Losing trust in Krishna during difficult times! Solutions!
A devotee (name hidden) asked like this:
Hare Krishna prabhu Ji. i just want to know that how we can have full faith on Krishna I always say i have trust in Krishna he always with me but once when I face some bad situation or somebody hurt me my trust level toward Krishna come down I joined iskcon and chant also I accepting that he is my father and he cannot do anything wrong with me but practically somewhere I don’t have full trust on him or I think I m not accepting that he is my father I trust on stupid things but not in Krishna who had made me by grace of him I m enjoying in this material world I knw I m selfish I want to change myself please clear me that how to build trust on Krishna else how to feel his presence in routine life…..
REPLY:
There are three types of devotees as said by Krishna. One expects something from Krishna; Another likes to know about Him;
Some worship Krishna without any expectations, of course, except His mercy. This type of selfless devotion is Nishkam bakthi.
Most of the devotees are in the first stage of having some expectations. Such devotees should come to the stage of three, ie, Nishkam bakthi.
(I stopped trusting Krishna because of problems. How to regain my faith in Krishna? READ HERE!)
Though coming to the stage of Nishkam bakthi is difficult, it is definitely achievable.
How to come to that stage?
Only requirement is FULL FAITH in the existence and Mercy of Krishna. If we truly believe that Krishna will not let us down as said by Him in Bhagavad Gita, we will accept whatever happenings in our life as the ones for our goodness without Losing trust in Krishna. Though we face some negatives in life, in fact, it must be for doing good to us.
For example, if a devotee does not get his aimed job, he need not feel for that because, Krishna should have still better offer for him.
Krishna knows all our activities in all our births. So, He can decide which is good for us. So, it is always good to go with the directions shown by Krishna.
In other words, it is better to accept whatever happens to us in life from time to time. We can just try our best, but, the desision should be left to Krishna.
(How Chanting protects us from material problems? READ HERE!)
When we follow expectation based devotion (Kamya bhakti), we always expect positive incidents in our life. No one likes to face negatives in life. Only some staunch devotees like Kunti devi prays to Krishna for getting more and more pains.
So, stop expecting only the positives in life. It is possible only in the heavenly planets.
A birth in earth means to face both positives and negatives. When we face negatives, we clear our negative karma. When we face positives, we are enjoying the fruits of our past good karma. It is also a test whether we commit more and more negative karma while facing the fruits of good karma.
I do not exaggerate. Whenever I face any negatives in life, I see the presence of Krishna. If I tell you all the negatives happened in my life, you will wonder how this guy is preaching Krishna bhakti even after this much of disappointments. Many others would have become an atheist when they face this much of negatives. But, I saw them as the clearance of my past karma and accepted those negatives.
(Can one Get relief from Diseases & Problems following devotion? READ HERE!)
Therefore, I have developed a healthy mindset in which I feel happy when I desert something. When I accumulated so many things in my house I felt happy before I came to devotional life. But, when I continued to try to follow Nishkam devotion, I saw those things as burdens. So, I sold so many things and kept only the most necessary things. Now, my home is clean and neat and this desertion has given me immense pleasure.
Thus, for a really advancing devotee, the desertion of material things should give happiness. If not, we are not advancing, but, just managing with devotion.
So, my sincere advice to you is – Feel happy when you face negatives. You are cleansed by Krishna. This is 100% true. believe this. Losing trust in Krishna during difficult times is ignorance.
At the same time, when you face positives, be careful in not developing pride. If that positive is not required by you, desert it.
This will give you double happiness. Try and tell me.
(I stopped chanting because of severe problems I face in life. What to do? READ HERE!)