God and a wrong God also. Yeah, maybe I have to worship through some other path. Yeah, it happens.
In India, sometimes, there are a lot of Christian missionaries who try to convert Indians. So what they do is that in their hospitals, not all Christians, some people, their hospitals, they give people just some water as an injection, they give some sugar pills as medicine and people are not treated, they become sicker and sicker and then they say, you know, actually, this disease is not so easily curable. You pray to your God.
They pray to their God and still, what happens? They continue with the same medicine, which is not a medicine and they keep getting worse. You pray to your God, He will help you, so you pray to our God. And when they pray to their God, when they pray to Jesus, then they give the actual medicine.
When they give the actual medicine, people get cured and they get cured. Oh, just see, our God saved your life. Our God is the true God.
Your God is the false God. Now, you should give your life to God. So that’s how they sometimes try to convert.
So that idea is, false God, true God can also be there. Any other comments? Yes, please. Yeah, yeah.
That’s true. Sometimes we become, we think of something as more important than what it is. The nature of the mind is, that once it starts believing that something is enjoyable, it stops examining whether it is actually enjoyable or whether it is even actually essential.
Just like a child sometimes becomes adamant, I want this toy, I want this toy, I want this toy. And the parents may labor a lot to get that toy and if they don’t get the toy, what happens? The child says, children at their level are very expert. If your parents don’t give the toy, you don’t love me only.
So, the parents may be doing a hundred things for the child, but if one thing is not done, you don’t love. And if the parents do give the toy, what happens? They take the toy, play it for some time and put it aside. So, sometimes we also become like that.
We become too hooked to expecting one thing to be done and we don’t really evaluate how essential is it for me. Do I really need it? Is it really all that enjoyable that I think it is? So, if we can let go of our ego, we can actually move forward in life and find that better things are awaiting us. So, that leads us to the second point which I am going to make.
Second point is that God’s plan works differently from ours. We see the present and plan the future. Whereas God sees the future and plans the present.
Now, what this means is that both God and us, we are working for the same purpose. God also wants us to be happy. We also want to be happy.
God wants us to ultimately have auspiciousness in our life. That’s what we also want. But often our vision is short term.
Whereas his vision is much more long term. Suppose there is a patient who is sick and somebody is sick and in pain. At that time, the doctors usually give two forms of medication.
There is analgesic and there is antiseptic. Analgesic helps in dealing with pain. Is that right? We have a doctor here with us.
You can correct me if I am wrong. So, there is a pain medication, analgesic and then there is an actual cure. Now, what happens is from the patient’s perspective, take the antiseptic, it may take some time to work.
The analgesic, immediately it works. So now, from the patient’s perspective, the patient may not even understand what disease I have. The patient perceives the disease primarily in the form of the pain.
And, if something gives relief from the pain, it’s good. And, that’s what the patient wants. Patient wants relief from the pain.
And the pain medication does give that. But, sometimes the patient may become so short sighted, the patient may start thinking, actually this pain medication is so cheap. This antiseptic is so expensive.
Why do I need to spend so much money on the antiseptic? I’ll just take the analgesic. And, I am free from pain. Now, the doctor will give both the analgesic and the antiseptic.
But, if the patient stops taking the antiseptic, then, although the pain may be going away temporarily, but the pain is not being cured. It is being covered. And, at such times, sometimes the doctor may say, don’t take the analgesic.
The doctor may take, if the patient is in the hospital, the doctor may take all the analgesics away. The patient says, no, I am in pain, give me this. He says, no, take this.
No, I don’t want that, just give me this. He says, no, take this. No! Now, both the patient and the doctor want the patient to be healthy.
But, what is happening? The patient is looking at the present and planning the future. I have pain right now, I pop this pill, my pain goes away. The doctor is looking at the future and planning the present.
Right now, this patient has a serious disease. And, in the future, it can even become fatal. The antiseptic has to be taken right now.
So, sometimes, the analgesic may be withdrawn by the doctor so that the patient focuses on the antiseptic. This is what you have to take. No, no, no, I want this.
No, you are not going to get this, take this. If there is nothing, the patient may take it at that time. So, God’s plan and our plan ultimately are for the same purpose.
