Way to Face Troubles -- Stick to Lord's Feet as the Ultimate Shelter

baalasya neha sharanam pitarau nrsimha
naartasya caagadam udanvati majjato nauh
taptasya tat-pratividhir ya ihaanjaseshthas
taavad vibho tanu-bhrtaam tvad-upekshitaanaam

"My Lord Nrsimhadeva, O Supreme, because of a bodily conception of life, embodied souls neglected and not cared for by You cannot do anything for their betterment. Whatever remedies they accept, although perhaps temporarily beneficial, are certainly impermanent. For example, a father and mother cannot protect their child, a physician and medicine cannot relieve a suffering patient, and a boat on the ocean cannot protect a drowning man." (SB 7.9.19)

Srila Prabhupada explains in his purport that despite the presence of a father and mother, a child cannot be protected from accidental death, disease and various other miseries. No one can help, including the parents. Ultimately the shelter is the Lord, and one who takes shelter of the Lord is protected. This is guaranteed. As the Lord says in Bhagavad-gita (9.31), kaunteya pratijanihi na me bhaktah pranasyat - "O son of Kunti, declare it boldly that My devotee never perishes." Therefore, unless one is protected by the mercy of the Lord, no remedial measure can act effectively. One should consequently depend fully on the causeless mercy of the Lord.

Though it is very painful to accept these facts, this is the reality. Each and every one of have our own destiny according to our past karma. We don't have track of whatever sins or good deeds we had done in the past life. But Krishna, Supreme Lord has every detail in tact in His account and as a well-wishing father, He bestows us with happiness/distress as per our karma and His will. We might think that He should always reward us and never punish us. But actually His punishment is also mercy for us. In this context there is story of Pandarpur. Every day evening Lord Vitthala use to go out and return after few hours. One day Rukmini devi asked Lord Vitthala, "Where are you going every day?" Then Lord replied, "One of my great devotee is very sick and he cannot do any thing on his own. I am going there to help him". Then Rukmini devi said, "You are bhakta-vatsala, then why are you allowing him to suffer? Why don't you make him alright?" Then Lord replied, "If I will do so, then again he has to take birth in this material world to complete his cycle. On the other hand if he simply tolerates the misery now and continues with bhakti, then he can come back to Me in this life itself." So when we face troubles, we should understand that it is because of our own past sins and Supreme Lord Krishna apart from giving the punishment, is also giving us the strength to overcome it, as long as we stick on to His shelter.

-- Granthraj / Lord's Lotus Feet is the Safest Shelter / Santosh Ajmire

Srimad Bhagavatam is only about one behaviour - Tolerance.

Maharaj said that we can only be conscious of Krishna if we have tolerance. There is no end to the sufferings and so there should not be any end to tolerance of sufferings. Srimad Bhagavatam is only about one behaviour - tolerance. Parikshit Maharaj tolerated the curse. Cow and the bull tolerated Kali. Indradyumna Maharaj tolerated the curse of Agastya muni. Citraketu Maharaj tolerated the curse of Parvati Mata. Narada Muni tolerated the curse of Daksha. Ambarisha Maharaj tolerated the harassment of Durvasa muni. Gajendra tolerated the clutches of the crocodile for 1000 years and chanted prayers on top of that. Every personality in Bhagavatam has tolerated and because they tolerated, they became so strong in their saadhana that their consciousness is intact. They cannot see anything but the hand of Krishna.

The moment we start the blame game then we are not devotees. Then we become disturbed. Then we give so many excuses why we cannot come for Bhagavatam. Maharaj likes the following verse very much.

dvija uvaaca
naayam jano me sukha-duhkha-hetur
na devataatmaa graha-karma-kaalaah
manah param kaaranam aamananti
samsaara-cakram parivartayed yat

The brahmana said: "These people are not the cause of my happiness and distress. Neither are the demigods, my own body, the planets, my past work, or time. Rather, it is the mind alone that causes happiness and distress and perpetuates the rotation of material life." (SB 11.23.42)

Srimad Bhagavatam smashes all the reasons we give. It is all the attitude. The success of the devotee depends upon the attitude. The mind never wants to be in the present. Mind always wants to look into the past or the future. But the cow and the bull were only discussing Krishna. They never looked into the past or future. Those who discuss Krishna, when they are in trouble, for them the seedlings of sin die. That is the meaning of pure devotional service. SB 6.1.15

Only a rare person who has adopted complete, unalloyed devotional service to Krishna can uproot the weeds of sinful actions with no possibility that they will revive. He can do this simply by discharging devotional service, just as the sun can immediately dissipate fog by its rays

 

kecit kevalayaa bhaktyaa / vaasudeva-paraayanaah
agham dhunvanti kaartsnyena / nihaaram iva bhaaskarah

 

What should I do now that difficulty is there? I should remember Krishna. This is what the cow and the bull did. So when they were asked about the accused, they said, "I think it is Krishna", and in doing so they immediately thought of Krishna. They became peaceful. When the Pandavas were in difficulty did they blame the Kauravas? They said that Krishna wanted it and they accepted. When you accept your suffering, you tolerate. When you expect your suffering to stop, you die because the sufferings never stop. They just take different forms and they come in different ways, but they will always be there as long as you are in the material world. So the secret for the devotee is, vaasudeva paraayanaah. We read the word to word equivalent of paraayanaah - Completely attached (only to such service, without dependence on austerity, penance, cultivation of knowledge or pious activities).

  

-- Granthraj / Devotee Accepts; Demon Expects - Parts 4, 5 / Vaijayanti mala devi dasi

Don't be conscious of being a devotee.

[In the lecture, One of the devotees asked the question, "How do we conduct ourselves as a devotee in the office?" and Maharaj replied]: We should be normal. Devotees are not abnormal. Don't be conscious that you are a devotee (laughter). Unnecessarily we are proud, "Hey I am a devotee"! But actually we are not devotee, we are proud. Our svabhava, natural constitutional position is to be a devotee. So you are not doing anything special by becoming a devotee. For your own comfort you are being a devotee. To go to the mother is not an effort for us. So how can 'being a devotee' is an effort for us? So why should you be proud of it?

-- Granthraj post / Deovtion at Work / Kalacakra Krsna das / 08/06/2012