“When Krishna is letting so much suffering happen in my life, does he really love me?” This question may trouble us.

Gita wisdom indicates that Krishna definitely loves us. But to understand the depth of his love, we need to first fathom the breadth and the length of our existence.

Breadth refers to the fact that our existence is not limited to matter, but extends broader to encompass both matter and spirit. We are not just material creatures. We are, as the Gita stresses (02.18), spiritual beings. Krishna loves not just our material bodies, but us as souls. Just as a pain in one part of the body due to, say, an injection may be good for the whole body, Krishna may sometimes allow some pain in some aspect of our life if it promotes our all-round well-being.

Length of our existence refers to the fact that we don’t exist for just one lifetime; we exist for all of eternity, compared to which our present lifetime is a mere moment. What happens to us right now or even in the near future is not as decisive for our happiness as what happens in the long run, with the long run extending even beyond death. Just as a doctor may do a painful surgery to accelerate long-term healing, Krishna may allow some suffering in this lifetime if it accelerates our long-term spiritual healing.

Spiritual healing refers to the redirection of our love from matter to Krishna, a redirection that happens best through bhakti-yoga. The more we absorb ourselves in devotional remembrance of Krishna, the more we not only intellectually comprehend the breadth and length of our existence but also emotionally relish Krishna’s love, thereby enabling us to tolerate and transcend life’s unavoidable pains.

Bhagavad Gita Chapter 02 Text 18

“The material body of the indestructible, immeasurable and eternal living entity is sure to come to an end; therefore, fight, O descendant of Bharata.”