Will all our anxieties take us towards Krishna?

Answer Podcast

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
So, I said our anxiety to serve Krishna will take us towards Krishna. Does that mean all anxiety will take us towards Krishna? Let’s say, if we are trying to form a relationship with someone, but we don’t feel connected, we feel worried whether I’ll find a good partner or not, and I get anxiety because of that.
But that doesn’t seem to take us towards Krishna. Yes. The point which I was making when I said your anxiety for serving Krishna will take you towards Krishna, the point was Prabhupada was saying over there that just because you are feeling anxious, don’t think you should give up your service to Krishna.
Serving Krishna is a whole package. And the package is centered on having a relationship with Krishna. So, now relationship with Krishna is, Mother Yashoda, she loves to feed Krishna.
But sometimes when Krishna is carried away by the Putra Shaktasur demon, she is in great fear. But that is also increasing her remembrance of Krishna. So, with respect to Krishna, whatever be the emotion, that is like nectar.
Because it is reminding us of Krishna. So, when the remembrance is joyful, it is like sweet nectar. When the remembrance is causing anxiety, that is like bitter nectar.
But it is still nectar. Now, with respect to our situation and our various emotions that we go through, yes, anxiety is simply a result of uncertainty. If I have to catch a flight and I am not sure whether I will reach in time or not, then I will have anxiety.
So, anxiety is simply a facet of life. In life there is uncertainty and that is why there is anxiety. So, the problem is not, another word for anxiety would be fear.
Fear is not the problem. It is fearfulness that is the problem. What is the difference between fear and fearfulness? Say, if I am looking down from a ten story building, I look down, I feel a fear if I fall down.
And that makes me cautious. So, that fear is actually a protector. And if a child is peering down a ten story building, a child feels no fear.
And the mother will feel great fear, hey, come back, what are you doing? So, fear is, because it can protect us from danger. But suppose, I look down a ten story building, I feel some fear, I come back home. Now I am sitting peacefully at my home, but still my mind keeps weeping, oh, I looked down that.
What if I have? Then it is not fear, it has become fearfulness. So, when there is a danger, fear at that time is a healthy response. But when that emotion comes, even in the absence of danger, then that makes us fearful.
Now for most of us, the dangers that we face usually are not that physical. Like say, falling off a ten story building. Our dangers are, we may lose our job, a relationship may not work out.
Now these are not one specific moment of danger. It is like a nagging, a nagging uncertainty that is there constantly within us. So, in such a situation, we will feel fear.
But, what we need to do is, we need to understand that we are bigger than our situation and our emotions. When I talk about inner fear, inner screen and the outer screen. So, the situation might be problematic, I want to form a relationship, it is not working out.
I am feeling some fear, that is natural. But, I am not the situation. If we look back at our life, sometimes when I do some workshops, I do this thought exercise.
I tell people, you can do it, some of you may like to do it, then you go back home. Now, if say you are 25 or 30, look back for the last 3 years of your life. And think what are the biggest problems you had 3 years ago.
Then go back 6 years ago. Go back 9 years ago. Do it for 5 years to 15 years.
And note down the problems. And you will find that actually, that problem at that time appeared as if, like this is not solved, my life will end. May be they will give you an important exam, if I don’t pass the exam, my life will be ruined.
Or whatever it might be. At every situation in our life, we have had problems. And we have survived those problems.
So, our mind tends to catastrophize problems. This is going to catastrophize. But when the mind catastrophizes situations or problems, we with our intelligence should contextualize problems.
Contextualize means, this problem is a product of this context. This situation. In the past there was another context.
There is another problem at that time. Just as I survived that problem, I will survive this problem also. So, the anxiety about uncertainties of life, that is unavoidable.
But we don’t have to be anxiety filled. If I understand that I am bigger than the situation. Sometimes life gives us trouble, we may be in pain.
We may have to live with pain. But we don’t have to live in pain. Live with pain means, I have got some back pain.
And I feel that pain. But live in pain means, I am constantly thinking about it. So, my consciousness becomes contained within that.
I can’t think about anything else. So, we may have to live with anxiety. But we don’t have to live in anxiety.
This part of my life is uncertain right now. So, I have some anxiety about it. But my life is not reduced to this thing.
It is important. But my life is much bigger than this. I also have a relationship in the world.
But I also have, I am my own person. I have a relationship with Krishna. And I have many aspects to my life.
So, when we see that one situation, we acknowledge. We can’t wish away anything. How can we conquer all our fears? No, we can’t conquer all our fears.
But what we can do is, we can recognize that we are bigger than our fears. And then we can live with them, without them overcoming us. Without them overwhelming us.
So, by our intelligence, when we contextualize our fears, contextualize our anxieties. Then we can live with anxiety, without living in anxiety.