When we don’t get any reciprocation despite calling Krishna earnestly for long, what can we do?

Transcript

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question what to do when we call out to Krishna earnestly for a long long time but there is no reciprocation answer we need to re-examine our definition of reciprocation that means sometimes we expect Krishna’s response on our particular terms now those terms may be material or those terms may be even spiritual but again according to our conceptions of what is spiritual so sometimes we may expect Krishna to provide something to us in terms of maybe a more comfortable situation materially, a better job better health, better marks in exams, better family relationships or whatever things like that and sometimes they may not work out that way and we may think that I am practicing bhakti and still Krishna is not reciprocating that is one possibility and the other is that sometimes we may expect that by our practicing bhakti say we are having some obstacles in our bhakti, some anarthas which are troubling us there is lust, there is anger there is greed and these are causing us to slip and fall and we are praying to Krishna but that is not going away and we are slipping and falling again and again so and of course this could also be because we are practicing bhakti but we still for a long time of practice we don’t get any taste in bhakti so these are the sample of what we might mean by thinking that Krishna is not reciprocating with us so with all of these things let’s take them one by one, first of all that with respect to our material circumstances bhakti generally does not work in a way that materially everything will work out necessarily, see Prabhupada is such an exalted devotee but even in his life there are so many difficulties for him also so now of course those difficulties were what ultimately inspired him to renounce the world and that’s how we are all here trying to serve Krishna, so that worked out wonderfully in the long run but still at that time they were excruciatingly difficult for Srila Prabhupada to go through so it’s not that just because we are bhaktas that we know material difficulties so what do we need to do, actually as we know they are saying that some things which have to be which can be cured and some things which have to be endured, so bhakti helps us to develop a tough skin I would say a hard head by which we even if we are knocked we still rise and keep moving forwards, even if we are lashed we endure it and move on that’s what is required, so in some situations even if say we have not been devotees if certain difficulties are unavoidable what do people do, even non-devotees learn to just go on with life and endure it so this may seem difficult and it is no doubt difficult but sometimes in certain ways just like if one door is closed, if we keep looking for that door itself and wondering when it will open, resenting that why is it not opening we will miss out on other doors that might open in our life and generally whenever one door closes some other door opens somewhere else, we just have to have the open mind and the open eyes and alert eyes to see where the door is opening, so certainly sometimes if some material circumstances don’t change we don’t necessarily have to make our bhakti conditional on that, yes because of those adverse material circumstances maybe our bhakti will be a little unsteady, things will be more difficult but that’s ok, we live with it and move on and don’t think that that not change of material circumstances is not Krishna’s reciprocation maybe that is what is what we need to take shelter of Krishna more and more and to learn, to experience ourselves how bhakti has the potency to raise us above our material circumstances and to give us, to help us to tolerate and transcend material circumstances which will be otherwise very difficult to endure so that is one possibility, that is what we can see, that how is the circumstances, Krishna will give me the intelligence and the dedication by which I can tolerate and transcend this so that instead of the external change we may get an internal reciprocation of Krishna which we will miss if we are constantly expecting the external change alone and beyond that, now sometimes we may not be able to break free from our unorthodox and that may make us think I am praying to Krishna to help me get rid of this and still I am not getting rid of this why is this happening so when this happens we need to see that actually it is Krishna’s plan that is working here also sometimes if we become free from anartha say we are troubled by lust and we become free from lust then that can very easily lead to all these people, they are all slaves of lust, I am free from lust so that and pride can often be a greater obstacle than lust because at least lust makes us feel the need for Krishna pride makes us feel that I don’t need Krishna so in that sense pride can be a much bigger obstacle and sometimes by the continual torment of lust, that is what makes us feel the need for Krishna more and more and that’s what makes us more dependent on Krishna and that’s why even by our failures if we are realizing more of our dependence on Krishna and are taking more and more shelter of Krishna then that failure can be a victory our failure in sense control can be a victory because we become more dependent on Krishna, we take more shelter of Krishna on the other hand, our victory in sense control can be a failure if it makes us feel independent and proud thinking that now I don’t need Krishna anymore so again the point is that we need to revisit our definition of reciprocation and thirdly in terms of taste we expect that say I’ve been chanting for so long I should get some taste in chanting I should get some taste in Shastric study or whatever we expect some spiritual taste and we don’t get that even after a long practice now we need to understand in this case that all of us are individuals and we don’t have to have predefined conceptions or stereotype notions of what taste must be because each of us is individual we may find that we are individually attracted to Krishna in some specific ways so rather than just assuming that I don’t have any taste we can explore where I have taste and build upon that and that can become our service that can become our strength so we may find that I like to read one particular book we find that I like to read, I like to you know I like to hear from one particular devotee or I like to recite songs now as long as it is broadly within the framework of bhakti we don’t have to worry that the taste is not developing what Rupa Goswami says is yena kene prakaarena mana krishna yena ishe somehow or the other fix our mind on Krishna somehow or the other means whatever we feel attracted to in bhakti we do that and through that our strength can throughout our Krishna connection can go and then we will get taste now if you feel that oh I don’t have any taste in bhakti anywhere then the simple fact is that actually you would not have been able to continue for a long long time also calling out to Krishna so we at least find out where we are getting some taste the fact that we are able to call out to Krishna for a long long time means we are getting some taste somewhere and the whole point of Krishna’s reciprocation is that because he is infinite because we are finite that so we can’t understand the way he reciprocates now we can see this as exasperating or we can see this as exciting exasperating because we feel I don’t know or exciting because oh let me see how Krishna makes my life into an adventure let me see how Krishna reveals himself and what does Krishna do how does he manifest in my life himself in my life and we keep ourselves open so in general whenever we feel that Krishna is not reciprocating maybe it is important for us to revisit our conception of reciprocation and then broaden it especially if we associate with a wide variety of devotees we will see that bhakti is not a stereotype activity where only this has to be done in bhakti bhakti means it can accommodate various gamuts of talents and activities and we can perform bhakti in various ways and surely if we explore the practices of bhakti with an open mind and a submissive heart then we will find that Krishna will give us some avenue for reciprocation by which we will be able to keep moving onwards towards it Thank you