18.58 – When Krishna doesn’t understand…

Sometimes we pray that something important work out right. But it doesn’t. This may make us feel, “Krishna just doesn’t understand me, my needs, my problems.”

Things may indeed be genuinely, grievously problematic. But our assumption that Krishna doesn’t understand how they need to be resolved isn’t.

Our vision, after all, is finite and fallible. We can’t remember much about our past, we can’t see everything about the present and we can barely peer into the future. Given our limited perception, how can we be so confident that we know what is best for us?

We are like patients in pain. We may feel that the pain has an obvious cause that could have been avoided or removed. But again the pain may well be a symptom of a deeper malady that would have remained neglected while it was eating into us below the surface, leading to bigger problems later. We may know next to nothing about what caused the pain, how widespread the disease is and where it may lead to in future.

Gita wisdom assures us that when we are trying to serve and love Krishna, we have placed ourselves in the hands of the safest and the best doctor. Our assumption that Krishna doesn’t understand does nothing except disempower us. It increases our emotional distance from Krishna, thereby making it difficult for us to connect with his calming remembrance, his loving presence, his healing grace. Consequently, we can’t benefit from his guidance. We end up succumbing to kneejerk reactions that only make things worse.

Instead of worrying whether Krishna understands us, we need to worry whether we understand him. The Bhagavad-gita (18.58) assures us that if we become Krishna conscious and try our best to understand and do his will, his miraculous grace will enable us to scale all problems.