Caitanya Caritamrita Antya 1.2: My path is very difficult. I am blind, and my feet are slipping again and again. Therefore, may the saints help me by granting me the stick of their mercy as my support.
Do you lack inspiration in your spiritual life? Has your spiritual practice become dry? Are you experiencing difficulty in connecting with devotees around you?
We all come to a point in spiritual life when we face a “wall”; an obstacle that will not disappear until we have learned the necessary lessons. How do we overcome such a lack of inspiration in our spiritual life?
Here is one way:
Recall the moment when you encountered devotees for the first time. Perhaps you saw them on the streets performing Harinam, or you walked into the temple where a devotee handed you a book or prasadam (blessed food) or shared wisdom from the scriptures.
Remember when you heard the maha-mantra for the first time and felt the peace, happiness, or perhaps a feeling of being again at your real home. Maybe you even cried in joy, experienced relief from the suffering, or felt you had met devotees in a previous life.
This first exchange with a devotee who gave us the initial seed of bhakti and inspired us to begin a spiritual quest is a deep spiritual experience and the most important moment in our lives.
When you feel down, struggle with spiritual practice, or can’t get along with your fellow devotees, remember when you began your spiritual practice, the enthusiasm to learn that you had at that time, your eagerness to serve, and your gratitude for the association of any devotee.
A spiritual journey isn’t always easy. There will be bumps along the way, and we may stray off course, but we should not get discouraged and give up. There is always another chance. All we need to do is rejoin the spiritual path again.
Srimad Bhagavatam 3.1.24 purport: A devotee’s eagerly searching after Kṛṣṇa is as good as his seeing Him personally. How this is so cannot be explained, but it is factually realized by those who are pure devotees of the Lord.
Ananta Gopal Das
03.06.2024
Bhakti Wisdom 