When we are unable to express our questions should we just wait for purification to remove that doubt?

From Praveen P:

Sometimes we are unable to express our question properly. Framing it a particular way leads to the question being answered in a way that addresses the expressed question but not the underlying doubt. At such times should we try to express our question or just wait for purification to address the doubt in due course of time?

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
while also assisting others in their growth sometimes we are not able to frame the right questions to express the doubts that we have in our heart and when we do frame those questions in a particular way their wording leads to a particular kind of answer which though true and though valid according to that question does not address the doubt in our heart so is it that in such situation we should just stop asking the question and practice the process of devotional service and surrender and the answer will arise eventually by purification or should we try to phrase the question accurately firstly in philosophy there is itself the question about the relationship between thoughts and words are there words for all thoughts can all thoughts be expressed in words and is something lost when thoughts come into the realm of words or is something gained when thoughts come into the realm of words basically the relationship between thoughts and words is a perennial philosophical question and it has no absolute answers but in general the relationship between words and thoughts can be made symbiotic that means when we have thoughts we try to express them in words and when we express them in words sometimes only only a part of that thought gets expressed and a part is lost but by trying to verbalize our thoughts gradually more and more of those thoughts get expressed and often in this process we also understand a thought better because it is not just that thoughts produce words but words also go back words are like a torch light which also illuminate the thoughts better so that’s why the thoughts crystallize within our mind through the exercise of putting them in words so words are not just tools for expressing our thoughts they are also tools for identifying and understanding our thoughts so therefore if we ask questions yes depending on the question that we have asked naturally the questioner will answer that question of course if the questioner is very advanced that questioner may not only understand the words of our question may understand even the intent of our question and answer accordingly sometimes if we reach the Prabhupada’s conversations we may find that the questioner is asking one thing and Prabhupada is answering something else because Prabhupada often is able to look beyond the words so the intention of the questioner may address that so not all questioners may be up to that capacity and that is why we may not always be satisfied by the answer although the answer is proper but still we need to find forums within devotional circles where question answers are encouraged and if we participate in such forums then sometimes we may find that somebody else may raise the question which was in the back of our mind but which we were never able to verbalize or sometimes while some other philosophical point is being discussed we will understand that it addresses our point and then the question will get answered or sometimes by our repeated endeavor to express the question we will not be able to express the question so by the process of purification for the understanding to emerge may take a long time that is of course definitely a possibility and that can also be a recommendation for most devotees but especially for those devotees who are more intellectual in nature sometimes if certain questions are not answered the lack of answers in those questions acts like a suppressant or decelerator on their spiritual journey and that makes them a little diffident about the practice of devotional service so if these questions are like that then certainly we should try our best to verbalize those questions and try to find out the appropriate forums, the appropriate devotees who can address and answer those questions one thing is very important to know that not all devotees, even senior devotees even preachers will be equally encouraging about question and answers because they themselves may not have faced those questions and they may be cued to a kind of outreach which focuses on non-intellectual, non-analytical presentations of Krishna consciousness and these will definitely have a wide appeal for the larger devotee community so therefore we need to find out those forums where question and answers are encouraged and therein we can get the answers and that way we can move forward in our devotional service so to summarize here firstly verbalization may the effort of verbalization may itself lead to the clarification of the question secondly even if we don’t get the clarification we can try to place ourselves in devotee circles where question and answers are frequently raised and that may itself directly or indirectly answer our question or as is mentioned by the process of purification the answer will arise in our heart but in general we shouldn’t become disheartened by our inability to frame our questions because just as we have a conscious mind that often is clear we have a subconscious mind that is not really clear to us but if we have some questions in our subconscious mind that indicates that even subconsciously the search for Krishna consciousness is on and that also is a healthy sign so in general it is recommended that our reading and hearing be active be eager be enthusiastic and actually questions are one of the best ways to make our hearing enthusiastic for example say if somebody is hearing this question answer because that person is interested in the answer then the likelihood of that person becoming inattentive or lethargic is very less that is because we know that a particular question is going to be answered in this question answer but if we also understand the broader principle that Krishna is present in our heart and Krishna is present in the heart of whoever is giving class and Krishna is actually Krishnamande Jagadguru he is the spiritual master who can manifest from anywhere so then the answer to our question can be manifest from any source so the question can become a stimulus for us to become more alert to Krishna’s answers coming from any and every source then rather than letting that question become a deterrent in our practice of Krishna Consciousness so in this way we can use our questioning propensity also to identify our Krishna Consciousness