Question : Some burning questions and my problems brought me to Krishna Consciousness. Seeing a few devotees who extended themselves for help made me start practicing with a little faith. Now I am somewhat attached to those devotees deeply and feel big pain when I see them in pain. Sometimes I feel what kind of God is Krsna who is keeping His devotees in so much pain (sometimes physical or other problems) even after they have spent all their life worshiping His name. I find myself helpless and stuck not being able to help them anyway. And it shakes my faith as well. When we don’t have anyone around in trouble, we have to fight alone having no choice. But when we take shelter, we want to be saved from the problems of life. I heard in Bhagvad Geeta that “this material world is a temporary place for misery”. But facts of life are hard to accept. Am I thinking wrong?
Answer by Romapada Swami:
Your feelings of attachment and soft-heartedness for your benefactors is very much approved. It is the natural quality of a vaishnava to feel pain seeing others in pain. Moreover a devotee particularly feels indebtedness, affection and concern for the welfare of those who have been instrumental in helping them in Krishna consciousness.
At the same time, however, you should understand such situations in a transcendental light, and express these feelings and concerns from a transcendental platform – from a platform of knowledge – and not from a platform of worldly emotion, rooted in a conception devoid of knowledge of Krishna’s love and compassion, particularly for those who are fully dependent upon Him.
The platform of knowledge is to clearly understand Krishna’s transcendental position and how He reciprocates and protects His devotees. Krishna is the Supreme Proprietor, everything is under His control, and simultaneously He is the dearmost friend and well-wisher of everyone – particularly those who have approached Him for shelter (BG 5.29). Krishna’s mercy and protection sometimes comes in mysterious ways that are not easy to understand for conditioned souls unless they are trained in transcendental knowledge. [SB 1.9.16 “O King, no one can know the plan of the Lord [Sri Krsna]. Even though great philosophers inquire exhaustively, they are bewildered.” Spoken by Bhismadev to Yuddhisthira Maharaja.]
Very often we have certain preconceptions or expectations of how God ‘should’ act and in what form His mercy ‘should’ come. Such misconceptions make us run into a brick wall in spiritual life. Sometimes people even become atheistic being unable to understand God’s mercy! It is very much like a child who is not able to understand the mother’s love, and how every dealing of the mother is only different manifestations of her love for the child. A loving parent may sometimes purposefully give the child a seemingly difficult task for the purpose of training, sometimes they may deny something the child likes very much, they may trick the child and take him to the school or to the doctor despite the child’s protests — all this is done out of love and deep concern for the child’s real welfare; but one who does not understand the loving relationship between the mother and child may misunderstand it.
Only a truly and deeply well-wishing benefactor can put his devotees or dependents into difficulty in this way for a higher benefit. The demigods may quickly fulfill the temporary material desires of their devotees, for their interest is not always in the eternal welfare of the worshiper, nor is there an eternal loving relationship between the worshiper and worshipped. But Krishna, our eternal Father, is such a loving lord and master, that He will only give His devotees that which is in their ultimate best interest.
Here are some examples of Krishna’s not-readily-discernable purposes.
Krishna may sometimes put His devotees through difficulties to purify them and to deepen their exclusive dependence and devotion. He may do so as an exchange of transcendental loving reciprocation, simply to intensify their feelings of dependence and attachment to Him. Sometimes Krishna may put even His pure devotees in difficulty to show their glories to the world, to help us appreciate their qualities and sacrifices. And as Srila Prabhupada often quoted the Bengali saying, “Teaching the daughter-in-law by teaching the daughter”, Krishna may put His devotees into difficulty in order to teach *others* through them; thus, we can learn by seeing the example of the devotee how *we* should deal with difficulties and reverses in our own life in a Krishna conscious manner.
In any case, the so-called suffering of a devotee is very different from the suffering of a materialist — as different as the suffering of a beloved child of the king from that of an orphan. Although the devotee may be seemingly suffering externally, they are factually sheltered, whereas a materialist who does not have the Lord’s shelter is full of anxiety and dissatisfaction even in the midst of great material comfort. Even though the material world is a place of suffering, for those who have taken shelter of the boat of the lotus feet of the Lord, it is no longer a miserable place.
In the beginning stages of devotion, a devotee may still experience the waves and whirlpools of material existence, but as they advance in realization and experience Krishna’s reciprocation within, they do not even feel the pangs of material existence anymore.
Consider, for example, the lives of the Pandavas which was simply a series of endless calamities. But being fully surrendered to however the Lord wanted to use them, they were undisturbed and fully absorbed in pure devotion. Through them, the Lord set a most inspiring example for all devotees to follow and derive strength from.
Similarly, Srila Prabhupada had to face innumerable challenges, difficulties, opposition and even physical illness. It was certainly intolerable for his devoted and loving disciples to see him endure such pains and austerities; but he trained them to see it in a transcendental light without becoming bewildered in their faith. He also taught them to pray to Krishna to protect their spiritual master: “Our master has not finished his work; if you so desire, please protect him.” Through these intense loving exchanges, the devotees become more attached to Srila Prabhupada — it gave them an opportunity to deepen their loving feelings and their desire to serve him, it intensified their feelings of gratitude for his sacrifices, and their seriousness and commitment to follow his teachings and please him.
In a similar way, you can take this opportunity to pray for the protection of those devotees whom you love and to serve them and assist them in their devotional service in some capacity — but with full understanding of how Krishna’s loving hand is behind everything, fully trusting in Krishna’s protection of His committed devotees, and without becoming bewildered or overwhelmed by material feelings of compassion. Let this be an opportunity to intensify your faith and devotion, rather than otherwise.
