Sufferings of an orphan and that of a beloved child

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The sufferings of an orphan and the sufferings of a beloved child of a king

are not one and the same. An orphan is really poor because he has no one to

take care of him, but a beloved son of a rich man, although he appears to be

on the same level as the orphan, is always under the vigilance of his

capable father. A devotee of the Lord, due to wrong association, sometimes

imitates the fruitive workers. The fruitive workers want to lord it over the

material world. Similarly, a neophyte devotee foolishly thinks of

accumulating some material power in exchange for devotional service. Such

foolish devotees are sometimes put into difficulty by the Lord Himself. As a

special favor, He may remove all material paraphernalia. By such action, the

bewildered devotee is forsaken by all friends and relatives, and so he comes

to his senses again by the mercy of the Lord and is set right to execute his

devotional service.

In the Bhagavad-gita it is also said that such fallen devotees are given a

chance to take birth in a family of highly qualified brahmanas or in a rich

mercantile family. A devotee in such a position is not as fortunate as one

who is chastised by the Lord and put into a position seemingly of

helplessness. The devotee who becomes helpless by the will of the Lord is

more fortunate than those who are born in good families. The fallen devotees

born in a good family may forget the lotus feet of the Lord because they are

less fortunate, but the devotee who is put into a forlorn condition is more

fortunate because he swiftly returns to the lotus feet of the Lord, thinking

himself helpless all around.

 

>>> Ref. VedaBase => purport SB 1.5.19