Question 8
QUESTIONER: ONCE WHEN KRISHNA IS ON HIS WAY TO DWARKA HE MEETS KUNTA WHO REQUESTS OF HIM A GIFT OF PAIN AND SUFFERING. BUT KRISHNA ONLY LAUGHS; HE DOES NOT EVEN SAY THAT SUCH A REQUEST IS NOT RIGHT. WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
When a devotee prays for pain it is very meaningful. And there are reasons for it.
To pray for happiness seems to be somewhat selfish. It is. When one prays to God for happiness, he does not really pray to God, he only seeks happiness. His prayer has nothing to do with God, it is only concerned with his happiness. If he can find happiness without God, he will gladly give him up and move directly toward happiness. He prays to God only because he believes that happiness can be had through him. So he uses God as a means; happiness remains his end, his objective. Therefore a true devotee will not pray for happiness, because he would not like to place anything, not even happiness, above God.
When a devotee prays for unhappiness, he simply means to say to God, "Even if you give me unhappiness, it would be far better than happiness coming from somewhere else." A devotee will prefer unhappiness coming from God to happiness that comes from the world. Now there is no way left for this person to move away from God. Man is in the habit of moving away from unhappiness and chasing happiness. The devotee seeking happiness can part with God, but one who asks for suffering cannot; he has now burned his bridges.
A prayer for unhappiness is immensely significant. It is asking for the very thing which people avoid at all costs. A true devotee asks for unhappiness.
There is yet another side to this prayer to God for unhappiness. You can easily risk this kind of prayer, because God can never inflict unhappiness on you. His gift is always happiness. In fact, whatever comes from God is happiness. And if happiness is the only gift that comes from God then why beg for it? There is some sense in seeking happiness from those who cannot give it. And it is safe to pray to God for unhappiness, because he is incapable of granting this prayer. He has only one gift to make, and that is happiness. This devotee is trying to be clever with God; he is playing a joke on him. Really he is telling him that he would not ask for happiness, because whatever God gives is happiness; he can easily ask for the opposite. He is putting God in an awkward position. It always happens in a love relationship -- lovers have fun at each other's expense. In a way the devotee is kidding God, because he knows that although he is omnipotent God is nevertheless incapable of inflicting pain on his lovers.
There are other reasons too, which are psychological. Happiness is transient; it comes and goes. But suffering is lasting, once it visits you it will not leave you so soon. And happiness is not only fleeting, it is very shallow too. Happiness lacks depth. That is why happy people also lack depth, they have a superficiality about them. Suffering has great depth and it lends its depth to those who suffer.
There is a depth in the life of people who go through suffering, there is a depth in their eyes, in their look, in their whole demeanor. Suffering cleanses and chastens you, it gives you a sharpness. Suffering has great depth which is utterly lacking in happiness. Happiness is like Euclid's point which has neither breadth nor length; it is virtually non-existent. You cannot draw a point on paper; the moment you draw it there is a little length and breadth to it. So it is with happiness; it exists in your thoughts and dreams, it does not really exist. So there is no point in praying for happiness.
A devotee asks for something enduring, some thing lasting, that can broaden and deepen his being By asking for suffering he is asking for all that is pro found and everlasting in life.
And the last thing: There is a kind of joy even in the suffering that comes to you from the one you love. And even happiness that comes from an unloving quarter is devoid of this joy. Has it ever occurred to you that suffering has its own joy? This joy has nothing to do with the pleasure Masoch used to have in flogging himself.
A masochist is one who receives a kind of pleasure by inflicting pain on himself, by torturing himself. Gandhi was such a masochist. The suffering a devotee prays for is something entirely different from masochistic pleasure. He is talking of the joy that comes from love's suffering, which only lovers know. Love's suffering is profound. Ordinary pain is not so devastating as the pain of love. Love's pain wipes out the lover, while ordinary pain leaves your ego intact. Love is the death of the ego, which remains unaffected by ordinary suffering. So the devotee prays for a suffering that can efface him altogether. He prays for love s suffering.
That is why Krishna just laughs on hearing Kunta s prayer; he does not say a word. Sometimes a smile, a giggle can say more than words do; words are not that articulate. And if you use words where a smile is enough you will only spoil the game. That is why Krishna does not say a word beyond giggling, because he knows that the devotee is cleverly putting him in a corner, he is really asking for something that is good and great. There is nothing to explain.
