18.58 – Let’s not tell Krishna how big our problems are; let’s tell our problems how big Krishna is

When life’s problems overwhelm us, our vision becomes distorted. We start feeling that the problems are ultra-big, bigger than even Krishna.  Consequently, we become so preoccupied in coping with them that our spiritual practices like chanting become distracted. We may even feel that the distraction is justified: “Krishna, you understand how big this problem is. I need to deal with it first before I can resume proper chanting.”

Gita wisdom helps us understand that resuming proper chanting is the first way to deal with any problem. The Bhagavad-gita (18.58) reminds us that if we become conscious of Krishna, he will, by his grace, help us to cross over all problems. His grace often expresses itself as a perspective-restoring insight: Krishna is far bigger than any problem.  For him solving our biggest problem is no big deal; he can empower us to tackle or transcend it by one moment of illumination.

Thus Gita wisdom enables us to beat the problem– and the mind that is fretting over it – down to size by proclaiming to it how big Krishna is. Such an inner proclamation corrects our vision distortion; we no longer see the problem as overwhelming. We realize that, just as Krishna’s grace has enabled us to weather many problems in the past, so it will enable us to weather this problem too. That realization loosens the problem’s anxiety-inducing grip on us. Reserves of hitherto choked mental energy break free and soon solutions emerge.

Over time, we start seeing the bigness of worldly problems as opportunities to deepen our awareness of the bigness of Krishna. Then problems no longer agitate us, but instead stimulate us.