why me ?

[Guest guest]

I'm currently a college student....

 

Why is it that many of the people around me (meat eaters, drinkers, etc.) are able to advance in their studies with good marks, while I experience the opposite outcome ?

 

I never ask Krishna for any success in material life, but instead a go along with what ever comes along. I chant regularly and I follow the regulative principles.

 

At this point in my life I am trying to gain admission to a school of medicine....my peers who have no regard for the Lord are succeeding while I am recieving poor marks even though I honestly work hard.

 

will things ever be up for me....or will Krishna keep taking away?

[realist31]

Dont worry,thats life,there is no logic sometimes,people might say its Bad Karma and all that to rationalise your misery and hurt you more,rather keep fighting,life is a game of luck,no one knows what happens the next moment,whether you worry about Krishna or not things will happen the way no one expects.Why you expect Krishna to change it for you,even those who have been chanting his name all the time die or get sick or suffer,he himself was supposed to have been killed by a arrow,even he existed he isnt here now,so stop blaming him or praising him.Dont expect anything from anyone.

[gHari]

You're saying Krsna made you dumb?

[Nrsinghadev]

 

I'm currently a college student....

 

Why is it that many of the people around me (meat eaters, drinkers, etc.) are able to advance in their studies with good marks, while I experience the opposite outcome ?

 

I never ask Krishna for any success in material life, but instead a go along with what ever comes along. I chant regularly and I follow the regulative principles.

 

At this point in my life I am trying to gain admission to a school of medicine....my peers who have no regard for the Lord are succeeding while I am recieving poor marks even though I honestly work hard.

 

will things ever be up for me....or will Krishna keep taking away?

 

Hare Krishna prabhu,

from reading the above it seems to me that you are taking achievements in mundane worldy matters as a measuring stick for good fortune, while in actuality Krishna is bestowing you with the greatest mercy by making your material life a failure. From the spiritual point of view, you are not unfortunate, but in fact most fortunate! Being engrossed in mundane affairs, those scholars of mundane knowledge who are oblivious to the Supreme Lord are the ones who are actually most unfortunate, as they are wasting their valuable time on studying temporary affairs. At the time of death, what lasting good will their efforts have yielded in this temporary world? At the time of death, what will their thoughts be? They will not be with the Supreme Lord, and so they continue to traverse through this most miserable cycle of birth and death. So being oblivious to the Lord and desiring to fulfill the fleeting pleasures of their senses, the Lord provides them accordingly, whether in this life or the next. So from the spiritual point of view, this is punishment; to get all this material wealth and benefit,or good material results, because generally speaking it leads one away from God consciousness. Here's a part of a story that ties into this nicely:

Srila Narayana Maharaja: Thank you. This is the process. What is the purpose of this story? From the beginning of his life, a devotee should follow how Sanatana Gosvami left everything-position wealth and money. Even a servant with one coin he left. Even that blanket-now he had nothing. He only took an old dhoti and made it into four, for his lower and upper cloth. He had nothing else. He had no money. Nothing was left with him. If any person wants to go to any high-class devotee to become a Vaisnava, he should be like Sanatana Gosvami. He should not come with so much wealth in his pockets or with a big bank balance. Otherwise he can never follow this process. He must come like a street beggar.

 

 

I can tell you the life history of your Srila Prabhupada, my friend Bhaktivedanta Svami Maharaja. He himself told this story to me. I think he never told others but I am telling you. When he took initiation from Srila Prabhupada Bhaktivedanta Sarasvati Thakura, he was telling me this secret thing. "I took initiation and then I began to read Srimad Bhagavatam and to chant and remember also and looking after my job at Bengal Chemical which I was managing at time." He was not only the manger, he was the sole proprietor. But he was fearing-if anyone chants, remembers and follows Krishna, then Krishna will make him a street beggar. So what should he do? "I was thinking and thinking, and I was in a dilemma, always worried about this, but I never stopped chanting, hearing, and reading Srimad Bhagavatam. I went on strictly following my Guru's order." After sometime Bengal Chemical failed. He left it; he was bound to leave it. Then he came to Allahabad and he started one medical factory in a big way, but after two years it failed. Then he started a very prominent shop, where India's prime minister used to come, but after two or three years it also failed. Then he worked as a representative for medicines. He made himself new, new medicines and used to go here and there with them, but that he also could not do. Then penniless he came to me and told me, "Now I am penniless. I have nothing left." So Krishna does this to those He loves.

