06.22 We may be broke but we don’t have to be broken

Becoming broke is usually among our worst nightmares. Something that we try our best to avoid.

Yet the inscrutable ways of life sometimes make our worst nightmares come true. We can and should try our best to manage our finances reasonably and respectably. Still, we may find ourselves facing disaster not just economically but also emotionally. Why emotionally? Because in our materialistic culture the statement of our finances is seen as a statement of our self-worth.

And the pain of being rejected as unworthy or worse still worthless cuts deeper than the pain of being broke. It rips us apart internally, leaving us broken in spirit. Broken in the will to fight, to even live.

That’s why Gita wisdom urges us to not exhaust our energy in seeking financial enrichment alone. We need to invest adequate energy for seeking spiritual enrichment by cultivating a devotional connection with Krishna. He doesn’t judge us by our financial worth; he loves us always. When we offer our love to him, he reciprocates us by revealing his presence and grace and love in our heart. So immeasurable and incomparable is the resulting enrichment that the Bhagavad-gita (06.22) declares we crave for nothing else and stay unshaken even amidst the worst of upheavals.

By seeking our self-worth in our relationship with Krishna, we can ensure that life’s ways never cause the broken feeling inside. Or we can heal the feeling if it’s already there. When we are emotionally confident of Krishna’s love, we can determinedly pick ourselves up and rebuild from the ruins. Rebuild not just to do justice to our talents but also to bring glory to Krishna in this world. And to return back to his world of eternal love where nothing can ever make us either broke or broken.

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Upon gaining this he thinks there is no greater gain. Being situated in such a position, one is never shaken, even in the midst of greatest difficulty.