Ceasing the Disease of Anxiety Through Kṛṣṇa Consciousness
Look at the faces of people rushing through any major city in the world, and you will see one universal expression: anxiety. Whether they are wealthy executives or poor laborers, everyone is worried about the future. The Vedic literature provides a profound psychological and spiritual diagnosis for this condition. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that anxiety is not merely a byproduct of modern stress; it is the fundamental nature of material existence itself. To cure this disease, we must understand its root cause and apply the perfect transcendental medicine.
The Root Cause: Asad-grahat
Why are we so anxious? Śrīla Prabhupāda identifies the root cause using the precise terminology of Prahlāda Mahārāja: asad-grahāt, which means accepting the temporary as permanent. Because we falsely identify with the physical body—which is destined to die—and attach ourselves to temporary things like bank balances and national borders, we live in constant fear of losing them.
- Anxiety means asad-grahat.
- Why anxiety? The anxiety is because this material body. I am thinking of "I may be hurt." Oh, what's that hurt? The hurt means body. The soul is never hurt. Soul is eternal, na hanyate hanyamane sarire (Bhagavad-Gita 2.20). That they do not know.
- The body's asat, perishable, temporary. So whatever you have got in relationship with this body - my country, my society, my bank balance, my money, my wife, children - everything in the body, they're also temporary. So they are very, very anxiety.
- This fearful anxiety exists because we do not know Krsna, the Supreme Lord, the supreme controller. Instead, we have other conceptions, and therefore we are always anxious.
The Blazing Fire of Material Life
The material world is characterized by constant struggle. Śrīla Prabhupāda compares this state to a blazing forest fire that nobody starts, but which burns everyone regardless. The demons and greedy materialists suffer from immeasurable, limitless anxiety as they constantly formulate massive plans to accumulate wealth and exploit resources, only to see their plans eventually crushed by time.
- Everyone has blazing fire within the heart. That is the proof of material existence. Nobody is without anxieties. That blazing fire means anxieties, always.
- Material world is kuntha. Kuntha means anxiety, full of anxiety, and Vaikuntha means there is no anxiety; everything is freedom, sac-cid-ananda.
- They believe that to gratify the senses is the prime necessity of human civilization. Thus until the end of life their anxiety is immeasurable.
- The result of the greedy capitalist's unnecessary accumulation of wealth is that he must suffer from a blazing fire of anxiety and always be concerned with how to save his money and invest it properly to get more and more.
The Illusion of Escape
Modern society offers many artificial ways to cope with this intense pressure. However, Śrīla Prabhupāda warns that attempting to numb the mind through intoxication, drugs, or illicit sex is a dangerous illusion. These methods only provide a temporary oblivion. Once the drug wears off, the anxiety returns even stronger, and the user has simply extended their term in the material prison.
- Everyone is trying to get himself free from anxieties, but he does not know how to get out of this anxiety. This taking shelter of intoxication is no use to get oneself free from anxieties. It is a drug. It is oblivion.
- Foolish people do not know that by attempting to escape anxiety by drink and sex, they simply increase their duration of material life. It is not possible to escape material anxiety in this way.
- When one cannot understand his sufferings of this material contamination, his life is animal life. He knows that he's suffering, but he's trying to cover the suffering by some nonsense means: by forgetfulness, by drinking, by intoxication.
- Taking an intoxicant doesn't help; the same anxieties are there when you are finished being drunk. If you want to be free and want life eternal with bliss and knowledge, take to Krsna. No one can know God, but there is this way: the process of Krsna Consciousness.
The True Cure: Vaikuṇṭha Consciousness
To cure anxiety, one must change their consciousness from matter to spirit. Śrīla Prabhupāda guarantees that by chanting the holy names and realizing one's spiritual identity (brahma-bhūta), the heart is cleansed of the dirty modes of passion and ignorance. When one completely surrenders the results of their activities to Kṛṣṇa, the heavy burden of material responsibility is lifted, and true peace is achieved.
- If you want to get relief from this uncomfortable position of anxiety, then you must take to this Hare Krsna mantra. This is our request. You can try for it and you will see the practical result. It will not cost you anything; there is no loss about it.
- As soon as one realizes that "I am brahma. I have nothing to do with this material world," his all anxieties immediately finished. Brahma-bhutah prasannatma na socati na kanksati.
- By chanting Hare Krsna their (people's) dirty heart will be cleansed, and as soon as it is fully cleansed, the problems of material existence will be over. No more anxiety.
- All this paraphernalia simply constitutes different sources of anxiety, but one who is surrendered unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and who leaves all business to Him, is freed from such anxieties.
The Peace of the Pure Devotee
A person who is fully absorbed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is a true well-wisher to the world. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that a pure devotee is completely equipoised in happiness and distress. Because they know that Kṛṣṇa is the supreme controller, they do not create anxiety for themselves, nor do they act in ways that cause anxiety or fear for other living entities.
- As described in Bhagavad-gita: He for whom no one is put into difficulty and who is not disturbed by anxiety, who is steady in happiness and distress, is very dear to Me.
- No one is put into difficulty, anxiety, fearfulness, or dissatisfaction by such a devotee. Since a devotee is kind to everyone, he does not act in such a way to put others into anxiety.
- A person in full Krsna consciousness is not unduly anxious to execute the duties of his existence. The foolish cannot understand this great freedom from all anxiety.
- The devotee becomes transcendental to all dualities, such as heat and cold, honor and dishonor. Being freed from all dualities, he feels transcendental bliss, and he no longer suffers cares and anxieties due to material existence.
Transcendental Anxiety in Ecstatic Love
While material anxiety is burning and painful, there is a supreme, spiritual anxiety that is entirely blissful. Śrīla Prabhupāda describes how great devotees, such as the gopīs, Mother Yaśodā, and Lord Caitanya, exhibit extreme physical and mental symptoms of anxiety. However, this agitation is not caused by the fear of losing material possessions; it is caused by the madness of pure, ecstatic love and the unbearable feeling of separation from Kṛṣṇa.
- As far as Mother Yasoda's anxieties are concerned, when Krsna was out of the house in the pasturing ground, a devotee once told her, "Yasoda, I think your movements have been slackened, and I see that you are full of anxieties.
- He is overcome with ecstatic anxiety because he constantly thinks of Krsna very devoutly within the core of his heart. Tears flow from his half-open eyes, and eruptions appear on his entire body.
- Feeling separation from Krsna, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was so distraught that in great anxiety He stood up and began rubbing His face against the walls of the Gambhira.
- Anxiety, impotence, humility, anger and impatience were all like soldiers fighting, and the madness of love of Godhead was the cause.
Conclusion
Śrīla Prabhupāda beautifully transforms our understanding of human emotion. By utilizing the process of bhakti-yoga, we can take the immense mental energy currently wasted on material worries and transfer it to the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord. By replacing material anxiety with the spiritual anxiety of how to perfectly serve Kṛṣṇa and His devotees, our lives become an uninterrupted experience of divine bliss.
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 Anxiety. We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience the teachings in their direct, verbatim form.