 

 

The purport of the story of Sanatana Gosvami is that if you really want to be a very pure, high-class devotee, you will have to follow him with empty pockets, keeping nothing with you. Then Krishna may give you bhakti, otherwise not. Otherwise, you will have to give up your devotion and return back to where you were before. So you should try to follow Sanatana Gosvami if you want to have high-class precious prema-bhakti. Surely you will have to do this.

 

And finally some words from our most revered Param Gurudev, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura Goswami Maharaj that shed some light on why the things are going they way they do in your life, plus some helpful pointers that are to be remembered always by each and everyone:

1. We are put to test and trial in this world. Only those who attend the kirtana of the devotees can succeed.

 

6. Those favored by God find their paths set by thorns.

 

7. There is no peace or happiness in our worldly life. Circumstances create turmoil and annoyance.

 

8. Chant the mahamantra loudly and with attachment. This will drive away inertia, worldly evils and pests.

 

10. Pay due respects to the extroverts of the world, but do not be appreciative of their manners and conduct. They are to be shaken off from your mind.

 

14. Life is for the glorification of topics on Hari. If that is stopped, then what need is there to carry on life.

 

16. Our span of life on earth is short. Our life will be crowned with success if the body wears out with constant discourses on Hari.

 

17. We are here on earth not to work as artisans for making big

buildings with wood and stone but to work only as messengers for the teachings of Sri Caitanya Deva.

 

23. The Lord, Gaurasundara, puts His devotees in various difficulties and associations to test their patience and strength of mind. Success depends on their good fortune.

 

 

Of course, you don't have to give up your study and become a door-to-door beggar, you can do both the work you're aiming at and bhakti, but it was just to indicate what it means to be actually favored by the Lord. Seems to me you've been chanting properly and sincerely. My obeisances,

Haribol!

[Guest guest]

thank you all for the encouragement...

 

I'm not saying that it is Krishna's fault for keeping from medical college, but I'm confused as to why all of these other people are more prosperous despite their lack of faith.

 

I'm not doing this for material prosperity or wealth. I just want to be able to make my parents happy. They are the ones who have raised me in Krishna Consciousness. I want to be able to show people that my faith in Krishna has made me succesful and not "my own intelligence"

 

I believe that all my intelligence comes from Krishna, but I still find myself falling back.

 

I remind myself of this verse every morning:

 

 

ishvarah paramah krishnah

 

sac-cid-ananda-vigrahaha

 

anadir adir govindaha

 

sarva-karana-karanam

 

 

Krishna, Who is known as Govinda, is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He has an eternal blissful spiritual body. He is the Origin of all. He has no other origin and He is the Prime Cause of all causes.

 

 

so surely he is the cause of these so called "downfalls" in this life.

 

So why do all these other people become succesful....they will never realize that "oh I wasted my last birth without thinking of Krishna"

 

they won't even remember they took birth before. They can enjoy without any remorse.

 

This is what bothers me....just seems unfair that's all

 

-Hare Krishna

[Guest guest]

haribol,

I understand where you are coming from,

But only chanting , joining in kirtan and loving lord Krishna can elevate oneself above worldly things.

Pray to Krishna for allowing you to attend medical school, as some poor people don`t even have a bowl of rice to eat and no bed to sleep on.

Hari bol.

[gHari]

 

So why do all these other people become successful?

But they aren't. You are.

 

Let them have that - without it they have nothing. Perhaps it will set them free to consider the big picture.

[Guest guest]

The point here and the point actually everywhere, concerned neophytes, is that they do not understand the importance of devotional service. Devotional service is not something very nice or very pleasing, but it's natural condition of living entity. And becouse it's natural/sane/healthy... condition, it's also pleasing (eternal life, full of bliss and knowledge).

Like an arm. It has to serve the stomach by making food, putting food in it and so on. But if a hand wants to be independent and do not serve the stomach, but try to serve hereself or other parts of the body - there's no effect. The hand may feel something when putting food in a palm like heat, cold, dry, wet..., but this so called "happines" is nothing but missery, becouse the hand looses the pleasure derived when serving the stomach. So the point is that devotional service, as repeated everywhere by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, is the only condition of living entity in which he actually feels happy. That is conclusion.

I can tell the story of my finishing the school. Before my second birth, i was drunkard, deviant and so on to the highest extent (now the mere thought of my past makes me feel like eating stool), and i was not attending school lessons and didn't even studied anything at home. But despite this fact, when i tried to become Krishna consciousness and engaged myself sincerely in some devotional service 6 months before finishing school, not only was i not threw out of school, but i finished it with very good marks and whats more I passed exams greatly also without any big endeavour.

