Asking Kṛṣṇa - From Material Desires to Perfect Inquiries
The way a person prays to the Supreme Lord reveals the depth of their spiritual realization. Śrīla Prabhupāda teaches that while beginners may approach God to ask for temporary material relief, advanced transcendentalists utilize their relationship with Kṛṣṇa to ask for perfect philosophical knowledge and the eternal opportunity to serve.
The Folly of Material Requests
The Supreme Lord is the proprietor of all opulences. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that approaching such a magnanimous Lord merely to ask for temporary bodily comforts or economic development is a sign of spiritual immaturity and foolishness.
- A bhakta feels ashamed to ask from Krsna for his material comforts.
- If a rich man agrees to give us whatever we want, but we ask him only for a few grains of rice, is that very intelligent? Asking Krsna for material benefit is exactly like this.
- If we want material happiness from Krsna, it is certainly not difficult for Him to grant it. He can also give us mukti, liberation, but it is foolishness to ask anything from Krsna except bhakti.
- A pure devotee never asks for any kind of material or spiritual benediction from the Lord; his only prayer is that he may not forget the lotus feet of the Lord (Krsna) in any condition of life.
- Devotees of the Personality of Godhead never ask any benediction from Lord Visnu, or Krsna, and even if they ask something from the Lord, it is not at all dangerous for human society.
Kṛṣṇa's Protective Refusals
Unlike the demigods who are obliged to fulfill requests regardless of the consequences, Kṛṣṇa acts as the supreme well-wishing father. Śrīla Prabhupāda points out that if a devotee asks for something detrimental, Kṛṣṇa will lovingly withhold it and award pure intelligence instead.
- A person in need of money approaches the Lord to ask for some improvement in his monetary condition.
- When we ask from Krsna anything other than devotional service, that is pious activities. That is not devotional activities. Devotional activity is different from pious activity.
- A devotee may foolishly ask for material benedictions, but Lord Krsna does not give him such benedictions, despite the devotee's prayers.
- Even when His (Krsna) devotee asks for some opulence from Him, the Lord sometimes does not give it. He is very cautious about His devotees.
- If someone comes to Krsna asking for material benefits, Krsna does not award him the material things he desires. Instead, the Lord gives him intelligence so that he will forget his material desires and become attached to the Lord's lotus feet.
Arjuna's Surrender and Inquiry
When faced with an insurmountable crisis on the battlefield, Arjuna stopped trying to figure things out independently. Śrīla Prabhupāda highlights that Arjuna did the most intelligent thing possible: he submitted himself as a disciple and asked Kṛṣṇa for absolute guidance.
- Now I am confused about my duty and have lost all composure because of miserly weakness. In this condition I am asking You to tell me for certain what is best for me.
- He (Arjuna) asks Krsna to become his spiritual master and teach him. The lessons given by Sri Krsna are not simply meant for Arjuna but for everyone.
- Arjuna is asking not to a third-class so-called philosopher and chemist and economist, but to Krsna. Krsna. Because whatever answer Krsna will give, that is fact. And sastra means the things which have been spoken by Krsna. That is sastra.
- Arjuna, he loves Krsna, he's a lover of God; therefore he's asking question from Krsna. But whatever question is answered by Krsna, that is perfect, because He is perfect. So our process of receiving knowledge: from the perfect.
- If we want to curb lamentation for good, then we have to take shelter of Krsna, as Arjuna is seeking to do. So Arjuna asked Krsna to solve his problem definitely, and that is the way of Krsna consciousness.
Asking for the Benefit of the World
Arjuna was a liberated soul, free from ignorance. However, Śrīla Prabhupāda notes that throughout the Bhagavad-gītā, Arjuna asks fundamental questions specifically to put the Absolute Truth on record and dispel the misgivings of future generations.
- Arjuna is asking Krsna how He exists in His all-pervading aspect through His different energies. One should know that this is being asked by Arjuna on behalf of the common people.
- For Arjuna there is no doubt, Yet he is asking Krsna to explain His all-pervading nature so that in future people will understand, especially the impersonalists, how He exists in His all-pervading aspect through His different energies.
- In order to drive out all misgivings which the gross materialists of the world may have, Arjuna asked all relevant questions, and the answers were given by Krsna so that any layman can understand them.
- Although Arjuna personally accepts the statements of Sri Krsna, in order to clarify the situation for people, he asks (BG 4.4): The sun-god Vivasvan is senior by birth to You. How am I to understand that in the beginning You instructed this science to him.
- This important question (What is the use of such a waste of time) asked of Krsna by Arjuna will clarify the distinction between the impersonal and personal conceptions of the Absolute Truth.
The Ultimate Unmotivated Prayer
When a devotee reaches the highest platform of realization, the desire to ask for anything personal completely vanishes. Śrīla Prabhupāda concludes that the most exalted prayer is simply asking the Lord for the uninterrupted opportunity to serve Him.
- Mucukunda continued, "You (Krsna) are the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and You can offer me anything I want, including liberation. But who is such a fool that after pleasing You he would ask from You something which might cause entanglement in this material world."
- By asking this benediction (I simply request that I may not forget Your (Krsna's) lotus feet at any time) from the Lord, the sage Narada showed the ideal prayer of all pure devotees.
- Devotee never asks to Krsna anything. He simply asks for the opportunity to serve His servant. Prahlada Maharaja says: "Give me opportunity to serve Your servant." He doesn't want to serve Him directly.
- Our policy is not to ask anything from Krsna. He knows what is good for me; simply I have to surrender unto Him.
- It is our only prayer that we are always asking the Lord for further opportunities of service. We do not care to ask for anything else, so this is our only prayer. Our life is service to Krishna and how we may serve Him more and more that is our only desire.
Conclusion
As Śrīla Prabhupāda masterfully illustrates, the progression of spiritual life is clearly reflected in what one asks from the Supreme Lord. In the beginning stages of faith, it is natural to approach God for the fulfillment of basic needs. However, remaining stuck in the mentality of treating Kṛṣṇa as a divine order-supplier is spiritual stagnation. Kṛṣṇa's true mercy is shown when He overrides our foolish material requests and grants us the transcendental knowledge needed to return back home, back to Godhead. Following the perfect example of Arjuna, the sincere seeker stops asking for mundane solutions and instead asks for absolute truth and guidance. Ultimately, a fully realized soul abandons the asking mentality entirely; they recognize that Kṛṣṇa already knows what is best, and their only remaining petition is the eternal privilege of rendering unalloyed devotional service.
Dive Deeper into Śrīla Prabhupāda's Vani
Śrīla Prabhupāda lives within his instructions. This article is a summary of the profound truths found in the Vaniquotes category Asking Krsna. We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience the teachings in their direct, verbatim form.