When we worship God so that he will solve our problems aren’t we bribing God like students who flatter their teachers to get better marks?

Transcript

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If we love and worship God, then God will help us and free us from all sorts of problems. So, is this not are we not making God biased towards us? Like a student sometimes worships and loves the teacher and teacher gives more marks to the student.
So, is it that devotees are flattering God so that we can extract favors from Him? Actually, the purpose of devotees is not just to extract favor from God. In fact, the purpose of devotees is to serve God and that’s what they want to do. Now, there may be some people who approach God for this purpose also.
I had an atheist friend who, when he opened a business he said, I want to give some donation to the temple. I said, when did you start believing in God? He says, no, I don’t believe in God but just in case He exists He should not create some trouble. So, I had taken the insurance.
I had taken the insurance also. What is the big deal? So now, at one level, any way we connect with God, that is good. So, even if somebody has that attitude, okay, by worshipping God, I will flatter God.
And then God will take my side. So that, if any way one connects with God, if one chants the name of God and worships God, that is good. But, if a person studies scriptures and the person understands that actually God is my greatest condition.
God knows what is good for me better than what I know is good for me. So, God is my greatest condition. And therefore, such a devotee does not ask God for favours at a material level.
The devotee says, my dear Lord, whatever happens, please keep me fixed in your service. In fact, we have Kunti Maharani who prays that my dear Lord, please give dangers to me. Please give me more and more angels.
Why? Because when dangers come, then I remember you more and more. And I remember you, then I am very close to you and I will return back to you. I won’t see you in my real existence.
So now, is there any student who will do this kind of biasing? He goes to a professor. Sir, I will serve you very nicely. Please fill me in my exam.
Please give me more difficult paper than everyone else. How will you feel like this? Why? Because a devotee is not concerned with material good and bad. A devotee is primarily concerned with spiritually developing attraction to Krishna.
And Krishna is also not a God who will get flattered like this. So Krishna may sometimes give a devotee problems. Those problems will help the devotee to become more serious in Krishna consciousness.
And sometimes the devotee Krishna may remove problems from the devotee. So that helps the devotee to become more serious, more mature, more spiritually focused, a better human being, a better person, a better devotee. So Krishna will do what is good for us.
It’s like, you know, if a small child is there, and the child goes to a doctor, and the doctor says, I’ll give you chocolate, please don’t give me injections. Now, is the doctor likely to listen? The doctor will do what is good for the patient. Similarly, Krishna is like that.
Krishna will do what is good for us. Krishna does not get biased at a particular time. Certainly Krishna loves his devotees.
And he takes special care of them. But that special care is not that he creates material things better for them. He does whatever is good for them.
If material things are good, that is better for them, he will do that. If materially problems are what is required, that is good for them, Krishna will do that. So it’s not flattering because the purpose is not self-centered at a material level.
It is selfless and at a spiritual level, the whole relationship becomes more and more intense. The big difference is that a devotee, the student who is flattering the teacher to get marks, the student is not interested in the teacher at all. The student is interested only in the marks.
Whereas the devotee, for the student, the teacher is just a tool to the marks. Whereas for a devotee, Krishna is not a tool to anything. For a devotee, Krishna is the goal.
And the devotee is serving Krishna for the sake of Krishna. And this attitude is pure devotion. For some people who are in the middle level of spiritual devotion, they may have this attitude of flattering Krishna.
But even if they come to Krishna with this attitude, by the power of devotion, they will become purified. Because they are connecting with Krishna. Krishna is the Supreme Lord.
Krishna will not get foolishly flattered and influenced like this. Krishna will do what is best for that person and elevate that person to a higher understanding and to a higher wisdom of how to achieve this. Thank you.