But, sometimes, they appear to work at cross-purpose. They appear, they are not actually working at cross-purpose. Now, what is an analgesic and what is antiseptic for us? We are all souls.
And, in this world, we have various material needs and material desires. At a very basic level, we need food, clothing, shelter. We need, nowadays, heat, light, electricity, internet.
These are also, have come to the level of necessities now. They are not luxury, they are necessities. But, whatever it is, we have all these needs.
And, for us, if these are not there, it causes great pain to us. If you are thirsty and there is no water, it causes great pain. If you are hungry and there is no food.
Once, I was traveling from India, from one corner to the other corner, Calcutta to Mumbai. And, in between, there is a big flood. So, it was like a 20-hour travel.
But, because of the flood, the train went to another path and it became a 73-hour travel. And, we were just in the train for 73 hours. And, we had just packed food for one day.
And, we did not have any food over there. And, somehow, because of the flood and everything, whichever station the train would stop, there were no fruits available over there. So, no fruit.
Normally, we take food which is cooked and offered to Krishna. So, there is just no food available at all. Anything you want to take, maybe there are some groundnuts available somewhere.
So, that was the time, actually, we discovered the power of groundnuts. We just took some groundnuts. And, groundnuts give a lot of nourishment.
Although, initially, the groundnuts were so small. You take it. You see beyond the smallness.
And, actually, you take it. That is given a good amount of strength. They are peanuts, basically.
But, anyway, So, when the food is not available, at that time, it causes great agitation. And, it is required. But, if you look at it, after we get food, what happens? The absence of food causes pain.
But, the availability of food does not really bring much positive joy. Unless the food is a dessert or a great delicacy. Okay, I eat the food.
And, what next now? So, food is required. But, it is like a painkiller. It is like an analgesic.
It is required. Its absence causes pain. But, its presence does not solve any ultimate problem.
There is what we live with. And, what we live for. If you are driving a car.
And, if you run out of fuel. It is a big problem. We need to get the fuel for the car.
But, suppose somebody is driving. We ask him, where are you going? I am going to fuel my car. Okay, after that? Then, I will go to the next gas station to fuel my car.
After that? No, next gas station. But, where are you going? I am just going to gas station to fuel my car. But, what after that? No, that is what I am doing with my car.
No, that is not what car is meant for. It is what we drive with. And, what we drive for.
We drive with the car. And, the car requires fuel. But, we drive for some purpose.
To go to meet someone. To go to work. To go to college.
For some purpose. Now, what we live with is important. But, what we live for is even more important.
So, what we live with are the things of the world. It can be food, clothing, shelter, money. Some social position.
In today’s world, some comforts and facilities. They are all required. But, they are what we live with.
But, what do we live for? What is it that we are ultimately pursuing through all this? So, if this is what we live for. Then, all this is temporary. The wealth that we have today.
It is not going to be there with us after we die. Even the knowledge that we have. The learning that we have.
Very little of it is going to carry over with us. So, these things, they are like analgesics. For us, for us to become treated.
What is the root cause of our dissatisfaction is? That we are in material consciousness. We are disconnected from God. As I said, Krishna is all attractive.
Krishna is eternal. And, love for him leads to absorption in him. And, that leads to supreme satisfaction.
So, that is life’s ultimate purpose. That is what we are meant to live for. And, Krishna pushes us in various ways towards that.
Krishna pushes us in various ways to focus on him. To devote ourselves to him. And, to become absorbed lovingly in him.
And, while we are doing that. Krishna also provides us the things of the world. Just like a doctor gives both the antiseptic and the analgesic.
Similarly, Krishna gives us material needs also of life. But, Krishna’s primary purpose is our spiritual growth. And, sometimes if we get too infatuated with something material.
And, we think this is what my life is meant for. This is what I want. Without this, my life is useless.
Then, that is like a patient focusing only on the analgesic. And, neglecting the antiseptic. And, the doctor may stop it.
So, like that sometimes Krishna may take away or withhold. Something which we think is very important. Temporarily.
And, we pray for it. We beg for it. And, it doesn’t come.
