During our life, there will be times when we are down, yet we feel God’s presence guiding, strengthening and uplifting us. However, there will also be particularly dark times when we may not feel any presence of God, let alone His guidance or grace.

In such situations, it is vital for us to remember that God is too big and profound to be felt by emotions alone. The fact of God’s omnipresence is not dependent on our feelings about his presence. Because our mind is restless, the emotions arising within it tend to be unpredictable and unreliable. That’s why we may not feel the presence of things, even when they exist — for example, children disappointed due to not getting a toy may not feel their parents’ love. 

God, Krishna is the supreme parent and is supremely benevolent. If we can maintain our connection with Krishna in spite of the absence of apparent communication from him, we will pass a major test on the path of devotion. The Bhagavad-gita (4.39) states that those who maintain faith gain the knowledge to perceive the ultimate reality and to achieve the peace that transcends the temptations that abound in our immediate reality. By such redirection of consciousness, we attain a sublime inner peace that is ineffable, imperishable and inviolable. Through that peace, we will discover divine taste that will enable us to pass the toughest of life’s tests.

When we go through dark phases in our lives, if we somehow hold on to our relationship with Krishna, he will become pleased with us, and grant us increasing insight and taste in his remembrance and service.

Summary: 

Trusting God’s benevolence is far more important than feeling God’s presence — maintaining our connection with him in the apparent absence of communication from him is a great test of our devotion and will grant us great taste in devotion. 

Think it over.

  • When might we not feel the presence of God? Why not?
  • What is more important than feeling God’s presence? Why?
  • What happens when we maintain our connection with Krishna even in the absence of any communication from him?

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04.39: A faithful man who is dedicated to transcendental knowledge and who subdues his senses is eligible to achieve such knowledge, and having achieved it he quickly attains the supreme spiritual peace.

Audio explanation of this article is here: https://gitadaily.substack.com/p/feeling-god-or-trusting-god

To know more about this verse, please click on the image