09.33 – Our heart may not have a place for Krishna, but Krishna has a place for our heart

Sometimes life forces us to face so many problems that we feel we have no time left for Krishna. Not only that, the very presence of so many problems makes us disinclined towards Krishna: “If he lets so many problems come in my life even when I am serving him, what’s the use of turning towards him?” We feel so overwhelmed by anxiety about the problems and dismay over Krishna’s apparent unhelpfulness that our heart has no place left for him.

At such times, Gita wisdom gently reminds us that Krishna is not the cause of our distress; he is the cure. Misery is intrinsic to the very nature of this world, as the Bhagavad-gita (09.33) indicates. We find ourselves trapped in misery here due to our own past wrong choices – primarily in choosing to turn away from Krishna towards this temporary material world and secondarily in choosing to do karmic misdeeds while pursuing illusory material pleasures.

Nonetheless, whatever our past wrong choices and whatever our present problems, Krishna is ever-ready to help us. He has a place for our heart – the safest, strongest place where our battered heart can be healed and comforted and illumined. We just need to take our heart to him by chanting his holy names and praying to him. If we persevere in our attempts to connect with him, then the resulting divine contact opens our mind to the reality that his eyes see much further than ours, that he knows what is best for us better than us. Consequently, instead of demanding solutions according to our plan, we pray for wisdom to understand his plan and strength to cooperate with it.

That is a prayer in which Krishna never fails us.

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Therefore, having come to this temporary, miserable world, engage in loving service unto Me.