And, then we feel, why? Doesn’t God answer my prayers? Actually, God does answer our prayers. But, God is himself the ultimate answer to our prayers. That, ultimately what we need is God.
Krishna is Krishna’s greatest blessing. So, when our prayers are not being answered. Rather than obsessing, why is this not happening? Why is this not happening? Why is this not happening? We focus on connecting ourselves with Krishna.
We focus on growing spiritually. On growing spiritually. When I was about one.
At that time, my parents gave me a… I was in India, in a remote place. So, there was a fear of polio over there. So, my parents took me to the doctor and gave me the polio vaccine.
And, I came back. And, the next day… I don’t remember this. My parents told me all this afterwards.
That, I was just walking and suddenly I collapsed. And, I just couldn’t walk again. My parents were alarmed.
They rushed me to the doctor. And, later they found out that the doctor had made a mess with the vaccine. He had not kept it in proper refrigeration.
And, that vaccine’s quantity had become too much. So, the vaccine, instead of protecting me from polio, ended up giving me polio. Parents were shattered by that.
And, then they were… As I grew up, my mother would tell me… That, every day I pray to God. Let your leg be healed. And, they tried many, many different treatments.
This doctor, that doctor, traditional… Allopathic medicine, Ayurvedic medicine, massage therapy, this, that… So many things they tried. And, somehow, sometimes my leg improved and again it regressed. Again it improved, again it regressed.
Nothing happened. And, eventually, that… Somehow, because I was not physically very active, I became intellectually quite active. I used to read a lot.
I loved to read. I loved to study. And, in my 10th standard exam, I came the first, in a particular category, in the whole state of Maharashtra.
Just like several crore people. At that time, the head of the whole district came to our house to felicitate me. And, my parents were there.
And, at that time, my mother told me afterwards, that, now I understand how God fulfilled my prayer. He said that, what God took away in physical ability, He gave you in intellectual ability. If you had been physically very active, you would never have focused on studying like this.
So, at that time, Krishna sees the future and plans the present. So, all these years, she thought that, why is God not answering my prayers? But, God answered her prayers in a different way. So, of course, she always took very great care of me.
And, she never made me feel that I was deficient because of lacking proper mobility or whatever. But, the important thing is that, sometimes it may take several years for us to understand what God’s plan is. In nature, we see that God breaks things to make them better.
If we see, clouds in the sky often look beautiful. It can be different. There is a whole hobby of cloud watching.
This cloud is of this kind, this cloud is of this kind, this cloud is of this kind. So, clouds are beautiful. But, clouds have to be broken so that rains can come through them.
And, clouds are beautiful, but rains are what sustain life on the earth. If you only had beautiful clouds with no rains, you would die. When the rains come, then they nourish the soil.
But, for the soil to give vegetation, the soil has to be broken. It has to be ploughed, especially if you want to cultivate, irrigate, get greens. Then, greens, when we get them, the greens need to be broken to be made into edible foodstuffs.
Then, the edible foodstuff, when we eat it, when we have food in the plate, sometimes when I travel to different places, devotees sometimes make so many items. Actually, this is so beautiful, I feel bad about disturbing it by eating it. It is so artistically decorated.
So, now, the food will be looking very attractively, artistically decorated. But, we have to eat it. So, the food may look very attractive.
When the food is converted into energy, we don’t see it at all. The attractive looking food has to be broken down so that it can be converted into usable energy. So, similarly for us, sometimes, what may be our plan may need to be broken so that a better plan may emerge.
That’s why, if you understand this point, that God and us are not at, God is not at cross purposes with us. It is not that we want something and God is withholding us from us. Ultimately, what we want and God wants is the same thing.
So, God’s plan is more long term. And with this understanding, we can, sometimes if our prayer is not answered, not become disheartened or alienated from God by that. We see that our plan is short term, whereas God’s plan is long term.
We see the present and plan the future. God sees the future and plans the present. So, this was the second point.
Any reflections about this? Okay. So, I’ll move on to the third point. The third point is that while we are waiting for God’s plan to manifest, now focus on connection, not on expectation.
