Tag: will

We suffer when we rebel against the will of Krishna

Scriptures say that we suffer when we rebel against the will of Krishna.We think that by going against Krishna, we will get what we want to get, but just the opposite happens.

And when we begin suffering, we begin blaming God. There are times, when we are not ready to accept, we are suffering.

Not just that, sometimes, we also choose to suffer.

For example, a non-smoker knows smoking is bad, even on the cigarette pack it’s written that smoking is injurious to health. But still, one smokes. Why? Because they want to tell the world that who are you tell me what to do and what not to do.

Although a person sees that smoking is the cause of mouth cancer, lung cancer, respiratory diseases but still he chooses to not listen to good advice.

The holy books like Gita say that it is because of our false ego, we do things which we are not supposed to do. Due to our arrogance, we deliberately act against the will of the Lord and suffer.

What God wants is already there in Bhagavad Gita and Bhagavatam. But we close our eyes and ears when the words of God is spoken to us.

In fact, the rebellious souls in spite of directly hearing from God go against the will of God.

Two Examples

For example, Krishna went to the Kauravas as a peace messenger asking them not to indulge in irreligious activities. But foolish Duryodhana mocked him and even attempted to arrest him.  Krishna also did his best to convince Karna to abandon the path of downfall but Karna said that Duryodhana has given me honour and respect so I cannot leave him.

It’s like a person saying that he cannot leave the side of a terrorist because once the terrorist had given him few morsels of bread when he was hungry. Karna was not just siding with Duryodhana, but many times were part of his evil plans too.

If we look back, we will see that anyone who has gone against the laws of God ultimately had to bite dust just like Duryodhana and Karna. And those who always did what God asked him to do always emerged victorious like the Pandavas.

When Krishna appears, miseries disappear

In our life also, we will see that if we are trying to live as per the regulations of the scriptures, we lead a happy life. Externally whatever is required for living in this world the Lord provides, and our heart always remain content and happy.

But if we do not do so, we suffer.

Just think for a moment. If Duryodhana and Karna had accepted Krishna’s proposal then there would have been no bloodshed, and they would have attained the mercy of Krishna and would have returned back to Krishna in the spiritual world for an eternal blissful life.

Let us not be like Duryodhana and Karna.

We are suffering – sometimes physically, sometimes mentally, sometimes emotionally – because we go against the will of God.  Suffering comes only when we rebel against the will of Krishna, the Supreme Lord. Let us accept this harsh reality and try to amend our mistake.

We can start leading God centered life by living as per the guidelines given in scriptures like Bhagavad Gita. If we do so miseries will vanish.

Just like as we switch on the light darkness goes away similarly as Krishna appears in our life suffering goes away.

kṛṣṇa — sūrya-sama; māyā haya andhakāra
yāhāṅ kṛṣṇa, tāhāṅ nāhi māyāra adhikāra

“Kṛṣṇa is compared to sunshine, and māyā is compared to darkness. Wherever there is sunshine, there cannot be darkness. As soon as one takes to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, the darkness of illusion (the influence of the external energy) will immediately vanish.”

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta , CC Madhya 22.31

Three Reflections

• Due to our arrogance, we deliberately act against the will of the Lord.
• We are suffering – sometimes physically, sometimes mentally, sometimes emotionally – because we have gone against the will of the Lord.
• Just like as we switch on the light darkness goes away similarly as Krishna appears in our life suffering goes away.

Ask Yourself?

• Do I accept that I am suffering?

Action Item

• Krishna says that do not harm any living entities. So, take a vow to leave eating non vegetarian food.

Let The Lord Not Leave Us Again

Is there anyone of us who want to suffer? How many of us want to be insulted by others? How many of us want to fail in our life? How many of us want to be separated from our loved ones? How many of us want to get diseased? But almost all of us go through these phases in our life and most of the time we find we are so helpless to do anything, we silently weep. Suppose our boss in the office shouts at us we feel humiliated but we can’t do anything else we may lose our job. And some people develop thick skin to such an extent that in spite of insults and sufferings they continue with their lives behaving as if nothing has happened.

Just like cats, dogs and donkeys do not bother for self-respect and continue serving their hostile masters for few morsels of food. We two legged being too do the same thing for our survival. We may think that this is an exaggeration but it is not so. Just look around or google and we can find many such instances of people being humiliated at home, at workplaces and even in public sometimes. In fact scriptures tell us that soul even gets used to suffer in hell. Many of us may not be realizing that we are suffering because we have got so used to suffering. Just like a hog, who gets so used to eat stool that even if someone tells that it is abominable he will just ignore the message.

Animals are always helpless they cannot do anything. But human beings have got the opportunity to change their destiny.  We souls are not meant for suffering. We are not meant for humiliation. We are not meant to suffer the cycle of birth and death. We are meant to enjoy eternally just like the Supreme Lord enjoys eternally. As long as our desires are separate from the Lord as long as we try to enjoy with our senses we will suffer. Let us not get fooled by the false promises of enjoyment of this temporary world. Let us stop serving the pseudo masters of this world who exploits us and instill fear in our heart. 

Let us seek shelter of the original master of the entire creation who is the supreme protector who promises to burn all our sins because of which we suffer. Let his glance enlighten our hearts with transcendental knowledge. Let his sharp arrows pierce our hearts to vanquish all our desires, which binds us to this mortal world. Let us bind our hearts to his lotus feet and cross over the turbulent ocean of material existence.  Let his abode become our permanent abode where we can serve him, love him and live with him forever. Let our sweet Lord not leave us again. We without him are like flower without fragrance, river without water and life like a barren island.

Published in ISKCON NEWS