Question: I was living happily in this world getting good material opulence by the mercy of Lord. But in midst of this, I came across the philosophy of Krishna Consciousness and it opened my eyes as what I was doing with my life. But very often there have been times when I was working in ignorance trying to be happy in this world and put all my energy into mundane research. But sometimes I get glimpse of knowledge about this world and feel a great repentance and foolishness on my part. And now I have found that I often forget this knowledge whenever I get to work. So now the situation is that I am afraid to do work and I do not want to work. Please guide me as to what I should do? I am in great trouble. I find my work (mundane study) suicidal.
Answer by Romapada Swami: There is no need to give up one’s work – what we do need to give up is our attachment to fruitive work and its results, which is the real cause of misery. This is repeatedly emphasized throughout the Bhagavad-Gita – I encourage you to particularly study chapter 3. It is these long-standing attachments and conditioning to engage in certain types of activities that cause one to forget or become distracted from the real goal of life as soon as one engages in those activities.
But prematurely giving up one’s work out of fear of attachment will not be beneficial. Rather, the actual remedy is to continue to work according to the principles of Bhagavad-gita – viz. progressively cultivating detachment by doing one’s work in a spirit of sacrifice (niskama karma) and simultaneously cultivating attachment to Krishna through devotional practices, sravanam kirtanam etc, — through such engagement one becomes purified. (Please see BG 3.4-9)
As we discussed recently in digest 259A: ‘One who is unattached to the fruits of his work and works as he is obligated is the true yogi, not one who gives up all work.’ (BG 6.1) By engaging in this way, these initial realizations you are getting about the futility of mundane research and materialistic pursuits will become stronger and deeper, and similarly the ability to see your work/study in connection with Krishna will also become strengthened.
When a devotee attains sufficient maturity and purification, their so-called mundane occupational duties will no longer be troublesome or distracting; rather, when done under proper guidance of more realized devotees, one’s work itself can be performed as an act of devotional service — not only for self-purification but also as direct devotional service, e.g. one can use one’s occupation and position to reach out and help others in similar situations to come closer to Krishna, and to set right example for people in general (BG 3.21).
And when one is sufficiently mature and fixed in devotional service, at this point, one may also renounce one’s work to accept more direct and fruitful engagement in service to the Lord. On the other hand, those who prematurely quit their work, thinking it to be material, without sufficient depth of realization and purification, find it equally or even more challenging to engage themselves spiritually in a sustained way.
A key factor in all this is to have an opportunity to consult a realized and qualified devotee who can assess your nature and give appropriate guidance in how to systematically take the right steps in performing your occupational duties and come to the stage of being fixed in devotional service.
