We usually approach God when we need something. If we get it by praying to him, we feel our faith vindicated. But suppose the opposite happens: we start losing the things we need. We may feel like going away from God. If we do that, we will lose a great opportunity. 

To understand what the opportunity is, we need to recollect some essential spiritual truths. First, we are souls; we are parts, and God, Krishna, is the Whole (15.07). As long as we aren’t lovingly connected with him, we are dragged toward various worldly objects in a vain search for pleasure. Second, he is our greatest need; he is the underlying attractive principle in everything that attracts us (10.41). Third, the things we hold dear as our needs may take us away from him if we become too attached to them (02.44). 

When we approach Krishna, the ultimate blessing is not that we get the things we think we need, but that we realize he is our greatest need. To help us gain this realization, he may take away the things we treasure so that we have nothing except him to hold on to. Therefore, we need to see the loss as an opportunity to absorb ourselves in him and to realize that he is our greatest treasure. If we do so, we will get inner guidance to deal with the loss. More importantly, our heart will become enriched with Krishna.

The evolution from seeing Krishna as the supplier of our needs to seeing him as our greatest need usually takes many lifetimes (07.19). If temporarily losing the things dear to us is the price for accelerating that evolution, then it’s worth the price, given the everlasting reward. 

Think it over:

  • What is the ultimate blessing available on approaching Krishna?
  • How does Krishna help us get this blessing?
  • What can make the loss of things dear to us worth the price?

***

07.19 After many births and deaths, he who is actually in knowledge surrenders unto Me, knowing Me to be the cause of all causes and all that is. Such a great soul is very rare.

 

To know more about this verse, please click on the image
Explanation of article:

Podcast:

Download by “right-click and save”