What does this mean? That means, say, we have a particular issue, say, somebody is not getting a job, somebody is having a sickness and that sickness is not getting healed. Somebody wants some turbulence in relationship. They want relationship to stabilize.
Somebody wants to form a relationship and they are not finding an appropriate person. There are so many things which we want in our lives and we may be even praying for it. And we are not getting it.
So, at that time, even when we come to God, we become very expectation conscious. Very expectation consciousness means that even when we come to a temple, we pray to God, we are not conscious so much of God as of whether he is fulfilling our expectation or not. And then when we become too expectation conscious, then as long as that expectation is not fulfilled, we feel as if our prayer, our religion, all our practices are simply a waste of time.
Even during that time, just the connection with God can give us strength. It can give us satisfaction. In the Srimad Bhagavatam, Prahlad Maharaj says that there are nine processes of devotional service.
He says that Shravanam Kirtanam Vishnu, hearing about Krishna, speaking about Krishna, remembering Krishna, praying to Krishna, worshipping Krishna. Praying is more of offering our prayers, worshipping is divinity worship. Then serving his lotus feet, offering ourselves to him like this and carrying out his instructions.
These are all ways in which we express our devotion. So now it’s interesting the way prayer is positioned over here. The way prayer is positioned here is that what is happening is Krishna is saying Shravanam, Kirtanam, when we hear about Krishna, when we speak about Krishna.
Now what is the purpose of hearing about Krishna, speaking about Krishna? Say now you have come for this satsang program. Now the purpose of participating in this program is what? Connection with Krishna. You want to understand Krishna better.
You want to know more about him so that you can connect with him better. You want to love someone, you want to devote ourselves to someone, you want to know about that person. So just as hearing and chanting are meant for connecting with Krishna, in bhakti even praying is meant for connecting with Krishna.
So the purpose of prayer is not so much the fulfillment of prayer. The purpose of prayer is connection with Krishna. So a simple example to illustrate this point.
Let’s suppose we are burdened by some very big problem. Something has gone terribly wrong in our life and it’s a heavy burden on our head. And then if we just get somebody to talk with us, somebody just hears us non-judgmentally, just empathically they hear us out.
But they may have no power to solve our problems. But they just hear us out. What happens? We feel unburdened.
We feel little loved. In fact many people go to psychologists, not because they have serious mental health problems. Some people may have.
But many people go to psychologists just because they want someone to hear them. Speak it. I want to hear.
Just hear. So when somebody just hears us out, that itself unburdens us. Even if that problem is immediately not solved.
And not only do we feel lighter, but also we feel closer to that person. Oh, you give me your time. You heard me out.
So similarly, if we are burdened by something, then if we just pray to Krishna, even sometimes we go to some people, we expect a solution to the problem. And with some people we know, I can’t get a solution. Because this is not even in their power to solve.
But if they just hear us out, we understand that, yes, they have helped me. So what happens is a child, and this child cries and says, I want this toy. And the parent may struggle and give that toy.
If you see how the relationship between the child, I talked about evolution earlier. How the relationship between the child and the parent evolves. When the child is an infant, in every relationship there is some expectation and there is some contribution.
We want someone to do something for us, and we do something for the other person. So now, when a child is an infant, actually there is no contribution, only expectation. A child cries and expects the world to come running to pacify the child.
But as the child starts growing, child starts understanding that, actually I can’t just have expectations. Maybe I should keep my part of the room clean, I should do this, I should do that. And the child starts growing more and more.
Maybe let me do something in the home, work. Then as the child grows up, let me take some financial responsibility, take care of the home. So what happens, as the child grows, the expectation goes down, the contribution increases.
Now, as the child also grows, the child also understands that my parents are limited. So, the child may say, I want this toy and the parents may give that toy. But if the child goes and says that, I want this or I want that, say the young boy or young girl gets infatuated with some partner, they say, I want this person.
And that person is not really interested, the parents can’t force. The child understands that, my parents are limited, they can’t fulfill certain things. That’s also one reason why the expectations go down.
But as the relationship evolves, what happens is the contribution increases. Now, with respect to Krishna, often what happens is, as we grow, we, normally there is contribution, there is expectation. But when we come to Krishna, we think Krishna is unlimited.