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Next: Chapter 10: Spiritualism, Religion and Politics, Question 9
Energy Enhancement Enlightened Texts Krishna Krishna: The Man and His Philosophy
Chapter 10
- Krishna, Krishna: The Man and His Philosophy Chapter 10: Spiritualism, Religion and Politics, Question 1
Krishna, Krishna: The Man and His Philosophy Chapter 10: Spiritualism, Religion and Politics, Question 1, KRISHNA WAS ESSENTIALLY A SPIRITUAL MAN, BUT HE FREELY TOOK PART IN POLITICS. AND AS A POLITICIAN HE DID NOT SHRINK FROM USING THE TRICKS OF THE TRADE. IN THE BATTLE OF THE MAHABHARAT HE GOT BISHMA KILLED BY DECEIT -- A NAKED WOMAN WAS MADE TO STAND BEFORE THAT VENERATED OLD SAGE, WHO WAS A VOWED CELIBATE. IN THE SAME WAY, DECEPTION WAS USED TO KILL DRONACHARYA, KARNA, AND DURYODHANA. THE QUESTION ARISES: SHOULD A SPIRITUAL MAN TAKE PART IN POLITICS, AND IF SO, SHOULD HE BEHAVE AS ORDINARY POLITICIANS DO? AND, WAS MAHATMA GANDHI WRONG IN LAYING STRESS ON THE PURITY OF ENDS AND MEANS? IS NOT PURITY OF MEANS IMPORTANT TO POLITICS? at energyenhancement.org
- Krishna, Krishna: The Man and His Philosophy Chapter 10: Spiritualism, Religion and Politics, Question 2
Krishna, Krishna: The Man and His Philosophy Chapter 10: Spiritualism, Religion and Politics, Question 2, COULD HE NOT HAVE KILLED THEM STRAIGHTAWAY WITH WEAPONS, INSTEAD OF RESORTING TO DUBIOUS MEANS? at energyenhancement.org
- Krishna, Krishna: The Man and His Philosophy Chapter 10: Spiritualism, Religion and Politics, Question 3
Krishna, Krishna: The Man and His Philosophy Chapter 10: Spiritualism, Religion and Politics, Question 3, THERE WAS A KING NAMED PONDRAK IN THE TIMES OF KRISHNA. THIS MAN HAD DECLARED KRISHNA TO BE A FAKE AND HIMSELF TO BE THE REAL KRISHNA. CAN YOU SAY IF SIMILAR THINGS HAVE HAPPENED IN THE LIVES OF BUDDHA, MAHAVIRA AND OTHER ENLIGHTENED BEINGS? at energyenhancement.org
- Krishna, Krishna: The Man and His Philosophy Chapter 10: Spiritualism, Religion and Politics, Question 4
Krishna, Krishna: The Man and His Philosophy Chapter 10: Spiritualism, Religion and Politics, Question 4, WHY DID JESUS CLAIM? at energyenhancement.org
- Krishna, Krishna: The Man and His Philosophy Chapter 10: Spiritualism, Religion and Politics, Question 5
Krishna, Krishna: The Man and His Philosophy Chapter 10: Spiritualism, Religion and Politics, Question 5, THE LINE OF HINDU INCARNATIONS BEGINS WITH THE FISH AND CONTINUES THROUGH RAMA, KRISHNA, AND BUDDHA. EVEN THE COMING INCARNATION, TO BE KNOWN AS KALKI, IS INCLUDED IN THIS SERIES. BUT HOW IS IT THAT IN THIS LONG LINE OF INCARNATIONS KRISHNA IS SAID TO BE THE COMPLETE INCARNATION OF GOD, ALTHOUGH BUDDHA HAPPENED LONG AFTER HIM? WHY WAS BUDDHA DERIVED THIS HONOR? AND WHAT, FROM THE VIEWPOINT OF EVOLUTION, IS THE SECRET OF KRISHNA PRECEDING BUDDHA? IS IT SO BECAUSE THE MOVEMENT OF TIME IS CIRCULAR? at energyenhancement.org
- Krishna, Krishna: The Man and His Philosophy Chapter 10: Spiritualism, Religion and Politics, Question 6
Krishna, Krishna: The Man and His Philosophy Chapter 10: Spiritualism, Religion and Politics, Question 6, KRISHNA PUT UP WITH NINE HUNDRED AND NINETY-NINE INVECTIVES HURLED ON HIM BY KING SHISHUPAL, BUT HE KILLED HIM WITH HIS CHAKRA -- A WHEEL-LIKE WEAPON -- WHEN THE KING FIRED HIS LAST INVECTIVE. DOES IT NOT SHOW THAT KRISHNA'S TOLERANCE IS ONLY SKIN DEEP, THAT DEEP DOWN HE WAS INTOLERANT? at energyenhancement.org
- Krishna, Krishna: The Man and His Philosophy Chapter 10: Spiritualism, Religion and Politics, Question 7
Krishna, Krishna: The Man and His Philosophy Chapter 10: Spiritualism, Religion and Politics, Question 7, WOULD YOU NOT CALL KRISHNA A KIDNAPPING CHAMPION? HE NOT ONLY KIDNAPS RUKMINI AND MARRIES HER, BUT ALSO INDUCES ARJUNA TO KIDNAP HER SISTER SUBHADRA. WHAT DO YOU SAY? at energyenhancement.org
