Don’t give Krishna your leftovers by Chaitanya Charan Das
Based on Bhagavad Gita Chapter 09
The very idea of giving Krishna our leftovers may shock out
devotional sensibilities – we usually give leftovers such as food to beggars,
not to the Supreme Lord.
Yet we might unwittingly end up giving him our leftovers
with respect to our time and thought. We often invest our time and thought in
our many worldly aspirations and then whatever is left over, we offer it to
Krishna through some devotional activities that we squeeze into our schedule.
Such offerings express not heartfelt devotion, but reluctant accommodation.
Prioritization is the expression of our devotion, or at
least our sincere intention to attain that devotion as quickly as possible.
No doubt, whatever we offer Krishna is auspicious – it will
contribute to our eternal spiritual credit. The Bhagavad-gita (09.27) urges us
to offer whatever we do to him. This verse underscores his compassion, his
going out of his way to help us to kickstart our spiritual journey.
However, Krishna’s compassion can stimulate our devotion, not
substitute for it. After all, relationships to be meaningful have to be a
two-way street. If we want a loving relationship with Krishna and relish the
kind of deep spiritual love that will fulfill our heart in this life and take
us to his abode in the next, then we need to place him in the center of our
life, not relegate him to some nondescript corner. Such prioritization is the
expression of our devotion, or at least our sincere intention to attain that
devotion as quickly as possible.
While putting Krishna first might seem difficult given our
many other obligations and aspirations, we can rest assured that he won’t
replace the things that are truly important for us – instead, he will permeate
them. By his mercy and guidance, our devotional connection will underlie and
unify our various activities with a divine purposefulness. This will harmonize
our material and spiritual sides, gradually transforming our life into a
symphony of devotion that is all-round fulfilling.
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