So, instead of our contribution increasing, we think our expectation becomes unlimited. If you want, you can do anything. Why are you not doing it? So, if you are not doing it, that means you don’t care for me.
So, when we are expectation conscious, then the strength that comes from connection, the peace that comes from connection, the sanctification, the inner sanctity that comes from connection, we miss it all out. So, if we just come to Krishna and pray to him, just chant his holy names, participate in his kirtans, hear his katha, and just put aside whatever it is that we feel we need very strongly, and just connect with Krishna. In that connection itself, we will gain strength, satisfaction, solace.
And, by that, we will find it okay. Things are not as bad as I felt they were. Yes, there is a problem and I need to deal with it.
But they are not as bad. What happens every time that there is a real problem and there is the mind’s exaggeration of the problem. So, what happens, the problem may be this big, but the mind’s exaggeration makes it this big.
This big problem we can deal with. But the mind’s exaggerated version of the problem, nobody can deal with. So, what happens when we come to Krishna, if we are still hooked to the mind’s exaggerated version of the problem? Then I can’t live.
What is the use of this chanting? What is the use of this praying? What is the use of all this, unless this problem is solved? But, if you just put aside the mind’s exaggerated version and try to focus on Krishna, the problem is there, it has to be dealt with. But, if the mind’s exaggerated version stops burning us, stops tormenting us, then okay, this problem is there, but it is livable. I can live with it.
And, that relief from the mind’s exaggeration about the problem. So, sometimes, say, if it’s very hot. Now, it’s very hot in the last few days.
So, when it is very hot, say, some people, they can do nothing except talk about the weather. It’s so hot, it’s so hot, it’s so hot, it’s so hot. And after some time, the weather is not as annoying as that person complained about the weather.
Come on now, okay, live with it. What can you do about it? So, our mind is like that. There is a problem, but the mind keeps complaining about the problem so much, that the mind’s complaining about the problem becomes a bigger problem than the problem itself.
But, when we turn towards Krishna and connect with Him, say, as long as we have that expectation, that means, we are hearing the mind’s complaining and thinking, Krishna, why are you not solving this? Why are you not solving this? Why are you not solving this? But, if we just put aside the mind and focus on connecting with Krishna, we will get calmness, we will get strength, we will get shelter over there itself. And, by that, once we get calmness, we get clarity, we will be able to better deal with the problem. If there is a constructive way to solve it, we will move forward to solve it.
If we have to tolerate it, we will get the forbearance to tolerate it. And, by Krishna’s grace, by Krishna’s plan, a problem that may seem huge right now, may just go away in a few moments. So, rather than catastrophizing the problems, this is just so terrible, what do I do with it? Why is Krishna not dealing with it? Just focus on the connection with Krishna.
And, with that connection with Krishna, we will find that even with the problem, we will be able to go on. So, I conclude with the last point. There is release from problems and there is relief amidst problems.
So, often when we pray to Krishna with a particular expectation, that expectation is release from the problem. Now, Krishna can and will do that also in future. But, if we focus on connection with Krishna, then we can get relief amidst the problem also.
We can get relief amidst the problem also. Let’s say outside is very hot and we come to a nice air-conditioned room. We feel relief.
Like that our mind is thinking about this problem, that problem, what if this happens, what if that happens, what if that happens. Just focus on Krishna. Getting our consciousness focused on Krishna is like coming to the air-conditioned room.
We will feel relief. We will get comfort. And then, even if we have to go out in the heat again, we will be rejuvenated, we will be pacified.
We can go out in the heat and deal with it. But, often what we do is, we come to the air-conditioned room, we open the door, and stand at the door. And peek inside and peek outside.
Has it become cool there? Has it become cool there? And by that what happens? Instead of we experiencing relief, even the air-conditioned room starts becoming hot. So, like that we come to Krishna, but instead of being conscious of Krishna, we stay conscious of the problem. And so, the mind keeps saying, this problem is so big, this problem is so big, this problem is so big.
