Suppose we flew to a distant land to meet a
VIP whom we hadn’t met before. We landed, drove to his residence and knocked –
and found, to our astonishment, looking at us the same person who had sat next
to us throughout our journey. Having been hyper-excited about the upcoming
meeting, we had paid little attention to our flight neighbor.
A similar lack of recognition often
characterizes our devotional journey. When we practice bhakti and feel
attracted towards Krishna, we start longing to see him. Such a longing is
normally good, but the illusory energy can sinisterly use it against us. How?
By making us depressed that we are so far away from Krishna. Such depression
can make our practice of bhakti half-hearted and inattentive. With distracted
bhakti practices, we can’t access his presence as manifest in our heart, and in
his holy names, deities, scriptures and similar manifestations.
Why can’t we readily perceive Krishna’s
presence? Because he is quintessentially spiritual, whereas our consciousness
is presently material, being consumed by various worldly attachments. Earnest
bhakti practice raises our consciousness to the spiritual level, enabling us to
increasingly realize his presence. Over time, as we come closer and closer to
Krishna, one day we realize that he was always close to us, being present in our
heart throughout our worldly existence, as the Bhagavad-gita (18.61) states.
And we also realize that his empowering presence was constantly accessible
through his many merciful manifestations.
We will realize this divine non-difference
eventually, but we can tap its benefit immediately. By using our intelligence
to at least hypothetically accept the non-difference between him and his
manifestations, we can serve those manifestations with greater reverence. Such
intensified devotional practice will make our spiritual life more relishable
and will accelerate our realization of Krishna’s eternal proximity.
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