Hare Krishna!
In this world, there are many paths (yogas) leading to liberation. However, as Lord Krishna says that of all the yogis, His loving devotees are the topmost yogis!
yoginām api sarveṣhāṁ
mad-gatenāntar-ātmanā
śhraddhāvān bhajate yo māṁ
sa me yuktatamo mataḥ
.. Bhagavad Gita 6.47
“Of all the yogis, one who with great love renders devotional service to Me – he is the highest of all the yogis…”
While it sounds simple, it is not easy to become a real devotee of Krishna. A pure devotee of Lord Krishna is bound by love and affection for Him. Most of the bhaktas approach demi-gods for material favors which are temporary. But when someone is attracted to Krishna, then that soul has accrued sukrti in previous births or has obtained blessings from pure Krishna devotee(s).
However, while these souls approach Lord Krishna, the neophytes will have anarthas (unwanted desires) that will become roadblocks in developing pure bhakti. How does Krishna handle this?
In order for those souls to be purified, similar to how gold is repeated heated and melted to burn off the impurities before making beautiful jewels out of it, Krishna does the similar operation as He is saying in Srimad Bhagavatam:
Yasyaaham anugrhnaami
Harisshye tad-dhanamm sanaih
Tato ‘dhanam tyajanty asya
Svajanaa duhkha-duhkhitam
… (Srimad Bhagavatam 10.8.88)
“If I especially favor someone, I gradually deprive him of his wealth. Then the relatives and friends of such a poverty-stricken man abandon him. In this way he suffers one distress after another.”
So, if Krishna wants a soul but that soul is afflicted by anarthas, He creates accidents, problems in family, problems with friends and relatives, problems in health, job or financial problems. That soul might have just visited a Krishna temple or His holy dham and returned and heard only bad news!
This is very difficult to understand. Lord Krishna takes the responsibility of burning the anarthas of His dear devotees. Ordinary people may ask then why should he worship Krishna if He may give problems? Yes. Lord Krishna Himself says, “If you want material favors and comforts and want to get lost in the miserable samsara, go ahead and worship demi-gods as many as you want. I have made 330 million of them for you to choose! Why are you coming to Me?”
As we know from Lord Caitanya that it was Lord Krishna’s arrangement to teach mayavada philosophy and drag the demoniac people away from Him.
Lord Krishna continues, “If you want the highest goal, then worship ONLY Me (BG 18.65, 18.66). However, you have to be a pure devotee of Me. Otherwise I cannot take you.”
Ordinary jivas do not have the intelligence to understand this fact. They may even criticize, “See! You have given your whole life to Krishna! But He is only giving you problems!”
Lord Krishna has to burn our anarthas, our ego, our thirst to amass wealth and get entangled with this world and relatives. Like the purification process of gold, the impurities (anarthas) need to be burned!
What are the anarthas? There are so many given in Upadesamrta, and here is just one sloka:
atyāhāraḥ prayāsaśca
prajalpo niyamāgrahaḥ
janasańgaśca laulyaḿ ca
ṣaḍbhirbhaktirvinaśyati
.. Upadesamrta #2
“One’s devotional service is spoiled when he has these anarthas:
(1) eating to enjoy, eating more than necessary or earning more than required;
(2) over-endeavoring for mundane things;
(3) gossiping about others;
(4) lack of following sadhana;
(5) associating with worldly-minded persons (friends and relatives)
(6) Greedy for mundane achievements – name and fame.
So, if Krishna is giving problem to a jiva, there are two things:
1) Krishna wants that jiva to go back to Him
2) But the anarthas are still there that need to be burned!
By the problems He creates for His chosen devotees with anarthas, the devotee’s false ego vanishes and pure devotion develops and grows to reach prema.
Will Krishna give problems for those who are free from anarthas?
When a devotee is free of anarthas, that soul is now in the evolution stage of prema bhakti. He is the one in the mood of ‘trinad api sunicena‘ without any false ego and chanting the holy names all the time. A dear bhakta of Lord Krishna may also go through sufferings when he is part of the pastime of Krishna for the pleasure of Krishna. Draupati, Vasudeva, and Devaki are just a few of those examples.
Thank you!
Hare Krishna!