So, instead of hearing the mind tell us how big the problem is, we can turn around and tell the mind how big Krishna is. And if we do that, we turn towards Krishna, and focus on Krishna, and then turn towards the mind. Yes, Krishna is bigger than this.
Krishna can give me shelter. Then, even if we don’t get this, release from the problem, we will get relief from the problem. And that will give us the realization that Krishna is our supreme strength.
And eventually when the problem goes away, we will find that Krishna’s presence in our life, our realization of Krishna’s presence in our life, our realization of Krishna’s capacity to give us shelter, that will be our greatest gain. That is what will stand us in good stead, throughout whatever life may send our way. And that is what will take us ultimately to Krishna.
And attaining Krishna in His eternal abode is the ultimate fulfillment of all prayers. So, when Krishna doesn’t seem to be answering one prayer, we can focus on connecting with Krishna, in that connection itself is the answer to the prayer. And ultimately, Krishna will answer our prayers in His way for our ultimate good.
So, I will summarize what I spoke, and then if any questions we can discuss. I spoke on this theme of when our prayers seem unanswered, what do we do at that time? So, I spoke three points. Do you remember the first point? Yes, please.
Yes, Krishna is not just the means to an end, He is the ultimate. He can be a means also, but He is the ultimate end. So, whatever we think we need attractive things in this world, they all are like drops of water, where Krishna is like the oasis.
So, whatever we may get by all these things, we will get it all and more through Krishna. So, material religion means we focus on getting the drops from Krishna. Spiritual religion means we focus on getting to the oasis.
And if we grow from material religion to spiritual religion, then we will be able to better appreciate how Krishna is answering our prayers. Thank you. What was the second point? Anyone remember? Yes.
Yes. We look at the present and plan for the future. Krishna looks at the future and plans the present.
So, the example I gave for this was a patient and a doctor. The patient is looking only for pain relief. And the patient simply wants the analgesic.
The doctor wants to cure the patient. The doctor focuses on the antiseptic. So, both of them are ultimately working for the same purpose.
So, for us, all the things that we consider materially essential, they are like analgesics. Not getting them causes pain, but getting them, okay, what next in life? So, what we live with is different from what we live for. For a car, fuel is essential, but where are we driving with the car? So, our material needs are like the fuel for the car.
Needed. But what is the bigger purpose in life? The bigger purpose is spiritual evolution. It’s like a child evolves.
He thinks toys are important. But as he grows, he understands that there are many more important things in life. Like that, initially we think material things are all important.
But as we grow, we understand that actually it is Krishna who is most important. So, sometimes Krishna may withhold the analgesic from us so that we focus on the antiseptic. May take away something material or not give us something material so that we wholeheartedly focus on him.
So, Krishna is not just, when Krishna doesn’t seem to be answering our prayers, Krishna himself may be the answer to our prayers. What was the last point? Yes, focus on connecting with Krishna, not expecting from Krishna. So, sometimes when we very strongly feel we need something and we don’t get it, then we just become disconnected or alienated from Krishna.
So, if we are burdened and somebody just hears us out, then we feel lighter and we feel closer to that person. So, similarly, if we have problems, just pour out your heart to Krishna. Just pray to Krishna, not so much for the solution of the problem.
Just pray to Krishna. Connect with him. You will feel lighter.
You will feel closer to Krishna. And normally, in any relationship as it grows, from a child to adulthood, the expectation decreases, the contribution increases. But with Krishna, because we think he is unlimited, our expectation also becomes unlimited.
But Krishna has his own plans. And if we focus on connecting with him, then it’s like, outside it’s hot, we come to air-conditioned room, we get relieved. So, instead of, the expectation means we are looking for release from the problems.
But connection will give us relief amidst the problems. And that relief will give us the conviction that Krishna is for real. Remembrance of Krishna really gives me strength and satisfaction.
And that conviction, that realization will stand us in good stead lifelong, no matter what life sends our way. Ultimately, that realization will lead to absorption in Krishna and take us to him ultimately. So, thank you very much.
Hare Krishna. So, any questions or comments? Yes, please. Would that be better? So, the doctor just removed the pain and didn’t cure.
