Queen Kunti is saying that, “My sampada, my only wealth is the vipadas which You send to me.” In other words she gives this very amazing definition of auspiciousness. For a devotee anything which helps him to remember about the Lord is auspicious, is the wealth. And because impediments help us to remember about the Lord this is our success, this is our fortune.
Sometimes when we want to get fortune we think that fortune means that we get followers and we get wealth and we get everything. No! And she is saying very important thing about why Krishna is sometimes so harsh to the devotees. Not sometimes - all the time! We join and we think, “I joined because I wanted to be peaceful.” And Prabhupada said this wonderful slogan, “Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!” Right? Yes we chant and chant and chant why? Because we have this understanding that happiness means that everything is fine according to material standards. No! We chant and Krishna sends us so many problems and we should be happy. He more problems are there the happier we should become.
This is the slogan of this sanga - ‘More devotees, happier devotees.’ [Laughter] Happier devotees mean devotees with a lot of obstacles, a lot of problems. This is the hidden meaning of this slogan of Srila Prabhupada, “Chant and be happy.” It means that Krishna will send you impediments - for sure, don’t worry about this. [Laughter] You don’t have to like queen Kunti ask Him to do it. He will do it. [Laughter] But in reality she explains why He is doing this - because He is jagad-guru. She is saying, “O jagad-guru! O teacher of the whole world.” He is teaching us this very important lesson of dependence on Him. By sending all these problems, all these obstacles into our lives He is giving us the most essential teachings which is there.
Once Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupada in a lecture gave a very amazing statement, a very important and amazing statement! He said that sometimes people wonder why there are so many problems in this world, why there are so many miseries in this world. Why? And he quote the famous verse from the tenth canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam:
tat te ‘nukampam su-samiksamano bhunjana evatma-krtam vipakam hrd-vag-vapurbhir vidadhan namas te jiveta yo mukti-pade sa daya-bhak [SB 10.14.8]
He said the reason why there are so many problems in this world is that by encountering these problems the living entity may develop the feeling that something is lacking in his life and this feeling of lacking is extremely important for our spiritual development. By encountering all these problems and miseries we can develop this feeling that something is lacking. It means that my position is not natural. He says that normally living entities are trying to be connected with something which is limited and this desire to be connected with something which is limited is the source of innumerable miseries in our lives.
Our desire to be connected or to be somehow or the other in contact with something limited is actually that previous mistake which every one of us did. But he says that by developing this feeling Lord Krishna mercifully arranged this world in such a way that by developing this feeling that something is lacking we may understand that what is really lacking in my life is the contact with the unlimited. I am separated from this unlimited which is unnatural for me and that is the reason for all my problems.
As soon as this desire to come in contact with something unlimited becomes very strong that is the real auspiciousness. That is why the Lord sends all these problems and impediments in our lives. That is His mercy. His real mercy is not to give us money and followers and prestige and position and so many other nice things. In fact this is not mercy. This is His curse because there is a good chance that we will forget about Him by having all of these things and we will become proud.
He sends to us all these problems to make us humble and when we are humble, in this humble state of mind we may remember about Him. And this remembrance about Him is the most auspicious thing which may happen to us. And as leaders of this Krishna consciousness movement we have ample mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in the form of unlimited problems. I know it because I am coming from Russia. As they say in India, “From Russia.” So I am from Russia and this is the place of unlimited problems.
Sometimes i think, “What am I doing in this condemned place?” Not sometimes, everyday! [Laughter] Every single day of my life I think about it because there are problems after problems after problems. You know the Bhagavad-gita court case. Now there is an appeal case. And yesterday we got the news that the deputy of prosecutor general in Russia spoke against Bhagavd-gita. It basically means that the court case was supported or endorsed. Somehow or the other by coincidence he came to Tomsk now - just before this court case is about to start, appeal court case. And he spoke again by coincidence with the journalist and he said, “It is an extremist book!”
Sometimes, not sometimes, all the time I think, “Will there be an end?” And the answer is always the same, “No!” It will remain the same but we have to really understand that this is the mercy, that this is real mercy and ultimately if we manage to remain humble, to remain servants of the Lord and to keep us in this position victory will come but we will not be too much jubilant when it will come because the eternal joy of the soul will shine in our heart even before that - just by this attitude of humble service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is the quality which naturally comes to somebody who has surrendered himself to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. And we have to learn this glorious manifestation of bhakti from our preachers and spiritual masters.
- HH Bhakti Vijnana Goswami Maharaj
Mayapur - 17.02.2012
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