14.26: If we wait for inspiration, we are waiters, not worshipers

Many of us wait for external inspiration to intensify our devotional practices like chanting.

Our dependence on external inspiration is undesirable because:

1. External inspiration is not in our control and is not always available,
2. When it is unavailable, our devotional practices are left at the mercy of our moods,
3. The caliber of our devotional practices will determine our eternal destiny.
4. Our destiny is too important to be left to something as fickle as our moods.

Thus, if we wait for external inspiration, we may be kept waiting for a long time; we will be waiters for who knows how long. Our destiny deserves something much better than such passivity.  We need to become proactive worshipers who dynamically worship Krishna without becoming distracted by moods. The Bhagavad-gita (14.26) assures us that, if we don’t let our devotional service be interrupted by the modes and their resultant moods, then we will gradually go beyond the reach of the moods.

To ensure that our devotional practices don’t become interrupted when inspiration is unavailable externally, we need to mine for it internally through two sources:

1. Convictions: Patients who are convinced that a medicine is potent take it even when it doesn’t taste good because they know it will do good. When we consciously contemplate on our conviction that our devotional practices will heal us emotionally and spiritually, then we can stick to them even if they don’t feel good.
2. Commitments: Devotional life is centered on relationships. Just as our family and office relationships depend on our keeping our commitments, so does our relationship with Krishna and his devotees. When we contemplate on the importance of these relationships and their associated commitments in our life, we will find that we have struck a rich vein of unfading inspiration.