The pain is caused because of the disease. So, the pain can’t be removed without curing the disease. We often feel our dissatisfaction is because of, oh, I’m not getting this, I’m not getting that, I’m not getting that.
That’s true. Sometimes dissatisfaction comes. See, the unhappiness, yeah, the dissatisfaction, the pain of, not of having unfulfilled desires is great.
It is painful. But actually, it is far more disorienting to have our desires fulfilled and realize they don’t fulfill us. To have our desires fulfilled and realize they don’t fulfill us.
That is far more disorienting because then you wonder what am I next to do in my life. Somebody works very hard to achieve something and they achieve it and afterward they find it’s an anticlimax for text. When I was growing up, because I was quite study-oriented, my dream was I wanted to come first in my class.
And I was always among the first, but I was never the first. So when I gave my GRE exam for going to America, so at that time, out of 2400 I got 2350. So I was not just first in my college, I was first in the history of my college.
I was first in the whole state of Maharashtra. So, I was so happy. I was jubilant for some time.
And after that, I realized, just looking at the marks doesn’t give any happiness. I want somebody to come and congratulate me, appreciate me. And then many of my friends appreciate me, congratulate me, but somehow it happened because it was so well-known and everybody knew about it, the whole college knew about it.
So three of my friends, one after another, just forgot to congratulate me. First time it happened, I was annoyed. Second time it happened, I was angered.
Third time it happened, I was infuriated. But still, it’s embarrassing. You can’t ask, why are you not congratulating me? But at that time, when I was just infuriated, it struck me, I sort of, sometimes it happens in my life that in a sort of out-of-body experience, not literally, but conceptually, I look at myself from above and it struck me, hey, wait a minute.
You thought that by becoming a topper, by becoming number one in your class, you’ll become happy. But here, instead of becoming happy, you have become more dependent for your happiness on others. So where is the happiness? So, actually that was very disorienting.
Fortunately for that time, soon after that, I was introduced by a devotee to Krishna and Bhagavad Gita, or you could say reintroduced. I knew about it in childhood, but I had neglected. So, and that’s how gave me some orientation.
But people who have some desires fulfilled and they don’t know what to do next, that is very disorienting. So it’s like you deal with the pain without curing the disease, but it doesn’t work. The emptiness remains.
So when we have a particular material goal which we want to fulfill, that’s like I want to get rid of this pain. Get rid of the pain, but still the emptiness remains. It’s said that there is a hole in our heart and that hole in our heart can be filled only by God.
It’s a God-shaped hole in the heart. We can put a million other things in it, but that hole won’t be filled. When we put God there, that hole will be filled.
The cure cannot be got without connecting with God. Otherwise there is no other cure. Any other questions? Yes.
Okay, good question. So if our desire is fulfilled, won’t that be an impetus for us to move towards God? Yes. That’s why God does fulfill desires.
If you see, there is a beautiful prayer by Kulashekhar Maharaj in his Mukunda Mala Sutra. MAH BHED MANDA MANO VI CHINTAYA BAHUDHAYA MISHCHIRAM VYATANA NAIVAMI PRABHAVANTI PAPARIPAVAS AMENANUSHRI DARAH ALASYAM VYAPANIYA BHAKTI SULBHAM DHYAYASVA NARAYANAM LOKASYA VYASANAPANODANKARO DASYASYAKIM NAKSYAMAHA LOKASYA VYASANAPANODANKARO He says, Oh Lord, you remove the distress of people in general. Then why would you not remove the distress of one who has dedicated their life to you? DASYASYAKIM NAKSYAMAHA The point I am making is, millions of people go to temples, churches, mosques, gurudwaras and so many places like that.
Now, are all of them at the level of spiritual religion? No. Most of them are at the level of material religion. And they are getting something.
That’s why they are going to the temple, the mosque, the church. So, approaching God for fulfilling our material desires, also for fulfilling what we feel we need right now, also works. If it were not working, nowadays there is no pressure on people.
In the past, maybe you had to look good in people’s eyes, that’s why you had to go to religious places. But now there is no pressure like that in society. But still people are going.
So, why is that? Because even religion at the material level works. We pray to God and what we want, what we need, we do get it. But not always.