The other thing is that my health was poor and I was thinking when will I die in a near future, but after I engaged in God consciousness, im in a much better state now.

The point is that Krishna is the supreme controller and nothing happens without His sanction. The Lord says: "Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear". It means that if you surrender unto Krishna, immediatly all reactions of sinful activities stops and nothing actually bad can happen to you. And therefore you should not take your school marks to be your aim of life, becouse when Krishna protects you, there's nothing to afraid becouse even the top of the grass do not move without the sanction of the God. The only thing you schould do is to try to render undeviating devotional service unto Him and gradually become pure in your condition.

It's very hard for an idler to become active, and similary it's very hard in the begining for the conditioned soul engaged in sense gratification (or egoism) to engage in the service of the Lord, but if one wants to achieve happiness, he should begin this practice immeadetly, there's no alternative.

There's only one patch - patch to God. One whether goes forward or goes downward. This he can choose. And all varieties of so many things are nothing but the direction the living entity goes: upward or downward.

The soul is substance and the material or spiritual world is field where the spirit takes activities.

[Guest guest]

Good marks and a good occupation are not my main goals...

 

I think my main question is why do these people "succeed" materially, without doing any devotional service? Many devotees are put through difficulties, which may cause them to lose their faith at times.

 

The issue of the next life comes up....how will they know in their next life that they wasted their last birth?

 

They are basically free to enjoy without any punishment....in their case, ignorance is bliss.

 

A situation sticks out in my mind:

 

One day before a big exam a friend and I were going to do some extra studying together in the night. I told him to meet my in a few hours around 9pm. Before that I wanted to do some chanting for an hour or so. He called and said, "i'll be late, i'm going to the bar with some other friends." I thought no problem, I'll just chant then study until he arrives. Hours passed and I called him. He said he was drunk and was just going to sleep.

 

Next day, he shows up to the exam almost 20 mins late....to make a long story short, he ended up with over 90% and I got in mid 70%.

 

 

I'm not saying that I would be happy if I never knew Krishna. That thought would never enter my mind/heart, but it doesn't make sense that devotee should suffer even if they have surrendered to Krishna's will. I don't ask Krishna for things and then become sad or angry if He doesn't provide them.

 

I never ask for anything in the first place. The people that don't ask recieve, and the people that rely on the will of the Lord don't recieve.

 

I guess I will just have to take the suffering if it Krishna's will.

 

again, thank you all for the encouragement. I will have to take your words to heart.

 

-Hare Krishna

[Guest guest]

 

Good marks and a good occupation are not my main goals...

 

I think my main question is why do these people "succeed" materially, without doing any devotional service? Many devotees are put through difficulties, which may cause them to lose their faith at times.

 

The issue of the next life comes up....how will they know in their next life that they wasted their last birth?

 

They are basically free to enjoy without any punishment....in their case, ignorance is bliss.

 

A situation sticks out in my mind:

 

One day before a big exam a friend and I were going to do some extra studying together in the night. I told him to meet my in a few hours around 9pm. Before that I wanted to do some chanting for an hour or so. He called and said, "i'll be late, i'm going to the bar with some other friends." I thought no problem, I'll just chant then study until he arrives. Hours passed and I called him. He said he was drunk and was just going to sleep.

 

Next day, he shows up to the exam almost 20 mins late....to make a long story short, he ended up with over 90% and I got in mid 70%.

 

 

I'm not saying that I would be happy if I never knew Krishna. That thought would never enter my mind/heart, but it doesn't make sense that devotee should suffer even if they have surrendered to Krishna's will. I don't ask Krishna for things and then become sad or angry if He doesn't provide them.

 

I never ask for anything in the first place. The people that don't ask recieve, and the people that rely on the will of the Lord don't recieve.

 

I guess I will just have to take the suffering if it Krishna's will.

 

again, thank you all for the encouragement. I will have to take your words to heart.

 

-Hare Krishna

 

 

You know, there is some correlation between meditation and improving your ability to concentrate and think better, so maybe you should try meditation as well as chanting, as it may improve your IQ by a few points. Of course, none of it is scientifically proven, though the studies that have been done do seem to indicate some correlation.

 

In any case, you have to ask yourself whether you want to become a doctor in the first place? Are you interested in science? are you good at it? Does it make sense to you? If the answer is no to all of those questions, that is probably why you're struggling. It's harder to absorb information that you're not at all interested in.

 

You might need to relax as well. Have proper rest before the exam, not stress at the time of the exam, and take everything in stride, as if it's Krishna's will.

