Suppose a person carefully plants saplings in a garden. But, on seeing no fruits forthcoming and thinking impatiently that no fruits will ever come, that person uproots those saplings.

Normally, no one, however impatient, would do this, primarily because the destruction is visible, placing the evidence of one’s folly right before one’s eyes. But the devastation in our inner garden is invisible, so we often nonchalantly wreak havoc there by acting on our doubts.

Practicing spiritual life is like planting saplings of positive, devotional habits in the garden of our heart. Such saplings will yield the fruits of virtues culminating in the supreme virtue of love: love for Krishna and for all living beings in relationship with him.

However, the underlying character transformation takes time. But we are impatient and, on not seeing results, we start getting doubts whether spiritual life is worth practicing. If we give in to such doubts, then we not only give up our spiritual practices, but also end up diving into delusion- and degradation-inducing indulgences, thereby wrecking havoc in our inner garden. Thus, we tragically make even more inaccessible the very fruits that we were so impatient to get.  Pertinently, the Bhagavad-gita (09.03) warns that the faithless remain trapped in worldly existence.

Instead of giving in to our doubts, we need to rise above them. The Bhagavad-gita (09.02) assures that higher spiritual realities can be vindicated through experience by yogic practices. Even if substantial character transformation takes time, sincere bhakti practice can give us experience of the shelter and strength coming from absorption in Krishna. This inner shade can bolster our faith that the devotional sapling is indeed growing and will give fruits in due course. Taking heart thus, we can persevere in our spiritual practice and eventually relish the ultimate fruit of immortal spiritual love.

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