Not always. So now, it’s a part of parenting that the parents give every single thing that the child demands. Then the child becomes spoiled.
Child becomes pampered. And sometimes the parents may withhold something from the child. And so like that, sometimes Krishna may not fulfill some of our desires.
And that’s why it’s very helpful for us, before asking for our blessings, we should be counting our blessings. Because what happens, whenever we are in a particular situation in life, what we have, we take it for granted already. And what we don’t have, that’s what we obsess over.
But if we learn, if we start counting our blessings, you see, there is so much right in our life. If we are just breathing right now, that means there is more right than wrong in our lives. So many people who die, most of us are probably 30, 40 or something like that, so many millions of people die before that age.
So the very fact that we are alive, means a lot has gone right in our lives. We could be dead right now. So actually, it’s like we need to consciously direct our attention towards what is right.
And there are so many things right in our lives. We have basic health, we have a good social circle, we may have some career, we may have some social security, so many things we have. If you start counting them, if you start looking even from a material perspective, how many people are less endowed than us? And we find there are so many.
For most of us, we would say that we are probably, 60 to 80% of the world’s population would be less materially endowed than us. So there is a lot right in our life even at the material level. So sometimes our prayers are not answered, then that doesn’t necessarily mean that God doesn’t care for us.
And sometimes it may happen that the answering of that prayer may actually lead to greater infatuation with that particular material thing. And that may take us away from God. We don’t know at this stage.
So from our perspective, it may seem that yeah, this prayer is fulfilled by faith in God and increase. But it may or it may not. Because how our mind will work, how our mind will work in the presence of certain things, in the absence of certain things, it’s all very unpredictable.
If somebody doesn’t have much wealth and they pray, Oh God, I want money, I want money, I want money. And then they get a job which gives them a lot of money. But then that job consumes them so much that they have no time for God.
They don’t have any time for even their family. And then I say actually God fulfilled my prayer. Well, was that really a fulfillment of a prayer? They sought that, they got that, but by that they went away from what is truly important in life.
So that’s why when we form a relationship with God, in material religion, we set the terms of the relationship. The terms of the relationship is God, it’s my intelligence and your power. By my intelligence, I know what I want and you use your power to give it to me.
That is the terms of material religion. Spiritual religion means, so in material religion also we are trusting God. And God has power.
And God’s power is far greater than mine. But somehow we think God’s power is greater than mine, but my intelligence is greater than his. See, everybody likes to serve God.
Do you think so? Even atheists like to serve God. But only in one service. As advisors.
As advisors. Atheists also say, if God had existed, he would not have made this like this. He would not have made it like this.
So, what happens is, we, in material religion, our intelligence and God’s power. But spiritual religion means, we understand God’s power is greater than mine. And God’s intelligence is also greater than mine.
And therefore, we can earnestly pray to Krishna. Krishna, this is what I feel is important. This is what I want.
And, it’s not that we should think this is a material desire, how can I pray to Krishna. If we feel it is important, if it is affecting our spiritual life, then, what is the difference between material and spiritual? It is ultimately affecting our consciousness, which is the essence of spiritual life. So, we can pray to Krishna.
Krishna, this is very important for me. Please let this work out. We can pray like that.
But at the same time, we don’t make our devotion conditional to the fulfillment of that prayer. In the Bible, towards the end, Jesus prays that, he comes to know that he is going to be betrayed, and he is going to be killed. So, that time he prays, O father, let the cup pass.
The idea is that, that time when somebody would be killed, they would be given a cup of poison, like Socrates was done. But Jesus was found, found so guilty that he was crucified. It is a particularly brutal form of killing.
But anyway, so he says, O father, let this cup pass. And then he concludes, but let thy will be done, not mine. So, there is nothing wrong in expressing our desire, our need, our concern.
In fact, doing that will connect us with Krishna also. But, we don’t reduce our relationship to Krishna to the fulfillment of that particular desire. If that is not fulfilled, still Krishna, I am going to serve you.
Thank you. Thank you very much. Can I tell about the books a little bit? Can I tell about the books? Or should I tell afterwards?