- Krishna, Krishna: The Man and His Philosophy Chapter 10: Spiritualism, Religion and Politics, Question 8
Krishna, Krishna: The Man and His Philosophy Chapter 10: Spiritualism, Religion and Politics, Question 8, ONCE WHEN KRISHNA IS ON HIS WAY TO DWARKA HE MEETS KUNTA WHO REQUESTS OF HIM A GIFT OF PAIN AND SUFFERING. BUT KRISHNA ONLY LAUGHS; HE DOES NOT EVEN SAY THAT SUCH A REQUEST IS NOT RIGHT. WHAT DOES IT MEAN? at energyenhancement.org
- Krishna, Krishna: The Man and His Philosophy Chapter 10: Spiritualism, Religion and Politics, Question 9
Krishna, Krishna: The Man and His Philosophy Chapter 10: Spiritualism, Religion and Politics, Question 9, IT ALL SOUNDS PARADOXICAL. YOU HAVE SAID MORE THAN ONCE THAT WHILE KRISHNA'S LIFE IS EXTRAORDINARY AND MIRACULOUS, LIKE A FLOWER IN BLOOM, FULL OF LAUGHTER AND PLAYFULNESS, THE LIFE OF OTHERS LIKE HIM IS MASOCHISTIC. FOR INSTANCE, NOBODY EVER SAW JESUS LAUGH. IN THIS CONTEXT HOW IS IT POSSIBLE THAT A DEVOTEE PRAYING FOR SUFFERING CAN HAVE A VISION OF THE KRISHNA OF YOUR CONCEPT? at energyenhancement.org
- Krishna, Krishna: The Man and His Philosophy Chapter 10: Spiritualism, Religion and Politics, Question 10
Krishna, Krishna: The Man and His Philosophy Chapter 10: Spiritualism, Religion and Politics, Question 10, AS YOU TALK ABOUT GOD AND HIS DEVOTEE, AND YOU CALL KRISHNA 'BHAGWAN', THE BLESSED ONE, A QUESTION ARISES IN MY MIND IF KRISHNA IS A DEVOTEE. IF SO, WHO IS THE BLESSED ONE HE IS DEVOTED TO? AND IF HE IS NOT A DEVOTEE WHY DOES HE SING HYMNS OF PRAISE TO DEVOTION? at energyenhancement.org
- Krishna, Krishna: The Man and His Philosophy Chapter 10: Spiritualism, Religion and Politics, Question 11
Krishna, Krishna: The Man and His Philosophy Chapter 10: Spiritualism, Religion and Politics, Question 11, WHAT IS THE TEST OF ONE'S HIGHEST DEVOTION TO KRISHNA? at energyenhancement.org
- Krishna, Krishna: The Man and His Philosophy Chapter 10: Spiritualism, Religion and Politics, Question 12
Krishna, Krishna: The Man and His Philosophy Chapter 10: Spiritualism, Religion and Politics, Question 12, KRISHNA INSPIRES ARJUNA TO FIGHT IN THE BATTLE OF THE MAHABHARAT. BUT IT IS SAID THAT ONCE IT HAPPENS, KRISHNA HIMSELF PREPARES TO FIGHT WITH ARJUNA. WHAT IS THE MATTER? at energyenhancement.org
- Krishna, Krishna: The Man and His Philosophy Chapter 10: Spiritualism, Religion and Politics, Question 13
Krishna, Krishna: The Man and His Philosophy Chapter 10: Spiritualism, Religion and Politics, Question 13, KRISHNA COULD ALSO SAY THAT SINCE BOTH OF THEM ARE HIS FRIENDS HE IS NOT GOING TO FIGHT ON ANY SIDE at energyenhancement.org
- Krishna, Krishna: The Man and His Philosophy Chapter 10: Spiritualism, Religion and Politics, Question 14
Krishna, Krishna: The Man and His Philosophy Chapter 10: Spiritualism, Religion and Politics, Question 14, YOU EXPLAINED TO US THIS SAYING OF JESUS: 'BLESSED ARE THE MEEK, FOR THEY SHALL INHERIT THE EARTH' THERE IS ANOTHER SAYING OF JESUS: 'BLESSED ARE THE PURE IN HEART, FOR THEIRS IS THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN.' CAN YOU SAY SOMETHING ABOUT IT? at energyenhancement.org
- Krishna, Krishna: The Man and His Philosophy Chapter 10: Spiritualism, Religion and Politics, Question 15
Krishna, Krishna: The Man and His Philosophy Chapter 10: Spiritualism, Religion and Politics, Question 15, WHY SHOULD ONE THINK OF GAINING AFTER LOSING EVERYTHING? at energyenhancement.org
- Krishna, Krishna: The Man and His Philosophy Chapter 10: Spiritualism, Religion and Politics, Question 16
Krishna, Krishna: The Man and His Philosophy Chapter 10: Spiritualism, Religion and Politics, Question 16, WHAT YOU SAY IS POSSIBLE ONLY IN A STATE OF ENLIGHTENMENT, AND WE FIND EVERYTHING OF THAT ENLIGHTENMENT IN YOU. YOU ARE UTTERLY HUMBLE, BUT WHEN YOU COME OUT AS A RELENTLESS CRITIC, WE ARE ASSAILED BY DOUBT AND CONFUSION at energyenhancement.org
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