 

This could simply be a bad time for you, due to the stars or planets lining up wrong. I remember 3 years ago, I couldn't do anything right. I too am pursuing a medical career. I was afflicted by Shani, and everything was going wrong for me. I thought of quitting and giving up, and almost did, but something kept me from doing so. I'm not sure exactly if all this astrology stuff is true, though I've encountered a few people who would swear by it.

 

Maybe right now is your time to struggle, and later on you will succeed. You can only hope that is the case, and just keep working. I disagree with the idea God shows His favor by giving people problems. If that's the way God is, why should anyone be appreciative of Him? He would be nothing more than a tyrant, and I don't believe He is that. People have their struggles because of their karma, not because God is showing His favor. When God finally shows His favor, it'll be when you've found your path, and things are going right for you.

 

I don't believe that one who is truly favored by God will definitively end up chanting the Lord's name and renouncing material life. That COULD be your path, but there could also be another path for you. You may not even acknowledge God, and yet He could show his favor by endowing you with material success. Doing God's work isn't strictly limited to chanting His name in the first place. Helping people, finding new inventions, new discoveries, helping others become enlightened or wiser, teaching them, these are all God's work.

 

As for realist31's advice, that is utter rubbish. Life is not luck, there is logic to it, though it may not be easily perceptible. It's according to God's will, whatever that may be. Our bad actions result in bad consequences, this is a fact. You might prosper in the immediate moment, but down the road you will suffer by doing something wrong. Sometimes you have to suffer in the immediate moment to do something right, and end up prospering later. You may not even recognize the reason for your prosperity is because of what you did a long ago. The point is, really, always remember Krishna, always do your work. Maybe you need to ask Krishna what your work really is meant to be. Maybe he'll give you an answer somehow, as either a voice inside or somebody coming to you to tell you what your work is.

 

As for the statement ignorance is bliss, that is true for short term enjoyment, but for long term enjoyment, for long term living, ignorance can never be bliss. While others may be oblivious to what they're doing wrong and they enjoy their lives in the now, they will regret it later. Smoking causes cancer, drinking can damage your liver, etc. Yet, these are long term effects, and for the short term they may be enjoyable to these people. Later on, it can only bring suffering.

[Guest guest]

yes, I am very much interested in medicine and science. It's just that I find myself a step behind everyone else.

 

But the long-term consequences issue is difficult to grasp....how can people realize their past mistakes from a previous birth?

 

Say, for example, that one of my peers becomes a succesful doctor and lives his life without any setbacks even while he continues to eat meat and drink and do all kinds of other things. He won't know in his next life that his previous life was a wasted attempt at devotional service. So why is it that he gets to prosper while a person engaged in devotional service suffers?

 

It just seems like this should be the other way around. I am by no means disappointed in Krishna. I understand that His will is supreme. I guess i'm looking for some evidence in the shastras that say why this is so.

 

-Hare Krishna

[Gaea]

 

So why is it that he gets to prosper while a person engaged in devotional service suffers?

 

It just seems like this should be the other way around. I am by no means disappointed in Krishna. I understand that His will is supreme. I guess i'm looking for some evidence in the shastras that say why this is so.

 

-Hare Krishna

 

Look at it this way - if you are suffering in your material life like you have described, does it not make you think of Krsna even more? Say you were successful, are you definately sure that you will remember Him as much as you remember Him when suffering? In this way Krsna slowly takes away your material life to increase your attachemnt to Him. Just like how he took away Narada's mother (when he was in a previous body) so that he could engage in devotional service.

 

And even if this is not good enough, then try and try again. Don't give up. With faith you'll get far on the devotional path but for material life, you must constantly engage in continuous action to be successful.

 

Good luck!

[Guest guest]

Yes. And another important thing is that it's not you that is suffering it's only

your gross and subtle body do which is actually not you. Therefore you have to learn to tolarate it. It's like a dream, sometimes it lookes like your flying,

swimming, killing, dieing and so many other things, but when you wake up

you understand it was nothing but illusion. Therefore you must try to

understand that actually you'r not suffering as much as dreaming man is

suffering in a dream. And with such spirit try to enjoy your "sufferings"

thinking that i should get much more trouble due to my sinful past live. And

try not to be envious of others. There's knowledge and theres realization.

Knowledge is teoretical and realization is practical, so try to engage your

knowledge in practice and when you reach a platform of realization, all

your doubts will be washed off.

With great determination and faith!

 

All good luck to you, your sincere friend.