Hare Krisha,
I have been chanting 16 rounds and participating in devotional activities for over 5 years.
I basically allocate over 3 hours a day in devotional activity and my friends who don't do
have progressed in their careers. I mean they spent the same time upgrading their skills or
education and now they are in a much better position financially and socially. I feel low that
I am not as successful as them.
Regards
Aakash
Replies
Hare Krishna Prabhu ji!
well, I'd say you are more successful than them! all the things they did might help them in this lifetime, but all the things YOU did will help you leave this circle of lifetimes! why try to be successful financially when you don't even know how long you'll live with it, as long as you have enough money for your and your family's needs, I'd say you're good to go! whenever you feel low, just ask yourself this- "why am I sad that I'm not as successful as my friends or not being able to make my family happy, when they'll forget me right after they move to another body? instead, let me make that personality happy who has been with me through lifetimes in the form of paramatma"
Hare Krishna!
Hare Krsna Prabhuji,
PAMHO.
I have been seeeing your posts over 5 years now. From your posts, it appears that you lack faith, or at times start doubting the basics of our devotional structure. That is the reason I am surprised when you state you have been giving 3 hours a day to devotion for past 5 years. I think you need to relook that fact.
It is not the length and breadth of time spent on devotional acitivities that attract Krsna, but the depth of devotional activity. Srila Prabhupada had stated that it takes one minute to surrender and become a devotee. Just one minute.
Setting up externals is easy prabhu, aligning internally to external getup of devotee is the difficult part. Maybe you need to work on that.
Regarding family members having progressed and you losing out to devotion, its because you are displaying lack of faith that this doubt is creeping in. If you seek out devotion, with renunciation and knowledge as by products, where does material prosperity, name and fame figure in the scheme of things? Srila Prabhupada says that we deveop disgust for material name, fame, wealth etc proportionate to our progress in spirituality.
What I am trying to say is that you are looking in the wrong place for the wrong thing. If name, fame, designation, prestige is your goal, then you will get that, not KRsna. Krsna we get when we say and mean- na dhanam, na janam, na sundarim...
Haribol,
YOur servant,
Radha Rasamayi DD.
Hare Krsna
Happy to know about your rock steady practice of devotional service. Thank you
Hare Krsna