Spiritual Warrior

Question: I know I should choose bhakti, but often I simply can’t. I don’t have the strength to do it. What then?

Answer: Yes, sometimes we feel weak & overwhelmed by the circumstances, and it becomes clear to us, "I’m not like that advanced devotee, who just goes for bhakti all the time." At that time, it is important to recognize that we can turn our weaknesses into strengths. This is not cheap coaching advice. We may say, "Oh well, when I’m weak, I’m in Maya."

The moment we really, honestly acknowledge ‘I’m very weak", something different will happen; it will change our mindset, and we will become genuinely humble.

We will really feel sorry for what we do, and we won’t make excuses any longer. We will take responsibility for what we did or did not do, and we will feel, "Oh, what a fool I am!" At that moment, we attract powerful mercy, provided we then continue to act in devotional service.

Bhakti Tirtha Maharaja beautifully expressed this in his book, Spiritual Warrior: "When our desire to serve is beyond our capacity, yet we act without hesitation, that is the moment empowerment occurs."

So, when we feel weak & overwhelmed by material energy, the problem may be that we don’t feel it enough. When, however, we really feel & recognize we are incapable of serving, we still give a little of whatever we can do, such as a prayer before we go to bed, something like "Oh Krsna, please help me, I couldn’t chant more than 10 minutes today" or "Again, I ate that cheese with animal rennet" or "Oh no, I can’t forgive myself for what I watched on the internet today", etc. "Oh Krsna, please help me!" Then we will attract Krsna’s mercy.

Our problem is that we remain proud, we don’t turn to Krsna properly, we don’t take advantage of our weaknesses, and we don't understand that we are not as great as we thought. But if we do it, Krsna sees it.

- Article by H.H. Sacinandan Swami

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