Krishna Helps When You Sincerely Ask The Right Questions | HG Vaisesika Dasa | 08 May 2025

Sound Bhakti

When we become frustrated to the point of despair, there's an opening for us. And that opening for Arjuna in the Bhagavad-gītā was that he gave up. There's so much effort I put into trying to organize everything in the world so it'll come out straight, and it always comes out crooked. Prabhupāda mentions in one of his purports, in the Second Canto of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, that observing our own frustration can be enlightening because it means that we're incompatible with the nature of the world. And that's because, as he says, 'We are a different category of energy altogether.' We are consciousness, and consciousness can't be measured in the same way that material elements can. We have the controlled studies scientifically to come out with a predictable outcome, or as close as possible, so that we can say that there are certain principles that work uniformly in the world, but with consciousness, you can't apply the same measurements. It's impossible to use the same tools to measure it. We're subtler than matter, and it really bugs us. Bugs me. I'm always trying to get things to work right. And then I remember that purport where Prabhupāda says, 'Just notice that the material nature is clumsy.' I may attribute it to myself, but that's because I want more; I want something more refined. So in despair, we can find teachable moments—that is, times in which we feel so out of place in this world that we can come to a point of questioning why. And oftentimes this is the turning point. It is possible to not take advantage of despair, not take advantage of frustration, and just continually try to fix it or try to forget about it and become distracted. Oftentimes we do that. I'll speak for myself. So one of the big admonitions given in the Brahma-sūtra, otherwise known as the Vedānta-sūtra, is the introductory statement that now you've got a chance to inquire, ask a big question. It says, athāto brahma jijñāsā—means now that you've come to the human form of life, you have an opportunity to ask, 'Why? Why am I suffering?' Also, other questions could be there, like, 'Why do I have to die? Why do—why am I faced with non-permanence when I definitely feel like I shouldn't be?' That's a conundrum and can lead to a sense of angst, existential angst. And it's a relief to know, isn't it, that the wisdom literature knows us? Of course, I could go back to Vyasadeva. He's the one who compiled it, and put that question first amongst all the others, a myriad of questions that can be asked or statements that can be made, principles that can be expounded. But then he says, you do it, you ask, you ask, Why am I suffering, and what's the purpose of life? The implication is that there's an answer waiting for you.It's forthcoming ------------------------------------------------------------ To connect with His Grace Vaiśeṣika Dāsa, please visit https://www.fanthespark.com/next-steps/ask-vaisesika-dasa/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Add to your wisdom literature collection: https://iskconsv.com/book-store/ https://www.bbtacademic.com/books/ https://thefourquestionsbook.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Join us live on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FanTheSpark/ Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sound-bhakti/id1132423868 For the latest videos, subscribe https://www.youtube.com/@FanTheSpark For the latest in SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/fan-the-spark ------------------------------------------------------------ #vaisesikaprabhu #vaisesikadasa #vaisesikaprabhulectures #spirituality #bhaktiyoga #krishna #spiritualpurposeoflife #krishnaspirituality #spiritualusachannel #whybhaktiisimportant #whyspiritualityisimportant #vaisesika #spiritualconnection #thepowerofspiritualstudy #selfrealization #spirituallectures #spiritualstudy #spiritualexperience #spiritualpurposeoflife