Krishna tells us in Bhagavad Gita, ‘Sarvasyacähaàhådisanniviñöo, mattaùsmåtirjïänamapohanaà ca,’ which means that He is the source of remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness. You cannot remember Krishna without His grace and you can’t forget Krishna without His grace. You can’t know Krishna without His grace. So what do we have to be proud of? He’s the source of everything. Krishna does not need anything all that we offer Him. ISKCON founder Srila Prabhupada explains that even the greatest possible service that we can do for Krishna is similar to taking a handful of water from Gangadevi and offering it to Gangadevi.
We take the water, “O Gangamayi, please accept this offering?” But does she need it? We’re taking it right from her an insignificant quantity of jal (water) and we are offering it to her. Likewise Krishna does not need anything. He is self-sufficient in every way. But the most beautiful and wonderful of quality of the Lord is He is bhaktavatsala. That means He takes such great pleasure in receiving the loving sentiments of His devotees that He becomes subordinate, overpowered and conquered by the love of devotees if it is genuine and comes by His own sweet will.
We chant holy names because chanting is considered as a sacrifice recommended in this age of Kalyug. Krishna does not need our chanting. He does not need our offenceless chanting. He doesn’t need our pure chanting. He doesn’t need anything. He is eternally beside Srimati Radharani. What is our love in comparison? Srimati Radharani is the source of all love, all devotion, all everything.Who are we? We are insignificant, infinitesimal, little tiny jivatmas who have rebelled enviously against Krishna since time immemorial and engaged in egoistic sinful activities and landed in this material world. Does Krishna need our love? But He is so kind, He is so merciful even when an insignificant jiva chants the holy name.
When we surrender to Krishna, we may not get the result. Surrendering to Krishna is like another type of earthquake in the bottom of the ocean of our consciousness. And it may seem for years and years and years that, “Ahh! I just have nothing, no love, nothing, I am just struggling and striving.” But it is just a matter of time; you may not see it immediately but when that tidal wave hits the shore it washes away all of our materialistic egoistic desires, cleans our heart completely and then we can see Krishna directly.
Krishna’s mercy is more powerful than all the most powerful tidal waves. So yes, Krishna wants us to be happy. His love is our only qualification, His causeless love. He descends into this world again and again and again to give kindness to those who have offended Him unlimited times. Krishna does not need anything from us. He just wants a genuine and pure expression of love and surrender. Why does He want it? For our sake. That’s all. Because He wants us to be ananda, happy.
All of life’s goals and opulence are directly, self-sufficiently, unceasingly and unlimitedly increasing in You at every moment. Indeed, you are full with unlimited enjoyment and blissful existence itself. As far as we are concerned, O Lord, we are always after material enjoyment. You do not need all these sacrificial arrangements, but they are meant for us so that we may be benedict by Your Lordship. All these sacrifices are performed for our fruitful results, and they are not actually needed by you.
According to Gita, there is nothing that pleases Krishna more than preaching His glories and practicing the facilities that help preach His glories. So the essence of renunciation is without ego or desire for personal aggrandisement or pleasures, to chant the holy names, to serve the Vaisnavas and to perform austerities for the sake of uplifting other people’s consciousness. That is true renunciation, and this sustains the devotees of the Lord and it also is the most pleasing devotion that appeals to Krishna.
So, in essence we should accept what is favourable for devotional service and reject what is unfavourable. We should be determined. Our spiritual advancement will very much be according to our determination. But we have to understand what real determination on the path of Bhakti is. It must be with humility. We should be humble. We should not compare ourselves to others or think that I am better than others.Fanaticism is often based on false ego. Our determination inflates our false ego and the results we gain. So, we should be humble like a blade of grass, tolerant like a tree ready to offer all respect to others and expect none in return. The author is the spiritual leader of ISKCON