A life of devotion is not something to be engineered; it is something to be entered.
When we face life’s challenges and try to keep our heart centered on God amidst these challenges, we may strive to arrange our schedule and life situations in a way that minimizes disruptions and distractions. Just as when designing a house—whether directly, if we have architectural expertise, or indirectly, by giving detailed instructions to experts—we work with a vision that we aim to translate into reality. Generally, anything important to us involves careful contemplation and industrious implementation of our vision, so things work exactly as we want. When we start taking our spirituality seriously, we might bring a similar meticulousness into our spiritual journey.
While becoming serious about our spirituality is auspicious, trying to engineer a life of devotion can be inauspicious for our spiritual growth. A life of devotion is essentially a relationship. In any relationship, controlling others, as we might control an inanimate object, is difficult. In our relationship with God, the idea of such control is even more absurd, as God is the supreme controller, and we are tiny and insignificant compared to his might and majesty.
We may never consciously think of controlling God, but we might still attempt to arrange our life, centered on our relationship with him, in a super precise way. In making such arrangements, we unwittingly assume that God’s reciprocation will fit neatly into our meticulous plan. However, God’s reciprocation is unpredictable, though it is predictably beneficial for us in the long run.
A life of devotion is centered on faith and surrender: faith that God knows best, and surrender in terms of accepting whatever situation he places us in and whatever part he wants us to play. This is why a life of devotion is something to enter into, not engineer. If we consider life a drama, we are not the director who can control the sets, choreography, cinematography, and actors. We are one player in the drama, and we are meant to enter into that drama and play the role assigned to us. Of course, we need our endeavor and expertise to play our role well, but the paradigm is one of fitting into the existing scenario, not creating it ourselves.
Bhagavad-gita 11.33 indicates that life is moving according to God’s plan and calls upon us to play our part in that divine plan. When we understand that a life of devotion is something to be entered into, not engineered, we can still be serious about our spirituality without seeking to control every situation, even those conducive to our spiritual growth. We aim to fit into whatever situations we face, knowing that the precision of our fitting comes not from intellectual expertise but from a devotional service attitude. In this attitude, we acknowledge that no situation—no matter how uncomfortable or even unbearable it may seem—is outside the purview of the Lord’s plan. Even inhospitable situations are opportunities for us to express our devotion and thereby deepen our relationship with our eternal Lord.
Summary:
- In material life, seriousness often involves engineering things precisely according to our vision. In spiritual life, however, devotion is a relationship with the Supreme, who is in control.
- A life of devotion should be entered with a willingness to let God direct and assign our role, rather than controlling every detail.
- By seeing life as a divine play, where God is the director and we are players, we can focus on performing our role to the best of our ability, allowing God’s plan to unfold.
Think it over:
- What does “engineering a life of devotion” mean to you?
- Have you experienced how attempts to control it can impede devotion?
- Contemplate the metaphor of life as a divine play and list three ways it can shape or reshape your understanding of being serious in your spiritual life.
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11.33 Therefore get up. Prepare to fight and win glory. Conquer your enemies and enjoy a flourishing kingdom. They are already put to death by My arrangement, and you, O Savyasācī, can be but an instrument in the fight.
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